So as a fashion designer, I've always tended to think of materials something like this, or this, or maybe this. But then I met a biologist, and now I think of materials like this -- green tea, sugar, a few microbes and a little time. I'm essentially using a kombucha recipe, which is a symbiotic mix of bacteria, yeasts and other micro-organisms, which spin cellulose in a fermentation process. Over time, these tiny threads form in the liquid into layers and produce a mat on the surface.
身為時裝設計師 我想的材料總是 像這樣 或這樣 又或許是這樣 但後來我遇見一位生物學家 現在我想的材料是這樣 綠茶 糖 些許微生物跟一點時間 基本上 我是用一種紅茶菌配方 這是一種共生混合物 其中有細菌 酵母和其它微生物 他們會製造纖維素 於發酵過程中 隨著時間的經過 這些細絲 會在液體中形成層次 並在表面產生一塊墊子
So we start by brewing the tea. I brew up to about 30 liters of tea at a time, and then while it's still hot, add a couple of kilos of sugar. We stir this in until it's completely dissolved and then pour it into a growth bath. We need to check that the temperature has cooled to below 30 degrees C. And then we're ready to add the living organism. And along with that, some acetic acid. And once you get this process going, you can actually recycle your previous fermented liquid. We need to maintain an optimum temperature for the growth. And I use a heat mat to sit the bath on and a thermostat to regulate it. And actually, in hot weather, I can just grow it outside. So this is my mini fabric farm.
我們從煮茶開始 我每次要煮30公升的茶 然後在茶還熱時 加入幾公斤糖 我們將糖攪拌到完全溶解 然後將它倒入一個生長池 我們需要確認溫度 已經降到攝氏30度以下 然後我們就可以加入這些活生物 同時加入一些醋酸 一旦你讓這個步驟開始運作 你其實可以回收再利用 你先前發酵的液體 我們需要維持一個生長最佳溫度 於是在生長池下放了發熱墊 並用恆溫器控制溫度 天氣熱時 其實我可以在戶外培養它 這是我的迷你布料農場
After about three days, the bubbles will appear on the surface of the liquid. So this is telling us that the fermentation is in full swing. And the bacteria are feeding on the sugar nutrients in the liquid. So they're spinning these tiny nano fibers of pure cellulose. And they're sticking together, forming layers and giving us a sheet on the surface. After about two to three weeks, we're looking at something which is about an inch in thickness. So the bath on the left is after five days, and on the right, after 10. And this is a static culture. You don't have to do anything to it; you just literally watch it grow. It doesn't need light.
經過大概三天 泡泡會出現在液體表面 這告訴我們它正在全力發酵 細菌正在食用 液體中糖的養分 他們在製造這些細小的奈米纖維 成份是純纖維素 它們會黏在一起 形成層次 並在表面出現一張薄片 經過約二至三個禮拜 我們會看到約一英吋厚的東西 左邊的池子是經過5天的 右邊是經過10天的 這是一個靜態的培養 你不需要為它做任何事 你只要看著它生長 它不需要光線
And when it's ready to harvest, you take it out of the bath and you wash it in cold, soapy water. At this point, it's really heavy. It's over 90 percent water, so we need to let that evaporate. So I spread it out onto a wooden sheet. Again, you can do that outside and just let it dry in the air. And as it's drying, it's compressing, so what you're left with, depending on the recipe, is something that's either like a really light-weight, transparent paper, or something which is much more like a flexible vegetable leather. And then you can either cut that out and sew it conventionally, or you can use the wet material to form it around a three-dimensional shape. And as it evaporates, it will knit itself together, forming seams.
可以採收時 你就把它從池中取出 用冷肥皂水清洗 這時 它是非常重的 超過百分之90是水份 我們需要讓水份蒸發 所以我將它攤開在木片上 同樣地 這你能在戶外做 讓它在空氣中乾燥 在乾燥時 它會緊縮 結果全看你用的配方 結果可能是 非常輕的透明紙張 或是有彈性的植物皮革 接著你可以裁剪它 然後用一般的方法縫紉它 或使用濕材料 繞著一個立體的形狀塑形 當它在蒸發的時候 它自己會接合在一起並形成接縫
So the color in this jacket is coming purely from green tea. I guess it also looks a little bit like human skin, which intrigues me. Since it's organic, I'm really keen to try and minimize the addition of any chemicals. I can make it change color without using dye by a process of iron oxidation. Using fruit and vegetable staining, create organic patterning. And using indigo, make it anti-microbial. And in fact, cotton would take up to 18 dips in indigo to achieve a color this dark. And because of the super-absorbency of this kind of cellulose, it just takes one, and a really short one at that.
