Learning from scientists to create a sustainable material from bacteria
Maeve Millwood, ideaXme rising fashion ambassador, interviews Jen Keane, designer and researcher who has just graduated from the Material Futures MA at Central St Martins.
Coming from a sports design background, her work looks at how new digital, material and biological technologies could change our approach to design and making. Her project focus has been on microbial weaving, learning from scientists at Imperial College to create a new kind of sustainable material.
Jen Keane’s Masters Degree course in Material Futures
When Jen decided to leave a career at adidas in pursuit of her Masters, she was acutely aware of the current social and environmental climate.
Pushing the boundaries of how we think
Jen Keane: “We are living in a really interesting point in history, a turbulent one…I wanted to explore what else could be out there. Material Futures is a really interesting course. It pushes the boundaries of the way we think. Not just in the way we think of materials, but also technologies and what possible futures could be”.
Introduction to biologists at Imperial College London
With this in mind and a clear plan to make sustainability the focus of her project (and a drive to steer away from plastics), she was introduced to biologists at Imperial College London.
This is Grown
The product of this introduction and many months of hard work is ‘This is Grown’, a project that reflects Jen’s keen understanding of the material that she has developed.
Learning from an organism
Jen Keane: “I think it’s easy to look at a problem and say. ‘Oh, this should be the solution’. Or, if you’re designing a material, to immediately assume a certain aesthetic. One of my big objectives was to learn from the organism and from the material that it creates naturally to try to just work with the way it works. Even with knitting, or weaving, a lot of interesting things can be learnt if you dig a little deeper and understand how the yarn works or what the manufacturing site looks like”.
Bacteria found in Kombucha tea
Jen’s research has eventually led her to focus on a form of bacteria commonly known for its use in Kombucha tea.
Jen Keane: “So, it’s nothing new, people have been looking at this for ages”.
She then decided to approach the bacteria from a new angle.
Creating a shoe
Jen Keane: “I had the idea for weaving, and it took me a while but eventually it worked, and it created a material that was really interesting and the opportunity to build a craft around weaving with bacteria”.
Jen then decided that the best way to demonstrate the new and exciting properties of her product were via the creation of a shoe.
Weaving in any direction
Jen Keane: “Instead of weaving in one direction or two directions, you can weave in any direction, so you could, in theory, calculate a product’s strength and properties in different areas, a shoe is a great example of that, because I wanted to show a one-piece woven upper, which is very difficult to do with modern machinery.”
Motivation for embarking on her Masters
Though she has created a commercial product to demonstrate microbial weaving’s potential, Jen’s objective has not been to monetise her ideas nor was it her motivation for embarking on her Masters.
Jen Keane: “I really wanted to push it to a point where it wasn’t commercial, at least now, because I think there is still a limit within the industry. I wanted to get out of that box for a bit.”
A sustainable material with a promising future
Jen’s project certainly shows a motivation to think outside of the box and a commitment to research lead design, to quote her website “You cannot break boundaries without really understanding them”. This innovative approach has led to the creation of a sustainable material with an incredibly promising future.
Jen Keane’s patent is pending. This is “the first time that this type of bacteria has been woven”.
Further ideaXme interviews conducted by Maeve Millwood focusing on young designers of sustainable fashion: Alchemy Moves Fashion Forward and Sustainable jewellery designer disrupts the landscape.
Credits: Maeve Millwood interview text, and audio
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ideaXme is a global podcast, creator series and mentor programme. Our mission: Move the human story forward!™ ideaXme Ltd.
ideaXme is a podcast, ambassador and mentor programme. Our mission is to Move the human story forward ™ideaXme Ltd. We inspire and support existing and future creators to produce big ideas.
If you are a fashion design disruptor, either emerging or already transforming the industry in a radical way, Maeve would love to hear from you. Contact her: [email protected].
Follow and find out more:
@_jenkeane_ on Instagram.
Jen Keane’s “This is grown” project. View her work.
Maeve Millwood’s ideaXme YouTube playlist.
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We feature the humans behind the big ideas that shape our world. Read, listen to, or watch our interviews. Our mission is to support and inspire both existing and future creators. Furthermore, to entertain all those who love big ideas and great stories in the process.
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