Lifelong vegetarian and fashion designer Stella McCartney, daughter of the famous Beatle Paul McCartney and his first wife Linda, has always looked to use ethical products in her clothing designs.  She avoids using fur or leather, and innovatively experiments with new fabrics to reduce the impact of her clothing on the planet.  This week her latest fashion accessory, the Stella McCartney Frayme, the world’s first bag made from a vegan mushroom leather substitute called Mylo, debuted on the fashion runway.

Mylo is made from mycelium, the network of fungal threads which grow underground to help plants decompose and support the growth of mushrooms.  It is considered essential to the ecosystem, but it is also infinitely renewable.  It was developed by material development company Bolt Threads, by reproducing mycelium in a lab using mulch, water, air and 100% renewable energy.  The process takes days, rather than the years it takes to produce animal leather.  The resulting material is soft, supple, and has the appearance of animal-derived leather.

“Our long-time partners at Bolt Threads and I have a shared passion for material innovation and launching a luxury handbag made from Mylo mycelium leather is a landmark moment not only for us, but the world. What you see on the runway today is the conscious fashion industry of tomorrow,” said Stella.

This innovation follows her launch of Reclypse sneakers in August, made from ECONYL regenerated nylon, which is sourced from pre- and post-consumer waste like fishing nets and carpet.  In April, she launched a capsule collection of t-shirts and sweatshirts made from organic cotton, in coalition with Greenpeace’s campaign to stop deforestation in the Amazon.  A famous fashion designer like Stella McCartney has a ripple effect on the whole fashion industry.  We look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.