THIS IS GROWN by Modern Synthesis
Ex-adidas material designer Jen Keane spent her career designing materials in the sportswear industry, where she learned the staggering scale of fashion’s material problem. After discovering the significant environmental footprint that stems from raw material production, she set out to explore how we can learn from nature to redesign our materials and manufacturing systems. Nature has had 3.8 billion years to perfect material manufacturing in the ultimate circular economy: Life.
Modern Synthesis, was founded in 2019 as a biotech company that is using microbiology, material science, engineering and design to push the boundaries of what responsible materials are capable of. Their London-based team of 22 is now working with major brands like GANNI to perfect their process and grow new possibilities for fashion.
During study at Central Saint Martin’s Material Futures MA program a collaboration with an Imperial College bioengineer resulted in taking a radical organism-driven approach to material design.
By working with a bacteria that naturally produces a fibre called nanocellulose, which provides high quality, unparalleled customisability, and potential for infinite circular life cycles.
The natural growing process of k.rhaeticus bacteria creates a new class of hybrid materials, that can displace polluting textiles and enable us to create in new ways; harnessing the properties of the nanocellulose to design and grow the top of an athletic shoe, which was made by growing bacterial nanocellulose through an intricate scaffold created by one continuous yarn.
Modern Synthesis has received numerous awards, including the Mills Fabrica Techstyle prize and the LVMH Green Trail Award.
Shoe upper: Bacterial nanocellulose and a single yarn of cellulosic thread.
Shoe last: epoxy resin.
Sole unit: polyurethane foam