ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Suzanne Lee - Designer
TED Fellow Suzanne Lee is a fashion designer turned biological conjurer, who gleefully plays with new materials and processes.

Why you should listen

Fashion designer Suzanne Lee directs the BioCouture research project, which sprang from an idea in her book Fashioning the Future: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe, a seminal text on fashion and future technologies. Her research harnesses nature to propose a radical future fashion vision: Can we grow a dress from a vat of liquid?

Using bacterial-cellulose, Lee aims to address pressing ecological and sustainability issues around fashion and beyond. A Senior Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, she is working with scientists to investigate whether synthetic biology can engineer optimized organisms for growing future consumer products

More profile about the speaker
Suzanne Lee | Speaker | TED.com
TED2011

Suzanne Lee: Grow your own clothes

蘇珊•李: 生長自己的衣服

Filmed:
1,519,065 views

設計師 蘇珊•李分享她實驗以紅茶菌為原料的材料,這種材料能像布料或者蔬菜皮革一樣用來製作服飾。過程是迷人的,結果是美麗的(雖然還有個小缺點...),而潛力是令人驚艷的。
- Designer
TED Fellow Suzanne Lee is a fashion designer turned biological conjurer, who gleefully plays with new materials and processes. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
So as a fashion時尚 designer設計師,
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身為時裝設計師
00:17
I've always tended往往 to think of materials物料
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我想的材料總是
00:19
something like this,
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像這樣
00:21
or this,
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或這樣
00:24
or maybe this.
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又或許是這樣
00:27
But then I met會見 a biologist生物學家,
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但後來我遇見一位生物學家
00:30
and now I think of materials物料 like this --
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現在我想的材料是這樣
00:33
green綠色 tea, sugar,
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綠茶 糖
00:35
a few少數 microbes微生物 and a little time.
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些許微生物跟一點時間
00:38
I'm essentially實質上 using運用 a kombucha紅茶菌 recipe食譜,
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基本上 我是用一種紅茶菌配方
00:40
which哪一個 is a symbiotic共生 mix混合
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這是一種共生混合物
00:42
of bacteria, yeasts酵母菌 and other micro-organisms微生物,
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其中有細菌 酵母和其它微生物
00:45
which哪一個 spin cellulose纖維素
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他們會製造纖維素
00:47
in a fermentation發酵 process處理.
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於發酵過程中
00:50
Over time, these tiny threads線程
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隨著時間的經過 這些細絲
00:52
form形成 in the liquid液體 into layers
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會在液體中形成層次
00:54
and produce生產 a mat on the surface表面.
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並在表面產生一塊墊子
00:59
So we start開始 by brewing釀造 the tea.
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我們從煮茶開始
01:01
I brew釀造 up to about 30 liters of tea at a time,
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我每次要煮30公升的茶
01:04
and then while it's still hot, add a couple一對 of kilos公斤 of sugar.
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然後在茶還熱時 加入幾公斤糖
01:07
We stir攪拌 this in until直到 it's completely全然 dissolved溶解
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我們將糖攪拌到完全溶解
01:10
and then pour it into a growth發展 bath.
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然後將它倒入一個生長池
01:12
We need to check that the temperature溫度
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我們需要確認溫度
01:14
has cooled冷卻 to below下面 30 degrees C.
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已經降到攝氏30度以下
01:17
And then we're ready準備 to add the living活的 organism生物.
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然後我們就可以加入這些活生物
01:19
And along沿 with that, some acetic acid.
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同時加入一些醋酸
01:21
And once一旦 you get this process處理 going,
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一旦你讓這個步驟開始運作
01:23
you can actually其實 recycle回收
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你其實可以回收再利用
01:25
your previous以前 fermented發酵 liquid液體.
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你先前發酵的液體
01:28
We need to maintain保持 an optimum最佳 temperature溫度 for the growth發展.
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我們需要維持一個生長最佳溫度
01:31
And I use a heat mat to sit the bath on
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於是在生長池下放了發熱墊
01:34
and a thermostat恆溫器 to regulate調節 it.
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並用恆溫器控制溫度
01:36
And actually其實, in hot weather天氣, I can just grow增長 it outside.
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天氣熱時 其實我可以在戶外培養它
01:39
So this is my mini微型 fabric farm農場.
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這是我的迷你布料農場
01:41
After about three days,
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經過大概三天
01:43
the bubbles泡泡 will appear出現 on the surface表面 of the liquid液體.
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泡泡會出現在液體表面
