The Frayme Mylo™️, the world’s first luxury handbag made from mycelium
Making fashion history, the Frayme Mylo™️ is the world's first-ever luxury bag crafted from mycelium – the root-like structures of fungi. First launched at the Summer 2022 runway show, a limited, numbered run was created to celebrate its debut and the Frayme Mylo™ is now available to shop online and in-store.
The Frayme Mylo™️ is handcrafted by artisans in Italy we have trained to work with Mylo™️ – an innovative and incredibly realistic vegan alternative to animal leather. The mycelium used in this pioneering material is grown in a lab by our long-term partners, Bolt Threads. The rounded design also features a recyclable aluminium chain and medallion, making the bag immediately recognisable as a Stella icon.
This vegan bag’s innovative material is created with renewable mycelium from fungi and regenerated cellulose fibres, and finished with a water-based polyurethane that improves its durability. Keeping aligned with Bolt Threads and our joint commitment to green chemistry and minimising impacts, Mylo™ is also coloured with Bluesign-certified dyes – ensuring consumer and environmental safety.
We are continuing to move away from fossil-based synthetics within our products and materials. Together, with Bolt Threads, we are on a journey to continually improve the composition of Mylo™.
Why Mylo™️ is the future of fashion
When most of us imagine mushrooms, we picture the bulbous caps that sprout up in gardens or forests. However, under that is mycelium – the naturally abundant and infinitely renewable root-like system of fungi. It is the internet of the natural world; a complex and connected network of lattices, weaving across and holding together the Earth’s surface.
In 2017, Stella McCartney partnered with the visionary scientists and innovators at Bolt Threads. They grow mycelium in a vertical agriculture facility with just air, water and mulch to recreate a process that happens on the forest floor using ingredients found in nature and powered by renewable energy.
Over the course of the last 5,000 iterations or so, they have transformed mycelium into Mylo™️ – a verified vegan alternative to animal leather that is soft, supple and has significantly lower environmental impacts than raising livestock.
Mylo™️ feels more substantial and elevated compared to other animal leather alternatives thanks to the way it is created. The mycelium is harvested as a foamy layer and mimics the microstructure of collagen, giving the final material a warmth and sponginess not possible in synthetic options.
It is additionally treated by highly skilled artisans who add a finish to protect and enhance the luxury of the material. This is done according to Green Chemistry principles, without the use of harmful chemicals like dmfA and chromium.
Bolt Threads has built the process for human healthy and minimal environmental impact, and has chosen to work with supply chain partners globally recognised with certifications. The entire process maintained with the United States and the European Union.
It is also common for leather tanning to be outsourced to developing countries, where people must work in poor conditions and are exposed to harmful and carcinogenic tanning chemicals. In Bangladesh, 90% of tannery workers die before the age of 50.
When it comes to replacing cow leather, there is still ‘shroom for improvement. It is sourced from the animal agriculture complex, which is responsible for 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse emissions and is driving the destruction of vital ecosystems like the Amazon rainforest, as well as our own homes. Climate change means more floods and forest fires for us, and less time on Mother Earth for us all.
While we are still working with Bolt Threads to innovate and elevate Mylo™️’s durability and quality, we believe we’ve gotten to the root of the solution. This is the first chapter in the story of how mycelium is the future of fashion.
