Micro'be' fermented fashion: a fabric that grows... A garment that forms itself without a single stitch!

By: Donna Franklin & GaryCass

Abstract

Imagine a fabric that grows ... a garment that forms itself without a singlestitch!

The fashion that starts with a bottle of wine ...

The Micro 'be' project investigates the practical andcultural biosynthesis of microbiology - to explore forms of futuristic dress-making and textiletechnologies. Instead of lifeless weaving machines producing the textile,living microbes will ferment a garment. It smells like red wine andfeels like sludge when wet, but the cotton-like cellulose dress fits snugly asa second skin. The material is very delicate, comprising micro-fibrils of cellulose.The colouration of the fabric will depend on the wine used, red wine - redfabric, white wine or beer - a translucent material. A fermentedgarment will not only rupture the meaning of traditional interactions with bodyand clothing; but will also examine the practicalities and culturalimplications of commercialisation. This project redefines the production ofwoven materials. By combining art and science knowledge and with a littleinventiveness, the ultimate goal will be to produce a bacterialfermented seamless garment that forms without a single stitch.

"Microbes à la mode"

Imagine a fabric that grows ... a garment that forms itselfwithout a single stitch! The Micro 'be' project is attempting to do just this.The project aims to develop innovative research into the production of uniquefermented garments grown from a novel method of using bacteria that createscellulose. The Micro 'be' team will investigate the practical and culturalbiosynthesis of microbiology - to explore forms of futuristic dress-making andtextile technologies.

Instead of lifeless weaving machines producing the textile,living microbes will ferment a garment. A fermented garment will not onlyrupture the meaning of traditional interactions with body and clothing; butwill also examine the practicalities and cultural implications ofcommercialisation. This project redefines the production of woven materials.

The project expands upon the concepts and practicalapplications explored in previous work undertaken by all participants,including Donna Franklin's 'Fibre Reactive' a living garment (Fig. 1) and GaryCass & Alan Mullett's 'Bioalloy: Designing a Cyborg's Evolutionary Future'(Fig. 2). In contrast to the 'Fibre Reactive' living material, Microbefermented wear will be produced by biological fermentation. This consists of acolony of bacteria (Acetobacter) that ferment wine into vinegar. This activity'sby-product is the synthesis of large quantity micro fibrils of cellulose(synonymous to plant based cotton). It is this process that will be used tofashion the garments. Hence this Micro'be' textile differs in discourseconceptually/ visually and biologically as it utilises bacterial waste ratherthan living fungal cells.

Franklin a contemporary textile artist and Cass a scientifictechnician combined their forms of knowledge and with a little inventiveness; anew system will result in the bacteria's fermentation of a garment. "Nowthat's Aussie ingenuity, turning a wine glut into a fashion statement."(The Australian Newspaper, 2007). This new collaborative project Micro 'be'fermented wear, allows the biological clothes to be worn on the body withoutissues of fragility or outside contamination. This collaboration was also madepossible by the unique environment of SymbioticA: The Art and ScienceCollaborative Research Laboratory at the University of Western Australia.SymbioticA is in an exceptional position to link university faculties byintegrating science and the arts.

New technologies are rapidly shaping our understanding of reality, identity and environment. It is therefore important for the arts to evaluate these potential futures, as they will inevitably impact upon sociological and cultural awareness. As reiterated by Catts & Zuh 2004, "Modern biology as part its art making and as its main subject of concern, is undeniably art of this time, dealing with the topical issues of the day while raising profound and timeless questions about life". It emphasises the "impact scientific discourses on social relations, and the social forms that technology takes" (Fantone & Catts, 2002).

Our relationship to technology can be described as "the 'post human' condition," Where the products sue as make-up and surgery, drugs, mobile telephones (Farren & Hutchison, 2004) have become so integrated with our everyday lives that they become "technological extensions of our biological bodies" (ibid). We are so comfortable and familiar with these technologies that they have "become normalised" (ibid). The development of biotechnologies takes technological integration beyond the mere mechanical to a real visceral level. With these new biological textile techniques, the Micro 'be' project will prepare the garments to be documented and taken out of the laboratory and into the public sphere.

This will then act as a catalyst for debate and an invitation to engage/be confronted with the biotechnologically fermented clothes and the cultural issues this raises.

Clothing embodies the sociological constructs of cultural identity. These may include gender, race, sexuality and class. As discussed in Shilling 1993, "socio-biology, consider the body as a pre-social, biological basis on which superstructures of the self and society are founded". A garment therefore is a tool of silent communication. Clothing is used both to reinforce and break conventions (O'Mahony, 2002).

Following the theory of the "garment as an information medium, that extends the function of the skin (McLuhan, 1964) - the Micro 'be' garment will not only rupture the meaning of traditional interactions with body and clothing; but also raise questions around the contentious nature of bacterial biotech processes themselves. This would be what Virilio, 2004 terms presentative art "to outdo mere representation by offering the very presence of the event".

The Micro 'be' material at this early stage of development smells like red wine and feels like sludge when wet, but the cotton-like cellulose dress fits snugly as a second skin. It is very delicate, comprising micro-fibrils of cellulose. The unique bacterial fermented dress, made from wine, could mark the start of fabrics fermented by living microbes entering the $330 million per annum Australian textile manufacturing industry. Inspiration for the cellulose garments came when Cass noticed a skin-like layer covering a vat of wine that had been contaminated with bacteria and gone 'off'.

