Hermès says mycelium will not replace leather
Parisian luxury goods house Hermès has reworked its Victoria travel bag in H plume canvas, evercalf calfskin and sylvania, a mycelium-derived material created in partnership with California-based biomaterials startup MycoWorks.
Around three years in the making, this reimagining of the Victoria makes it the first finished luxury object to be created using the latter company’s mycelium materials technology.
Produced first of all in a lab, the material is subsequently tanned and finished in France by tanners to “further refine” its strength. Artisans then shape the final article in one of the brand’s workshops.
Hermès told Business of Fashion that the sylvania-derived Victoria would be made available by the end of the year and is intended to provide a complementary offering, alongside leather. Leather will not be replaced, a spokesperson said.
Artistic director of the French luxury house, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, commented: “MycoWorks’ vision and values echo those of Hermès: a strong fascination with natural raw material and its transformation, a quest for excellence, with the aim of ensuring that objects are put to their best use and that their longevity is maximised.
“With sylvania, Hermès is at the heart of what it always has been: innovation in the making.”
Image: Coppi Barbieri.
