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A new dress all starts with a bottle of wine

Scientists from the University of Western Australia have found a new use for red wine: clothing.

We love to drink it, and put it in food to eat it, but this is the first time the alcoholic beverage has been used to create clothes.

The team added a bacteria to the wine to create a material similar to cotton, and have collaborated with artist Donna Franklin to design a range of dresses, t-shirts and swimwear.

Lead researcher Gary Cass said they are now working on improving the fabric tear strength.

“'This project redefines the production of woven materials,” he said.

“By combining art and science knowledge and with a little inventiveness, the ultimate goal will be to produce a bacterial fermented seamless garment that forms without a single stitch.”

The fabric is created by adding the acetobacter bacteria to vats of red wine to convert it into vinegar.

A layer of cellulose fabric is gradually created on the surface, which is then harvested and places on an inflatable mannequin to achieve the shape desired.

The dummy is then deflated, leaving behind the garment.

The fabric is clingy and seamless, but also becomes like tissue paper when it dries, so much be kept damp when worn.

'We hope that it will inspire others to come up with more creative pieces that will direct and/or redirect our future society,' Cass told Wired.co.uk.

In 2007, Franklin presented a living fungus dress, which she fed special nutrients to promote its colour-changing properties. 

 

 

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