這件夾克的顏色完全來自綠茶 我猜它看起來有點像人皮 而這使我覺得有趣 因為它是有機的 我非常想試著將化學添加物減到最少 我不用染料就能改變它的顏色 用的是一道氧化鐵的程序 使用水果和蔬菜著色 來製造出有機圖樣 使用靛藍染料 來使它抗菌 事實上 棉花 要靛藍染料中浸泡到18次 才能有這麼深的顏色 因為這種纖維素的超級吸收力 它只需要浸泡一次 而且時間還很短
What I can't yet do is make it water-resistant. So if I was to walk outside in the rain wearing this dress today, I would immediately start to absorb huge amounts of water. The dress would get really heavy, and eventually the seams would probably fall apart -- leaving me feeling rather naked. Possibly a good performance piece, but definitely not ideal for everyday wear. What I'm looking for is a way to give the material the qualities that I need. So what I want to do is say to a future bug, "Spin me a thread. Align it in this direction. Make it hydrophobic. And while you're at it, just form it around this 3D shape."
我還不能使它抗水 所以 如果我今天要行走在雨中 而且還穿著這件衣服 我會馬上開始吸收 大量的水 這件衣服會變得非常重 最後接縫可能會散開 讓我變得相當赤裸 這衣服可能是不錯的表演服 但絕不適合每天穿 我在尋找 方法來給這材料 我需要的特性 所以我想對未來的細菌說 吐一條絲給我 按這個方向排列 讓它具有疏水性 同時 繞著這個立體的形狀塑形
Bacterial cellulose is actually already being used for wound healing, and possibly in the future for biocompatible blood vessels, possibly even replacement bone tissue. But with synthetic biology, we can actually imagine engineering this bacterium to produce something that gives us the quality, quantity and shape of material that we desire. Obviously, as a designer, that's really exciting because then I start to think, wow, we could actually imagine growing consumable products.
細菌纖維素已被應用在愈合傷口上 或許未來 在具生物相容性的血管上 甚至可能在替代骨頭組織上 但使用合成生物學 我們其實能想象設計細菌 來製造一些 有品質 有份量 而且形狀 是我們想要的東西 身為設計師 這當然非常令人興奮 因為我接著就會開始想 哇 我們其實能想象 生長消費性產品
What excites me about using microbes is their efficiency. So we only grow what we need. There's no waste. And in fact, we could make it from a waste stream -- so for example, a waste sugar stream from a food processing plant. Finally, at the end of use, we could biodegrade it naturally along with your vegetable peelings. What I'm not suggesting is that microbial cellulose is going to be a replacement for cotton, leather or other textile materials. But I do think it could be quite a smart and sustainable addition to our increasingly precious natural resources.
使用微生物最讓我興奮的是 它們的效率 我們只需要生長我們所需的 不會形成浪費 我們其實能利用廢棄物來做這件事 舉例來說 廢棄的糖水 能從食物處理工廠取得 最後用完後 我們能讓它自然生物降解 跟你那些蔬菜皮一樣 我不是在說微生物纖維素 講會取代 棉花 皮革或其它紡織品材料 但我認為它是相當聰明且永續的新材料 對我們日趨珍貴的自然資源來說
Ultimately, maybe it won't even be fashion where we see these microbes have their impact. We could, for example, imagine growing a lamp, a chair, a car or maybe even a house. So I guess what my question to you is: in the future, what would you choose to grow? Thank you very much.
它或許最終不會在時尚界 讓我們看見這些微生物的影響力 我們能夠想象 例如是 生長一座臺燈 一張椅子 一輛車 或甚至一棟房子 所以我想問你們 未來你們會選擇去生長什麼 謝謝大家
(Applause) Bruno Giussani: Suzanne, just a curiosity, what you're wearing is not random. (Suzanne Lee: No.) This is one of the jackets you grew?
(掌聲) 布諾•吉商尼: 蘇珊 讓我很快問個問題 你今天的衣服不是隨便搭的 (蘇珊•李: 沒錯) 這件是你生長的夾克嗎?
SL: Yes, it is. It's probably -- part of the project's still in process because this one is actually biodegrading in front of your eyes. (Laughter) It's absorbing my sweat, and it's feeding on it.
蘇珊•李: 是的 沒錯 這大概是一個進行中的企劃的部分 因為這件 其實正在你們面前進行生物降解 (笑聲) 它正在吸收我的汗 而且正在吃它
BG: Okay, so we'll let you go and save it, and rescue it. Suzanne Lee. (SL: Thank you.)
布諾•吉商尼: 好吧 你快去維護並拯救它 謝謝你 蘇珊•李 (蘇珊•李: 謝謝.)
(Applause)
(掌聲)