Hermès x MycoWorks

Hermès in collaboration with MycoWorks Mycelium leather Victoria bag / Source: MycoWorks

CottonEuropeLeatherMyceliumReishiTextiles

3 MINUTE READ

Mayer Nissim

WHAT WE SAY:

For nearly 200 years, Hermès has sold some of the world’s most iconic, opulent and expensive handbags, made from leather or other exotic animals.

So it was a hugely welcome signal when the brand announced its collaboration with MycoWorks, on its Victoria duffel bag, made from Sylvania – a custom-made mycelium-based leather alternative. We just wish they had not incorporated calfskin into the same bag, which undermines the whole concept somewhat.

KEY FACTS:

Hermès joined forces with MycoWorks for the first commercially available product made using Fine Mycelium, the biotech startup’s proprietary technology used to create high-performance Mycelium leather.
The A/W 21 Victoria bag is made from a custom-made mycelium leather, Sylvania, which is then tanned and finished in France by Hermès’ own tanners.
Like many Hermès' bags, the Victoria bag is not widely available. In fact, it is not on the Hermès website and we are yet to see one in the wild.

DIVE DEEPER:

Luxury handbags are usually made of Leather. So they are happily plastic-free, but still environmentally costly and the water footprint of one leather tote bag is 17,128 litres, according to Circumfauna.
Harmful chemicals like chrome or glutaraldehyde are also used in leather tanning, resulting in a chrome-tainted piece that will not biodegrade and the risk of hazardous materials going into waste and waste-water during production.
By restricting the amount of leather used in a finished product and replacing it with the sustainable Fine Mycelium, Hermès has drastically reduced the ecological footprint of its Victoria bag.
The alt-leather used, Sylvania, is produced using MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium platform, a patented engineering process, which is applied to mycelium during its growth phase, in order to enhance the material’s strength and durability to a similar level to cow’s leather.
However, the Hermès Victoria bag is not totally leather-free. While its amber panels are made with Sylvania, the handle is made from calfskin.
The brand’s H Plume Canvas, made from 100% Cotton, is also used in the bag’s construction.

"MycoWorks’ vision and values echo...[ours]: a strong fascination with natural raw material and its transformation...with...objects put to their best use and their longevity maximised. With Sylvania, Hermès is at the heart of what it has always been: innovation in the making."

Pierre-Alexis Dumas - Artistic Director, Hermès

Key Design Considerations:

Is this more symbolic than a genuine shift?

The Victoria was announced in Spring 2021 to great fanfare, but while MycoWorks is still proudly trumpeting the high-profile collaboration, it cannot be found on the Hermès website and a confirmed price is equally tricky to track down. Given the exclusivity surrounding Hermès, this may be deliberate, but it makes it hard to understand the brand’s true intentions.

Does a mixture of mycelium and calfskin please nobody?

Vegan buyers or those wanting a fully non-leather product will balk at the inclusion of calfskin elements, while those happy with leather may be nonplussed by the mycelium panels. We would urge designers using alternative materials to think through the entire product and positioning in order to have maximum impact.

Is Hermès a brand that is genuinely committed to sustainability?

Hermès’ insistence that Fine Mycelium will not completely replace leather in its ranges and its plans for one of the largest crocodile farms in Australia’s Northern Territory, will be a stumbling block for many.

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Hermès x MycoWorks

WHAT WE SAY:

For nearly 200 years, Hermès has sold some of the world’s most iconic, opulent and expensive handbags, made from leather or other exotic animals.

KEY FACTS:

DIVE DEEPER:

Luxury handbags are usually made of Leather. So they are happily plastic-free, but still environmentally costly and the water footprint of one leather tote bag is 17,128 litres, according to Circumfauna.

Harmful chemicals like chrome or glutaraldehyde are also used in leather tanning, resulting in a chrome-tainted piece that will not biodegrade and the risk of hazardous materials going into waste and waste-water during production.

By restricting the amount of leather used in a finished product and replacing it with the sustainable Fine Mycelium, Hermès has drastically reduced the ecological footprint of its Victoria bag.

The alt-leather used, Sylvania, is produced using MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium platform, a patented engineering process, which is applied to mycelium during its growth phase, in order to enhance the material’s strength and durability to a similar level to cow’s leather.

However, the Hermès Victoria bag is not totally leather-free. While its amber panels are made with Sylvania, the handle is made from calfskin.

The brand’s H Plume Canvas, made from 100% Cotton, is also used in the bag’s construction.

Pierre-Alexis Dumas - Artistic Director, Hermès

Key Design Considerations:

Is this more symbolic than a genuine shift?

Does a mixture of mycelium and calfskin please nobody?

Is Hermès a brand that is genuinely committed to sustainability?

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