Design studio OXMAN has made four silk capes whose colour is produced by bacteria growing directly on the fabric. In its experimental Vigils project, the knitting helps guide where that colour appears. OXMAN (source, opens in new tab)OXMANVIGILSOpen source (opens in new tab) WWD (source, opens in new tab)
WWDOxman Grows Color on Silk with Engineered BacteriaOpen source (opens in new tab)
The studio uses E. coli bacteria genetically altered to make pigments. They grow on the silk for about 24 hours, after which the capes are washed and dried. According to fashion industry publication WWD, this removes the bacteria while leaving the colour behind: the finished cape retains their pigment, not a living bacterial culture.
To influence the pattern, OXMAN uses computer-controlled 3D knitting to position specially treated fibres within the silk textile. These fibres carry chemical signals, called inducers, that can switch on a response in the bacteria. Their placement helps guide where pigment develops as the bacteria grow. Designers can therefore work on the fabric’s structure and its colour pattern together.
For everyday clothing, a central question is whether those patterns will last. WWD reports that durability is still being evaluated, with only preliminary washing and drying checks described. Production at commercial scale is also unproven. Without measurements of the process’s total resource use or a project-specific assessment of environmental impact, there is no demonstrated environmental advantage over conventional dyeing.
