Graduates of Beijing Fashion Institute designed to “eat” fabrics

Going to the booth of the 2016 Undergraduate Graduation Design Works of the School of Art and Design of Beijing Fashion Institute, a rich tea fragrance is coming. If you think this is a tea show, then it is wrong. In front of these bags of different shapes and well-crafted jewellery, only the same is the same, that is, brown. Careful observation, the cortex of the bag has a distinct texture, and the touch of the hand has a moist feeling, much like a human skin.

Before going to the booth, a strong tea fragrance came to you. If you think this is a tea show, then it is wrong. In front of these bags of different shapes and well-crafted jewellery, only the same is the same, that is, brown. Careful observation, the cortex of the bag has a distinct texture, and the touch of the hand has a moist feeling, much like a human skin.

What kind of materials are these products made of? With questions, the reporter interviewed Feng Shushu, a textile design professional at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. She is the original creator of these products.

The fabric extracted from tea is like skin

These products are from the 2016 Undergraduate Graduation Design Exhibition of the School of Art and Design of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. The theme is “Reincarnation”. In the design exhibition, "Reincarnation" is the most watched and the most talked about.

"Many people say that my product is the only one in the exhibition that I don't understand. I don't know what it is." Feng Yushu said.

Feng Shushu's "Reincarnation" theme is based on the skin texture, supplemented by patterns extracted by religious beliefs, combined with biological materials. When considering the theme, she remembered that when she was a child, she used to drink black tea bacteria in the northeast grandfather and grandmother to raise the stomach. When the black tea was fermented, the surface would condense a layer of skin. After throwing it, it would dry slowly. At that time, she was very curious, but I didn’t know that it was what. At the time of design, this fermented substance once again attracted her interest.

She learned that the layer of skin fermented from black tea has a certain toughness and is a substance called bacterial cellulose. Bacterial cellulose has been known in ancient times. In Qi Min Yao Shu, there is a record of forming a gel-like membrane on the surface of the fermentation broth during the vinegar brewing process. In modern times, bacterial cellulose is widely used in medical materials, food industry, paper industry, etc., but it has not yet been applied to fabrics.

Fermenting into a fabric with tea leaves sounds incredible, not to mention that no one has done this before. After a period of research, Feng Yishu still felt that it was not impossible to make a fabric, although she did not know how to make the fermented material into a fabric.

The fabric cultivation process is bound to be full of hardships, and other people's fabrics are woven, and her fabric needs to be fermented. She said with emotion: "The time for cultivating fabrics is quite slow. It takes a month to get all the materials down. My materials are really hard to come by."

In addition, there are various problems in the cultivation process. If the ratio and time are not accurate, it will lead to failure. Temperature is also the key to success. The complexity of the production process once made Feng Xiaoshu's graduation design raw materials not available. In her words: "This process is spent on solving various problems."

It is not enough to cultivate a fabric. It is not enough. What else is needed? What is it? Feng Shushu said that this is a formula that cannot be disclosed, but mainly extracted from tea. She explained: "The tea used to extract the fabric is not limited to one kind, the type of tea is different, and the effect is not the same; the tea of ​​different seasons is of different quality , and the tea can also be mixed and used. There are still a lot of attention."

Extracted from nature, and finally degraded to nature, return to nature, which is the original intention of Feng Yushu when designing products.

“This fabric is purely natural and harmless, and it is good for the human body. I am not saying that it will replace cotton, hemp, silk or other textiles, but I hope that when people are cruelly deprived of animal skin to satisfy vanity, there should be someone or a team. Exploring in this area, it will have unlimited possibilities, and it will have its own value."

Feng Yushu described this fabric as feeling like skin. It has the texture of the skin, the humidity of the skin, and the feeling of the skin. It can also be called “plant skin”, and it is like a fruit peel because it can be eaten.

Now this fabric is being patented, Feng Xiaoshu has not given her a name, just called it "bacterial cellulose fabric." "This material has deviated from the current domestic fiber range and has already crossed cotton, hemp and silk. It is a new fiber." Feng Yushu said.

In addition, due to the complexity of cultivation, the current production of fabrics is not very high and cannot be mass-produced, but she believes that the future use of this fabric will have unlimited possibilities.

Product novelty to multiple fields of radiation

In the graduation design exhibition, the bacterial cellulose fabric cultivated by Feng Yushu was presented in the form of various styles of bags and jewelry, and the product was designed by herself. In Feng Xishu's view, if you only cultivate the fabric, but don't know what it gives the product, it doesn't make much sense. Only when the finished product is made is it more convincing, showing its practicality, and proves that it is not a high and a low.

Feng Shushu puts the product design very fashionable. She believes that “the fabric itself is very retro. It is more acceptable to be combined with fashion. Now my product gives the impression that it is retro and fashionable. The color is natural and completely the color of tea. The feeling is leather, but it has a natural texture, which is the feeling that the leather can't express. This series of products is designed to better display the characteristics of this fabric."

This graduation design exhibition has also attracted the attention of many media. Feng Xiaoshu's products are very popular, and all the partners are coming. The first thing that bears the brunt is the tea industry. “After the graduation design exhibition, people in the tea industry want to cooperate with me to make 'tea space', which is to produce some tea derivatives, such as tea bags, under the tea-themed environment. My fabric itself has tea fragrance, and The environment of the tea space is very suitable." Feng Yushu said.

In addition, there are also partners in jewelry, film and apparel special effects to find her cooperation. But in the future, Feng Yushu still wants to focus on producing goods. "Although fabrics are also made up of clothing, they will not be used as the mainstay. The main products are products. Starting from the luggage, my product is now an industry. With the prototype, I hope someone will work with me to continue to develop new products ."

Recalling the birth of the first bag, Feng Xiaoshu said that the impression was still fresh in the past. "There are various concerns before the fabric is finished. I am worried that the fabric can be tailored because it involves stress. Make I cried when I first wrapped the bag. The first product was very important to me because it proved that this new material can be used in life."

When talking about the process from fabric to product, Feng Yushu told reporters that the fabrics currently displayed in the product are not the most original look of the fabric. The raw material is a very natural texture state, relatively flat, there is a bag is completely made of raw materials, this time did not show, the bags are now on display on the basis of pure natural materials, screen printing on thick plates, and using folding Fabric re-engineering by various methods such as cutting, showing strong skin texture.

When the reporter asked about the next product promotion, Feng Shushu said: The promotion has not yet been thought of, and there are still some problems in the current product, and further research, such as maintenance issues. Because the bag made of this fabric has a more obvious response to environmental changes, just like human skin, the skin is moist when the humidity is high, and the skin is dry when the environment is dry. This fabric will also be like this. However, it does not affect the quality of the product. It only needs a special care. At present, the suitable humidity is between 40 and 60 degrees, so some places need to be improved.

Speaking of the prospects of the product, Feng Yushu said: "The characteristics of the product and the complexity of the production process may determine that the product should take the high-end route. The price of a package should be several thousand yuan or more, but the application prospect as a fabric is very broad. Because it comes from nature and returns to nature, it will not waste resources and conform to the undeveloped development path. It may be used in various fields."