French luxury goods group LVMH has announced a new strategic research initiative that will focus on the development of new prototype bio-textiles, including lab-grown fur fibers, that can be used in luxury fashion items. To this end, for the first time, keratin will be the focus to develop a fiber capable of imitating a range of luxury materials.
The two-year partnership between LVMH, including Fendi, brings together the expertise of Tom Ellis, Professor of Synthetic Genome Engineering at Imperial College London’s Department of Bioengineering, and Carole Collet, Professor of Sustainable Future Design at Central Saint Martins College in London. They commit to expanding research in the field of regenerative luxury to develop new functional biomaterials for the luxury sector.
Design meets biotechnology
“Learning from nature and working at the interface between design and biotechnology research is key to exploring such pioneering innovations. I am therefore delighted to be working with our Maison/0 partner LVMH, as well as with Fendi and Professor Tom Ellis from Imperial College London, to prototype an alternative lab-grown fur fiber for the luxury sector,” comments Collet, who also owns who is the director of Maison/0, the creative platform for regenerative luxury by Central Saint Martins and LVMH.
“Over the past decade, our understanding of biological materials and how nature produces them has improved dramatically. Now is the perfect time to start the idea of designing fibers for fashion that are sustainably made from microbes. It is exciting to begin this new collaboration with leading luxury company LVMH and globally recognized fashion brand Fendi, as well as with a world-leading expert in biodesign, Professor Carole Collet at Central Saint Martins,” adds Tom Ellis, Professor of Synthetic Genome Engineering at the Department of Bioengineering from Imperial College London.
The research collaboration is part of LVMH’s Life 360 environmental strategy and includes the Maison/0 program established in 2017 between Central Saint Martins and LVMH. Under the keyword “sustainable luxury”, new materials are to be found and new regenerative practices and new technologies tried out.
“Since its founding in 1925, Fendi has been at the forefront of experimentation, pioneering the crafting of traditional and innovative materials and offering its customers the best sources of supply for their personal choices. Today, we are actively and continuously engaged in the research and development of new resources that offer even more sustainable options, and we are proud to take this new step alongside these world-renowned institutions and LVMH,” says Fendi Chairman and CEO Serge Brunschwig.