Fashion is fleeting: Student designs dress that biodegrades in a day

In London, a fashion graduate has designed a shape-shifting, biodegradable dress using algae extract and waste from the silk industry.

Scarlett Yang, who recently graduated from Central Saint Martins, used molds and renewable materials to make the dress, which has a glass-like appearance. To avoid the massive amounts of waste usually normally generated by clothing production, Yang  used a mold, 3D printing, and laser-cutting. Algae, water, and dye was left in the mold to dry and solidify. Silk cocoon protein—seen as a waste product by the silk industry—was then used to shape the garment. Because the protein reacts to environmental conditions, the dress’s shape changes based on weather conditions—when it is dry, the garment is stiff; when it is humid, it has more twists and creases. The garment also biodegrades in 24 hours in water.

“My garments display the beauty of natural life forms, aiming to challenge audiences’ perception of the concept of material life cycles,” Yang tells dezeen. “Consumer products made with this biomaterial have the ability to degrade after the intended time of use, or alternatively it can change in size, shape and texture.”