An interactive, mycelium-based exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam is intended to show the range of the biomaterials.

Key features

Fashion brand Yume Yume designed a mycelium-based exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam to showcase a collection produced entirely with Reishi Mycoworks mycelium leather, a bio-fabricated leather alternative. Descent into Fungal is a multisensory art installation made that grows in real time throughout its duration. Over two months, visitors can observe its expansion and changes. The organically shaped mycelium platform displays the garments and is complemented by microscopic mycelium growth videos, revealing the intricacies of the process. The installation is positioned to raise awareness among consumers and other fashion companies to move towards sustainable alternatives to ‘a future of fashion where garments are not produced but grown by nature.'

FRAME’s take

Once just a small homemade experiment that yielded trace amounts of material, mycelium production is finding its way into our interiors (and clothes) at scale. We’ve covered several projects embracing the biobased stuff. Mycelium is natural but requires precise technical knowledge and process for its production, like the Belgian optical boutique, Op 't Oog, designed by WeWantMore and a FRAME Awards-winning project, Mush Room, that featured a mycelium-grown bar completed by the same studio. We are witnessing the realization of mycelium’s material possibilities – perhaps because of major investments being made in their development. This is exactly what Yume Yume seeks to articulate in its Descent into Fungal exhibition. It is helping to reframe the material as far-fetched and distant into something that can be used in our daily lives. Showcasing the process from start to finish – the mycelium-based display alongside finished garments – articulates these possibilities.

The exhibition is on show at the Stedelijk Museum until 25 January 2024.