Hermes bets on mushroom leather, set to re-make Victoria travel bag with lab-grown substitite

Hermès has joined the list of luxury labels that are incorporating fungus into their line-ups. The iconic French fashion house is set to release a reworked and sustainable version of its Victoria travel bag that was created born in 1997, Hermès’ Year of Africa, and named after Zimbabwe’s famous waterfalls; the tote is traditionally designed on taurillon Clemence leather with tone on tone canvas lining and palladium plated hardware

The upcoming design will reimagine the bag in canvas, calfskin, and Sylvania materials; the latter of which was created in partnership with MycoWorks, a California biomaterials companythat specialises in alternative textiles and utilises fungi’s capacity to bind to itself and other materials, making it a credible alternative for traditional leather.  The start-up is dedicated to introducing new variants of mycelium materials to the world, which the fine network of threads forming the vegetative part of the organism that produces mushroom. It is believed to be more eco-friendly than plastic-based faux leather, as it is made from organic materials.

“MycoWorks’ vision and values echo those of Hermès: a strong fascination with natural raw material and its transformation, a quest for excellence, with the aim of ensuring that objects are put to their best use and that their longevity is maximised. With Sylvania, Hermès is at the heart of what it has always been: innovation in the making," Hermès artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas said via a statement. The series of Victoria Bags will reportedly be available by the end of this year.