A Dress Made From Beer And Bacteria: C'est Chic Or C'est Ick?

A scientist and fashion designer have a simple recipe to create the perfect dress. Get some beer, add some bacteria and let the organisms create cotton-like fibers. Gary Cass and Donna Franklin have developed what they call "fermented fashion" and their beer dress will make its debut in May at Expo Milan 2015.

Cass and Franklin have been working hard to create fashion from bacteria, but stumbled upon the discovery after leaving a vat of wine open. The bacteria involved is known as Acetobacter, commonly found wherever there is fermentation or acetic acid production. As part of the art project Micro'be,' the team, along with Alan Mullett, designed a wine dress based on the bacteria's production of cellulose -- the structural material in the cell walls of green plants. "Fermented garments will not only rupture the meaning of traditional interactions with body and clothing, but also raise questions around the contentious nature of the living materials themselves," the creators explained on the Micro'be' website.

The red wine dress had a very big drawback -- it had to be wet and it definitely smelled liked red wine. After several years and experiments, Cass and Franklin have switched to beer to produce "Nanollose microbial cellulose." They explain the evolution of the fermented fashion: "The Micro‘be’ material, initially fermented from red wine, has now been produced from white wine, beer and Guinness. At an early stage of development it smells like stale 'morning after the night before' and feels like sludge when wet, but the cotton-like cellulose dress fits snugly as a second skin."

Without the smell and the need to keep the dress wet, the beer dress is now ready for the runway. The cellulose material is flexible and can be easily worn. Cass sees the potential of the material beyond fashion; it could be used in the medical industry, he says, since some stem cells will stick to the material. Ultimately, Cass and Franklin hope to use the process to create self-forming clothing with no stitching required.