In London, clothing brand Vollebak has partnered with Japan’s Spiber, a company using molecular engineering to create biomaterial similar to spider silk, to create a 2024 line that includes a sweater, beanie and scarf. The process begins with yeast, which is cultivated to produce a unique biofabric that mimics the properties of wool.
Once the biofabric is developed, robotic technology takes over and knits, ensuring precision and efficiency. According to urbandaddy.com, the material feels like something “between cashmere, wool and silk — three of the softest, highest-performance natural fibers on Earth.”
For this collection, the bioenginered material was blended with Merino wool, but Vollebak hopes in time to exclusively use the new fiber. Each piece of the collection is also reversible, so consumers are almost getting two beanies or sweaters in one.