British fashion designer, Stella McCartney who is known primarily for her fur-free and leather-free apparel has introduced the first-ever garments made with Mylo, a fungi-based fabric.

Mylo is a vegan, sustainable, animal-free leather alternative, made from the infinitely renewable mycelium, which appears like clusters of fine thread above, and below ground, developed by California-based materials company  Bolt Threads.

Using the Bolt Threads’ trademarked Mylo fabric, McCartney has created 2 pieces of clothing which are a black bustier top and utilitarian trousers. Both the garments were handmade from panels of mycelium-based material laid on recycled nylon scuba fabric at McCartney’s atelier in London.

McCartney’s signature dichotomy of feminine and masculine attitudes is showcased in these sporty styles and is in step with McCartney’s spring and fall 2021 collections. McCartney becomes the first luxury house to unveil garments crafted with Mylo. Although the pieces won’t be for sale, McCartney said she plans to integrate the leathery fabric into future collections.

McCartney said that her Stella community will never have to compromise luxury desirability for sustainability, and it's possible with the help of Mylo. These pieces show the commonly shared commitment between McCartney and Bolt Threads to innovate a kinder fashion industry which is to see the birth of beautiful, luxurious materials as opposed to the deaths of fellow creatures and the planet.

The founder and chief executive of Bolt Threads, Dan Widmaier said that a major technological challenge and a massive opportunity for people and the planet is the creation of new, high-quality biomaterials. Talking about their long-term partnership and support in bringing Mylo to the world, he felt incredibly grateful and humbled by Stella.

The material used in these 2 clothing pieces represents a huge step forward in both aesthetics and performance of biomaterials along with marking the beginning of the rollout of product-ready Mylo. Moving towards large-scale production is a tangible process where Mylo can make a remarkable positive impact on our planet.

The announcement for the introduction of Mylo fabric was made by Bolt Threads in October 2020. The looks and feels of Mylo fabric are similar to that of leather. As a part of an exclusive consortium of brands, Bolt Threads will also collaborate with Adidas, Kering, and Lululemon.

The production problem of Mylo fabric is completely cruelty-free and has been designed to reduce environmental impacts. Mylo is a certified bio-based, soft, substantial material which means that it is made predominantly from renewable ingredients found in nature today.

To produce 1 kilogram of real leather, around 17,000 liters of water is required along with animal agriculture which accounts for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions and drives the destruction of essential ecosystems. Unlike synthetic leathers, Mylo is not petroleum-based which means that there is no dependency on fossil fuels.

McCartney first started to work with Bolt Threads in 2017 and since then is a part of Mylo’s journey. The first-ever product ever created from Mylo fabric was a prototype of the brand’s signature Falabella bag which was launched as a part of the V&A’s ‘Fashioned from Nature’ exhibition in 2018.