Developed from the wine’s fermentation process, by a research team from the University of Western Australia, Micro‘be’ is a cotton-like fabric made by adding a bacteria to red wine that can be used to make anything from seamless dresses to T-shirts and swimwear. The Acetobacter bacteria used ferments wine into vinegar, to create micro fibrils of cellulose (similar to cotton) that is used to fashion the garments, that can confront the viewers’ sensory perceptions; sight, smell and touch. Moulded onto the body, the fabric feels like sludge while it’s wet and forming, but once it’s dry, the fitted material acts like a second skin resulting into a seamless creation that requires no sewing, and is eco-friendly, organic and biodegradable.
Named Micro‘be’, similar variations have now been produced from white wine, beer and even Guinness, and research is being taken forward to make the fabric tougher so that it can get into production like the new milk garments.
