Bio-Couture - growing bacterial-cellulose for use in clothing

Bio-Couture是一个创新的项目，旨在种植一种时尚材料。它将时装/纺织品设计与生物/纳米技术结合起来。这项研究将使用无害的细菌来生产、纺纱并同时将纯纤维素纤维塑造成一种材料。一系列的设计和科学测试将确定这种材料在多大程度上处理、窗帘、印花、染料、缝纫等，以及当它穿在身上时表现如何。将制作一个延时胶片来展示生长过程，并将用培养出的细菌纤维素制作一个包含6件衣服的时装样本，以探索这种材料的质量和对服装的适用性。完成的服装和电影将向公众展出。当代时装纺织品创新的一个关键驱动力是需要找到新的可持续纤维和生产技术，以促进可生物降解的服装，并结束生产、处理和再利用的循环。生物/纳米技术也处于新纺织品开发的前沿，寻求通过性能整理为客户提供附加值。今天的许多纺织品是由植物性形式的纤维素制成的，如棉花、大麻、木材或人造衍生品。然而，细菌或微生物纤维素是细菌以糖溶液为食时产生的，它是完全可持续和可生物降解的。细菌纤维素在商业上被简化，用于各种用途和工业；在印度尼西亚，他们用椰子水给它调味，当甜食吃；而在日本，索尼压缩它，形成一种超级敏感的高保真扬声器薄膜。Bio-Couture是一项推测性的、以设计为导向的研究，旨在确定细菌纤维素是否对服装有价值。在整个项目期间，设计师、科学家和辅助研究助理之间的合作将通过不断进行的科学和创造性实验来测试材料的质量。虽然对这种材料已经有了很多了解，但这项研究将产生新的知识，在新的背景下探索细菌纤维素：时尚/纺织品。Bio-Couture试图发现材料质量在哪些方面决定了它在时装设计中的应用--它在多大程度上限制或暗示了特定的设计特征？它最适合哪种类型的衣服--精致的？外衣？Bio-Couture是一个适时的项目，适合更广泛的研究领域，目前正在探索生物技术技术，以制造用于艺术和设计的活材料。然而，与其他当代研究不同的是，Bio-Couture完全是植物，因此不受同样的伦理问题的影响。以时尚为载体，技术和科学合作的创造潜力在艺术设计背景下展示出来。预计该项目的创新性质将涉及艺术、时尚、纺织、材料科学、生物和纳米技术等多个领域。研究成果将在Avantex 2007两年一度的国际纺织会议上与学术界和工业界分享。这项研究的最终结果将是将培育出的服装与一部延时胶片一起展出，该胶片展示了细菌如何纺制这种“布”。这将在能够接触到最广泛受众的场所进行展示，首先是在伦敦时装周期间，这一活动得到了媒体的广泛互动报道，其次是交流艺术和科学方面的文化场所。伦敦当代艺术研究所已经确认，他们希望在2007年举办这次展览，同时还有一个公共演讲项目，伦敦的科学博物馆也表达了目前正在寻求的兴趣。

Bio-Couture is an innovative project to grow a material for fashion. It unites fashion/textile design with bio/nanotechnologies. The research will use harmless bacteria to produce, spin and simultaneously shape pure cellulose fibres into a material. A series of design and scientific tests will establish to what extent the material handles, drapes, prints, dyes, sews etc. and how it performs when worn on the body. A time-lapse film will be created to show the growth process and a sample fashion collection of 6 garments will be created from the grown bacterial-cellulose to explore the material's qualities and suitability for clothing. The finished garments and film will be exhibited to the public. A key driver of contemporary textile innovation for fashion is the need to find new sustainable fibres and production techniques that contribute towards biodegradable garments and close the cycle of production, disposal and reuse. Bio/nanotechnologies are also at the forefront of new textile developments that seek to offer the customer added value through performance finishes. Many of today's textiles are made from plant-based forms of cellulose such as cotton, hemp, wood or manmade derivatives. Bacterial or microbial-cellulose however, is produced when bacteria feed on a sugar solution - it is entirely sustainable and biodegradable. Bacterial-cellulose is commercially reduced for a variety of uses and industries; in Indonesia they flavour it with coconut water and eat as a sweet, while in Japan Sony compress it to form a super-sensitive hi-fi speaker membrane. Bio-Couture is a speculative, design-led investigation to determine whether bacterial-cellulose might be of value to apparel. Over the project's duration collaboration between designer, scientist and supporting research assistant will test the material qualities through on going scientific and creative experiments. While much is understood about the material already, this research will produce new knowledge that explores bacterial-cellulose in a new context: fashion/textiles. Bio-Couture seeks to discover in what ways the material qualities dictate its application to fashion design - to what extent does it limit or suggest specific design features? For what type of garment is it best suited -delicates? outerwear? Bio-Couture is a timely project that fits into a wider field of research that is currently exploring biotechnology techniques to manufacture living materials for art and design. Unlike other contemporary research however, which is culturing human tissue for consumer products, Bio-Couture is entirely vegetable and therefore not subject to the same ethical concerns. Using fashion as a vehicle, the creative potential of technological and scientific collaboration is revealed in an artistic design context. It is anticipated that the innovative nature of the project will engage with fields as diverse as art, fashion, textiles, materials science, bio and nanotechnology. The research findings will be shared with academia/industry at the biennial international Textile conference; Avantex 2007. The research will culminate with the grown garments being exhibited along with a time-lapse film illustrating bacteria literally spinning the 'cloth'. This would be shown in venues that reach the widest possible audiences, firstly during London Fashion Week, an event that receives wide interactional media coverage and secondly, cultural venues that communicate aspects of art and science. The Institute of Contemporary Art in London have confirmed that they want to host the exhibition in 2007 along with a public talks programme and the Science Museum in London have also expressed an interest which is currently being pursued.