Spora Spins Mushrooms Into Luxury Accessories, Tableware and Fine Art
LONDON — Spora, a biotech platform that transforms wild fungal DNA into sustainable material for use in luxury goods, art and interiors, has launched its first accessories collection.
Spora describes itself as an end-to-end innovator, hunting for different fungal strains in biodiverse regions such as Patagonia and the Amazon. It cultivates them in huge beds, processes them using proprietary bio- and nanotechnology, and uses the mycelium fabrics for luxury goods.
Spora, which is based in Santiago, Chile, has stored more than 130 recorded species of mushroom, which it preserves through cryopreservation and genomic archiving. It makes the fabrics at a factory in Spain. Related Articles Designer and Luxury Soho-based Label SRVC Pivots, Courts Free-spirited, London-centric Women Jewelry Mejuri Introduces New Steel Collection
The materials look and perform differently depending on the fungal strain used. Some resemble leather, while others look more like wool, or wood. Spora’s new Wild Collection offers materials in different colors with matte or gloss finishes. You May Also Like
“Our work begins in the wild,” said Hernàn Rebolledo and José Figuera, cofounders of the company. “We look to ecosystems that have preserved evolutionary knowledge within DNA over millennia, and we translate that intelligence into material form.”
Kim Winser, the clothing entrepreneur, former chief executive officer of Pringle and special board adviser to Spora, believes the materials will be a boon for the luxury sector, and said that because the fungal strains are so different, the end materials have “totally unique variations.”
The new accessories collection includes key rings, luggage tags, passport covers, card holders, coasters, placemats, notebook and diary covers, zip pouches, bookmarks, napkin holders, desk accessories and a structured briefcase.
Alongside the new accessories, Spora has also created bespoke artworks and murals using its signature materials.
The company also plans to develop health and wellness products using the fungal DNA. It wants the strains to be available for future research and innovation with partners, including The Natural History Museum in London .
At London Design Week last year, Spora unveiled the Exquisite Mycelium Wild Collection at Linley, the luxury design and furniture brand. It showed off mycelium-based murals and artworks for luxury interiors.
The textiles and artworks on show were in natural mycelium shades which Spora called Wild Ashes, Wild Embers and Wild Moss.
Spora is also working with Harrods, and The Peninsula Hotels, and said it plans to expand across luxury retail, hospitality and cultural institutions.
Harrods is launching the new collection with table settings while The Peninsula is using the Spora desk accessories for its luxury suites. Spora also sells products through its website, with prices ranging from 69 pounds for a key ring to 1,050 pounds for a briefcase. Art costs around 2,000 to 2,500 pounds.
The cofounders created the Spora Foundation in order to build a “conservation legacy” with the aim of positively impacting ecosystems, biodiversity and local communities. Projects include supporting local education projects in the villages where the wild mushrooms are found.
Mycelium, the web-like roots of fungi, has been gaining momentum, with more companies using it to create environmentally friendly products in the luxury space.
In 2021, Stella McCartney used Bolt Threads’ trademarked Mylo fabric for two pieces of clothing. She put handmade panels of mycelium-based material on recycled nylon scuba fabric.
A year later, McCartney launched the Frayme Mylo bag , which is made entirely from mycelium. The handbag, which McCartney made in collaboration with the California-based Bolt , was priced at 1,995 pounds.
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