01:46
So this is telling告訴 us that the fermentation發酵 is in full充分 swing搖擺.
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這告訴我們它正在全力發酵
01:49
And the bacteria are feeding饋送
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細菌正在食用
01:51
on the sugar nutrients營養成分 in the liquid液體.
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液體中糖的養分
01:53
So they're spinning紡織 these tiny nano納米 fibers纖維
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他們在製造這些細小的奈米纖維
01:55
of pure cellulose纖維素.
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成份是純纖維素
01:57
And they're sticking癥結 together一起, forming成型 layers
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它們會黏在一起 形成層次
01:59
and giving us a sheet on the surface表面.
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並在表面出現一張薄片
02:01
After about two to three weeks,
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經過約二至三個禮拜
02:03
we're looking at something which哪一個 is about an inch英寸 in thickness厚度.
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我們會看到約一英吋厚的東西
02:06
So the bath on the left is after five days,
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左邊的池子是經過5天的
02:09
and on the right, after 10.
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右邊是經過10天的
02:11
And this is a static靜態的 culture文化.
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這是一個靜態的培養
02:13
You don't have to do anything to it;
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你不需要為它做任何事
02:15
you just literally按照字面 watch it grow增長.
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你只要看著它生長
02:17
It doesn't need light.
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它不需要光線
02:19
And when it's ready準備 to harvest收成, you take it out of the bath
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可以採收時 你就把它從池中取出
02:22
and you wash it in cold, soapy肥皂水 water.
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用冷肥皂水清洗
02:24
At this point, it's really heavy.
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這時 它是非常重的
02:26
It's over 90 percent百分 water,
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超過百分之90是水份
02:28
so we need to let that evaporate蒸發.
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我們需要讓水份蒸發
02:30
So I spread傳播 it out onto a wooden sheet.
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所以我將它攤開在木片上
02:32
Again, you can do that outside
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同樣地 這你能在戶外做
02:34
and just let it dry in the air空氣.
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讓它在空氣中乾燥
02:36
And as it's drying烘乾, it's compressing壓縮,
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在乾燥時 它會緊縮
02:38
so what you're left with, depending根據 on the recipe食譜,
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結果全看你用的配方
02:40
is something that's either
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結果可能是
02:42
like a really light-weight重量輕的, transparent透明 paper,
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非常輕的透明紙張
02:44
or something which哪一個 is much more like a flexible靈活 vegetable蔬菜 leather皮革.
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或是有彈性的植物皮革
02:48
And then you can either cut that out
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接著你可以裁剪它
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and sew it conventionally傳統,
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然後用一般的方法縫紉它
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or you can use the wet material材料
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或使用濕材料
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to form形成 it around a three-dimensional三維 shape形狀.
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繞著一個立體的形狀塑形
02:57
And as it evaporates蒸發,
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當它在蒸發的時候
02:59
it will knit針織 itself本身 together一起, forming成型 seams接縫.
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它自己會接合在一起並形成接縫
03:01
So the color顏色 in this jacket夾克 is coming未來 purely純粹 from green綠色 tea.
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這件夾克的顏色完全來自綠茶
03:04
I guess猜測 it also looks容貌 a little bit like human人的 skin皮膚,
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我猜它看起來有點像人皮
03:06
which哪一個 intrigues爾虞我詐 me.
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而這使我覺得有趣
03:09
Since以來 it's organic有機,
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因為它是有機的
03:11
I'm really keen敏銳 to try and minimize最小化 the addition加成 of any chemicals化學製品.
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我非常想試著將化學添加物減到最少
03:14
I can make it change更改 color顏色 without using運用 dye染料
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我不用染料就能改變它的顏色
03:17
by a process處理 of iron oxidation氧化.
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用的是一道氧化鐵的程序
03:19
Using運用 fruit水果 and vegetable蔬菜 staining染色,
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使用水果和蔬菜著色
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create創建 organic有機 patterning圖案.
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來製造出有機圖樣
03:23
And using運用 indigo靛青,
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使用靛藍染料
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make it anti-microbial抗微生物.
