Mylo Mystery: Why won't the revolutionary "mushroom skin" material see the light of day?

 8 minutes

The project to produce an innovative artificial leather called Mylo ended due to financial difficulties. The noisy start of this project predicted a great future for it, because Mylo offered to be the most effective and sustainable alternative to natural leather. However, the American company Bolt Threads, which develops the Mylo biomaterial, is forced to stop production due to lack of funds.

Mushroom skin has been warmly received in the fashion world, and this is not surprising. Stella McCartney, a well-known eco-activist and fashion designer, chose her to produce accessories for her collection. Adidas also released its most popular shoe, the adidas Stan Smith, using the Mylo material. Even major brands such as Kering and Lululemon supported this idea.

However, the adventure of this sustainable material, which is produced using mycelium, the underground root system of fungi, has come to an end. Bolt Threads CEO Dan Widmayer told Vogue Business that Mylo's problem is not with the market, but with financial difficulties caused by strong inflation pressures. He also acknowledged that investors' attention is currently focused on other projects, mainly related to artificial intelligence.

Bolt Threads was founded in 2009 by Dan Wiedmyer and CTO David Breslauer. Over all these years, investments in the venture capital business have exceeded $300 million. The New York Times named mushroom skin the top fall 2020 trend.

Lululemon, adidas, Kering and Stella McCartney signed major contracts with eco-material manufacturers and expressed their willingness to use Mylo in their collections. Eco-skin made from mushrooms has become the main theme of the fall season this year, according to The New York Times.

Bolt Threads and its innovative material have created a huge interest in the fashion industry. However, as it turned out, the development of technological innovations such as mushroom skin requires significant costs. The world's leading brands have poured multi-million dollar investments into the company, but Bolt Threads has had to admit that they cannot solve this problem alone. An ecological approach to fashion requires a common effort and a restructuring of the entire system.

The fashion industry is a real “time bomb”, full of outdated technologies, the creators of mushroom skin said. A patent for the creation of tissue from mycelium was registered back in the 1950s, but only now has this idea been brought to life. Bolt Threads does not disclose the exact location of its factories, but it is known that the material is grown on European farms that supply exclusive gourmet mushrooms.

The process of growing Mylo takes only 10 days, and the production of eco-leather requires two times less water than the creation of cotton fabric. What's more, mushroom skin naturally rots under certain conditions, avoiding waste.

One of the advantages of this material is its tactility. Unlike synthetic leather, which feels cold and plastic to the touch, Mylo has the pleasant warmth of natural fabrics.

Adidas didn't stop with the mushroom leather adidas Stan Smith. This year they will present a novelty - sneakers made from this material. The search for new environmentally friendly materials is becoming a step towards eliminating the use of plastic. A company that respects itself and its customers strives to have such products in its arsenal.

Based on the root structure of mushrooms, Mylo was partly produced in the Netherlands, where mushrooms are grown specifically for this purpose. In the production of eco-leather from mushrooms, petroleum products are not used, which are used in the creation of synthetic fabrics. In addition, the production of Mylo requires several times less water than cotton. But the most important thing is that when creating this material, no waste is generated, since everything naturally rots.

The material itself is very soft and pleasant to the touch. It has unique tactile properties that make it unlike synthetic leather. This distinguishes Mylo from other materials and makes it attractive for use in the fashion industry.

Despite the demise of the Mylo mushroom leather project, its impact on fashion and environmental awareness will remain significant. The idea of using mycelium to create an environmentally friendly material has attracted wide interest and support from leading brands. Perhaps in the future there will be new projects and technologies that will continue the development of mushroom skin and bring it into fashion again.

Farewell Mylo. Your story may be over, but it will leave its mark on the fashion world, reminding us of the importance of sustainability and the search for innovative materials. We hope to hear again about mushroom skin and its potential in sustainable fashion in the future.

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