Wine fermented dress: A fabric that grows!
We all know that wine gets better with age. But little did we know that the wine can grow a fabric too! Yes Wine! Australian researchers at the Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia (UWA), have developed a way to make clothing out of wine using Acetobacter (bacteria). It is a microbe that turns wine into vinegar. Called Micro’be’, the ‘fermented fashion’ project; it will not only break the meaning of traditional interactions with body and clothing; but will also examine the feasibilities and cultural implications of commercialization.
The Micro’be’ fermented Wine dress smells like red wine and feels like sludge when wet, but the cotton-like cellulose dress fits snugly as a second skin. The material is very delicate, comprising micro-fibrils of cellulose. You can see what the material looks like close up at the Micro’be’ website.
