UWA Micro'be' team arts wine fabrics in cellulose dress

15 Mar '07

3 min read

“The Micro'be' project at the Institute of Agriculture promotes this cross linkage, as it is funded by ArtsWA, with in-kind support from UWA,” Mr Cass said.

“Biotechnology is used in the futuristic dress-making and textile technologies, as we attempt to redefine woven material production. “The product is very delicate, comprising micro-fibrils of cellulose, the material that forms green plants' cell walls. “A non-hazardous, non-pathogenic bacterium, five microns in size, produces this material, which is more like tissue paper than cotton,” he said.

Artist Donna Franklin, whose dress made from living orange bracket fungus is touring museums around the world, said the project challenged conceptions of clothing and explored the implications of fermenting fashion from bacteria.

“This material looks at the evolution of future fashion and how garments can change,” she said. The researchers are using other forms of alcohol, including growing the bacteria on beer, to produce a translucent material.

The dress will potentially be showcased in a Micro'be' exhibition, in Melbourne in August and, hopefully, further research will examine the practicalities and cultural implications of commercialisation.

According to Mr Cass, the ultimate goal was to produce a wearable seamless garment that formed itself without a single stitch.

UWA has a proud 70 year history of teaching and research in agriculture and natural resource management. The Faculty of Agriculture was established at UWA in 1936 and the Institute of Agriculture in 1938 to provide critical research facilities and staff for effective training of professional agricultural graduates and scientists at post-graduate level.

University of Western Australia

More University of Western Australia News... More Information Technology News - Australia...