The bacteria that caused the spoilage were a colony of Acetobacter, transforming the wine into vinegar. The by-product of this activity is the formation of cellulose, a slimy, rubbery, soft, skin like substance. This substance termed the 'vinegar mother' originates from the ancient European; a few millenniums ago they believed that it was the skin of mother that 'gives birth' to the vinegar once it was placed in the wine. Non-hazardous and non-pathogenic bacteria, Acetobacter are rod shaped bacteria, 1-4m in size. They are aerobic (requiring oxygen) and can be found to be motile or non-motile.

Acetobacter are distinguished by their ability to convert ethanol (wine) to acetic acid (vinegar). Another feature of Acetobacter is the synthesis of large quantities of micro fibrils of pure cellulose. An explanation for the synthesis of this cellulose is to keep the bacteria close to the surface. Deacon, 1996 terms the material a biofilm; a type of cellulitic raft that floats the bacteria close to the surface of the liquid where the most oxygen is found. From an ecological view point, the Acetobacter has evolved to deal with the high alcohol and acidic environments of decaying plant material left behind by yeasts and other micro flora (VanDemark & Batzing, 1987).

The initial garments fashioned and images of the fabric in the 'Spirit Awassi' collection ran with the narrative of the evolution of a new garment (Fig 3). The garments were given a prehistoric theme to emphasise their organic origin and an appearance representing the fundamental elements of life, earth, fire, water and wind (Fig 4).

The organic Micro 'be' fabric is biodegradable benefiting the textile community and environment by developing new ways to approach textile manufacturing. These organic textiles produce their own colour and structure, providing an eco-friendly "conceptual" alternative to cloth manufacturing - drawing attention to environmental conservation.

The fashion industry is always looking for something new and novel and has to deal with a labour intensive process which has been abused in the past with issues such as child labour. With growing use of synthetic materials and genetically modified products in an increasingly environmentally conscious world, the Micro 'be' project's material is the ultimate in environmentally friendly textiles. As the material produced by the action of a bacterial culture on the alcohol is cellulose, it is naturally degradable in the environment.

The Micro 'be' material has the future potential to compete against other textiles by offering a low production cost material for fashion that is adaptable and has the potential to replace synthetic materials in manufacture. Due to the rising global oil price, the cost of synthetic materials is becoming increasingly expensive. This product will allow for a greater choice of organic/low impact materials for the fashion industry.

As the fabric is naturally grown it minimises the use of machinery it offers a 'green' alternative to traditional carbon producing textiles manufacture. This may appeal to an increasingly 'green' oriented consumer market.

The colouration of the fabric can be varied based on the alcohol used in manufacture. For example, red wine gives red fabric and white wine or beer creates a translucent, see through material (Fig 5).

The most important advantage over conventional textiles that the Micro'be' material has is the potential for manufacturers to save on the high labour costs of patterning, cutting and stitching the final garment. As such, it has the potential to reinvigorate the Australian textile manufacturing industry and effectively compete against low-labour cost countries who currently dominate the global textile industry. This project also develops Australia's reputation for innovation in environmental and bio-degradable technologies.

One major problem with the Micro 'be' fermented fabric is that it lacks flexibility, which in turn reduces wearability. We aim to rectify this issue soon, producing a garment that will be suitable for commercial use. Several chemical trials have achieved some success, giving an optimistic future for solving the flexibility drawback. Also the material has a distinctive smell, smelling like a hangover or a kind of morning-after-the-night-before smell; a kind of stale alcohol aroma. It is strongly believed that this later problem will be resolved with the chemical treatments used to fix the flexibility issue.

Once the initial teething problems of the material are overcome, this material will be a cost effective, low environmental impact, labour friendly and biodegradable textile donned by the world as a fermented garment. An important objective of the textile and sports industry is the production of seamless wear. One of the future aims of the Micro 'be' project is to produce seamless garments. By using the bacteria to form the garment, we can replace weaving machinery that presently is not capable of producing 3-D seamless wear. Small scale tests with the Micro 'be' project have successfully produced a seamless item of clothing. This too, needs further research to perfect the technique and scaling up in size.

The ultimate goal of the Micro 'be' project will be to create a seamless, biosynthetic garment that forms without a single stitch.

References:

1. Catls, O. & Zurr, I. (2004) The Art of the Semi-Living and Partial Life: Extra Ear% Scale.

2. Deacon, J. (1996). New Scientist, 31 August, p32.

3. Fantone, L. & Catls, O. [ed.] (2002). Cute Robots. Ugly Human Parts. (A post-human aesthetics of care). BEAP02 Symposium. The Aesthetics of Care? (Second Edition). Australia: SymbioticA Press.

4. Farren, A. & Hutchinson, A. (2004). Cyborgs, New Technology and the Body:
   
   
5. The Changing Nature of Garment. Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture. May 17, 2004 (personal communication).

6. McLuhan, M. (1964).Understanding Media. McGraw-Hili: New York.

7. O'Mahony, M. (2002). Cyborg the manmachine. Thames & Hudson: London, Hong Kong.

8. Shilling, C. (1993). The Body and Social Theory, Sage, London.

9. The Australian Newspaper (2007). Good drop gets all dressed up. 19th March 2007, page 9.

10. Virilio, P. (2004). Art and Fear. Continuum: London, New York.

11. VanDemark, P. J. & Batzing, B. L. (1987) The Microbes. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company Inc.

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