Suzanne Lee: Biofabricate

Most of fashion is built on extraction and lightning-fast mass production, but what if clothing could instead be grown and did not need to be manufactured at all? Now meet Suzanne Lee, founder and CEO of Biofabricate, who coined the term Biocouture.

She is one of the earliest people to explore how materials for fashion can be grown using biology instead of being manufactured in factories. She started working with microbial materials as early as 2003 and introduced the idea of Biocouture.

She has been involved with the future of materials across different spaces, from working closely with global organizations on sustainability to contributing to innovation programs backed by institutions like NASA and Nike. Beyond her hands-on work, she has written about the future of fashion and continues to advise initiatives like Parley for the Oceans.

In simple terms, she is helping fashion move away from traditional materials and towards materials grown from nature and science.

Growing Materials With Biology

Her work in biofabrication begins with a living system made of bacteria and yeast that, when fed with simple nutrients like sugar and tea, begins to produce cellulose as a natural byproduct. And back in 2003, her innovation went on to be listed among Time Magazine's 50 Best Inventions of 2010.

Kombucha anyone? Yes, that famous fermented tea. She began experimenting with what became known as Biocouture by using a kombucha culture, a mix of bacteria and yeast, which, when fed sugar, produces cellulose fibres that naturally self-assemble into a sheet material.

This cellulose does not behave like loose fibre that needs to be spun or woven. Instead, it forms a continuous, skin like layer, slowly thickening into a material that can be lifted and dried into something that resembles leather, but with a completely different origin story that is cruelty-free and futuristic.

(Image credit: Suzanee Lee and Biofabricate)

What Biofabricate Does

Think about how most things around you are made today, from clothes to furniture to packaging. They usually come from heavy systems like factories, large scale farming, or fossil-based resources. Now imagine if, instead of extracting and manufacturing everything, we could actually grow materials using biology. That is exactly what Biofabricate is trying to make possible.

Biofabricate is a platform that sits in the middle of a new kind of industry. It brings together scientists, startups, designers, and global companies who are all exploring materials made from living systems like microbes. 

They help companies understand what biomaterials mean for them, guide strategy, connect the right people, and create spaces where new ideas can be seen and explored. They also run events, workshops, and collaborations that bring together everyone from early-stage innovators to major brands.

So when you hear about materials grown from bacteria, fungi, or other biological processes, Biofabricate is part of the ecosystem making that possible.

At a larger level, her work challenges the hidden assumptions of the fashion industry, especially the idea that materials must always be extracted, processed, and scaled through industrial systems. 

Biofabricated clothing may not replace conventional textiles immediately, but it expands the imagination of what fashion can be. Once you accept that a garment can be grown, the entire system of supply chains and production begins to look more open to sustainable possibilities.