SYDNEY: The developers of a groundbreaking dress made from fermented wine will reveal their technique at a science festival later this month. University of Western Australia academic Gary Cass will take centre stage at the 'Grapeskin Glamour' exhibition during the Ultimo Science Festival, from August 22 to 31.
Cass recently collaborated with contemporary artist Donna Franklin to produce the ground breaking garment. He said the dress, which would be on show at the festival, could redefine the textile and clothing industry.
"By combining art and science knowledge and a little inventiveness, our ultimate goal is to produce a fermented seamless garment that forms without a single stitch."
Cass said wine used during the fermentation process determined the colour of the fabric, with red wine producing red fabric and white producing a translucent material.
"When we leave a barrel of wine to ‘go off’, bacteria (Acetobacter) convert the wine into vinegar and make a cellulose by-product, the substance from which cotton is made."
"We take this cotton-like cellulose material, which smells like alcohol and feels like sludge when wet, and mould it onto a collapsible mannequin."
"After leaving it to dry, we remove the mannequin and are left with the dress, which fits as snugly as a second skin. This unique material could potentially transform the future of fashion."
Cass will deliver a speech on the process at Ultimo TAFE on August 26, from 6pm to 8pm.
For more: ultimosciencefestival.com