Taylor Swift’s favorite designer and BFF Stella McCartney just released an incredible new leather alternative made of mushrooms.
Stella McCartney has always been dedicated to sustainability but this new material, which she dubs “Mylo”, takes it to a whole new level.
Mylo is made from mycelium, not the actual mushroom itself. Rather, mycelium is the fine white filaments, aka the vegetative part of the mushroom. While Stella has dabbled in making bags with the material, this is the first time she’s ever attempted to make something as big as a garment — something previously thought to be impossible.
The result is a beautiful pair of utility pants and a bustier.
According to Stella, she was determined to make something equally as beautiful leather so that fashionistas wouldn’t miss the real thing. She told Vogue,
“I always say that I don’t want anyone to know our products aren’t made of leather, and it’s so important to me that they stand shoulder to shoulder with the real thing.”
She later added,
“This is the future of fashion. If we can get this right, then we can really make a huge impact on the planet.”
Sustainability has always been a huge issue for the fashion world. According to a study published in Nature, the global fashion industry produces 92 million tonnes of waste every year. That includes the clothing that ends up in the landfill, the water waste used in the production process, and more.
In response to the growing concerns over climate change by millennials and Gen Z, it’s become trendy to label clothing as “sustainable”. But most brands don’t actually live up to that label. Brands such as Everlane are notorious for greenwashing, for example. (Related: 6 So-Called ‘Sustainable’ Fashion Brands That Are Total Frauds)
But Stella McCartney has always been committed to true sustainability. The company has policies in place to reduce waste across the production process and uses organic cotton and recycled polyester (you can read about their sustainability goals here).
Stella McCartney’s new Mylo garments aren’t available for purchase on the website quite yet. But in the meantime, you can shop their other vegan leather products, which are made from a combination of polyester and recycled polyester, and coated in 50% vegetable oil.
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Lena Finkel is the Editor and Founder of Femestella. Prior to starting Femestella, she worked at People, InStyle, and Tiger Beat. Her favorite Housewife is Bethenny Frankel and when she’s not watching RHONY, you can probably find her obsessing over her tuxedo cat Tom or hoarding drugstore lipsticks.
