Team #GROWAPAIR—comprising Danielle Esposito (left) and Dylon Shepelsky (center), both Textile Development and Marketing majors, and Arianna Wong (right), a Fashion Business Management major—was chosen by a panel of judges from among four FIT teams to represent FIT at the Biodesign Challenge Summit held at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on June 22nd and 23rd.
This innovative team literally “grew” a pair of baby shoes from microbial cellulose, mycelium, and pineapple. The baby shoes created by the team used natural dyes, a Native American brain-tanning process, and a smoking technique to soften the material, increase its flexibility, and add natural flame-retardant properties and water resistance.
The shoes, developed with the goal of “translating a living material into a textile,” were finished with an all-natural coating of beeswax, jojoba oil, and pine resin, and are fully biodegradable.
The Biodesign Challenge, a program of Genspace, is a university competition that encourages college students to envision new ways to harness living systems and biotechnology for future applications.
Team #GROWAPAIR is what the future needs to save our planet.
Congratulations to all!
MB