Stella McCartney launches first commercial luxury mycelium-based bag

British fashion brand, Stella McCartney, will sell 100 limited edition bags made from mycelium, fungi’s root-like structure, as the first of several commercial mycelium products offered.

According to the firm, the Frayme Mylo bag represents a step forward in vegan material innovation for fashion, and it is part of the brand’s larger Summer 2022 campaign named Fashion Fungi, which takes a “psychedelic voyage into nature.”

The Frayme bag, which will be available on July 1, 2022, was initially seen during the brand’s Summer 2022 runway show in October 2021 at Paris Fashion Week and will be available in a limited edition of 100 numbered bags.

The Frayme was designed in collaboration with Bolt Threads, the makers of Mylo leather, with whom Stella McCartney has been working since 2017. Recent collaboration works were shown in the designer’s “Future of Fashion” material innovation display at last year’s COP26.

The Frayme Mylo tote bag was inspired by the Falabella tote bag and has an enormous recyclable aluminum chain strap that wraps around the bag as well as a zamac statement medallion. It was made by workers who had been trained to deal with mycelium, a plant-based substitute for animal leather.

Dan Widmaier, Founder & CEO, Bolt Threads, said that it’s been an honor to collaborate so closely with Stella and her team as they forge new ground in premium design with Mylo. Their category-defining animal-free fashion leadership and championing of sustainable materials are leading the way for a more responsible fashion industry. Bringing the first Mylo-based luxury bag to market is a huge step forward for conscious customers, the biomaterials sector, and the future of luxury fashion.