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來使它抗菌
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And in fact事實, cotton
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事實上 棉花
03:29
would take up to 18 dips驟降 in indigo靛青
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要靛藍染料中浸泡到18次
03:32
to achieve實現 a color顏色 this dark黑暗.
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才能有這麼深的顏色
03:34
And because of the super-absorbency超吸收性 of this kind of cellulose纖維素,
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因為這種纖維素的超級吸收力
03:37
it just takes one, and a really short one at that.
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它只需要浸泡一次 而且時間還很短
03:40
What I can't yet然而 do is make it water-resistant防水.
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我還不能使它抗水
03:43
So if I was to walk步行 outside in the rain
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所以 如果我今天要行走在雨中
03:46
wearing穿著 this dress連衣裙 today今天,
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而且還穿著這件衣服
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I would immediately立即 start開始 to absorb吸收
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我會馬上開始吸收
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huge巨大 amounts of water.
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大量的水
03:53
The dress連衣裙 would get really heavy,
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這件衣服會變得非常重
03:55
and eventually終於 the seams接縫 would probably大概 fall秋季 apart距離 --
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最後接縫可能會散開
03:57
leaving離開 me feeling感覺 rather naked.
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讓我變得相當赤裸
03:59
Possibly或者 a good performance性能 piece,
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這衣服可能是不錯的表演服
04:01
but definitely無疑 not ideal理想 for everyday每天 wear穿.
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但絕不適合每天穿
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What I'm looking for
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我在尋找
04:07
is a way to give the material材料
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方法來給這材料
04:09
the qualities氣質 that I need.
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我需要的特性
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So what I want to do is say to a future未來 bug竊聽器,
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所以我想對未來的細菌說
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"Spin me a thread.
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吐一條絲給我
04:16
Align對齊 it in this direction方向.
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按這個方向排列
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Make it hydrophobic疏水.
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讓它具有疏水性
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And while you're at it,
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同時
04:22
just form形成 it around this 3D shape形狀."
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繞著這個立體的形狀塑形
04:25
Bacterial細菌 cellulose纖維素 is actually其實 already已經 being存在 used for wound傷口 healing復原,
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細菌纖維素已被應用在愈合傷口上
04:29
and possibly或者 in the future未來
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或許未來
04:31
for biocompatible生物相容性 blood血液 vessels船隻,
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在具生物相容性的血管上
04:34
possibly或者 even replacement替代 bone tissue組織.
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甚至可能在替代骨頭組織上
04:36
But with synthetic合成的 biology生物學,
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但使用合成生物學
04:38
we can actually其實 imagine想像 engineering工程 this bacterium細菌
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我們其實能想象設計細菌
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to produce生產 something
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來製造一些
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that gives us the quality質量,
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有品質
04:46
quantity數量 and shape形狀
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有份量 而且形狀
04:48
of material材料 that we desire慾望.
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是我們想要的東西
04:50
Obviously明顯, as a designer設計師, that's really exciting扣人心弦
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身為設計師 這當然非常令人興奮
04:53
because then I start開始 to think, wow,
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因為我接著就會開始想 哇
04:55
we could actually其實 imagine想像
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我們其實能想象
04:57
growing生長 consumable耗材 products製品.
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生長消費性產品
05:01
What excites的激勵 me about using運用 microbes微生物
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使用微生物最讓我興奮的是
05:04
is their efficiency效率.
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它們的效率
05:06
So we only grow增長 what we need.
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我們只需要生長我們所需的
05:08
There's no waste浪費.
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不會形成浪費
05:10
And in fact事實, we could make it from a waste浪費 stream --
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我們其實能利用廢棄物來做這件事
05:13
so for example,
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舉例來說
05:15
a waste浪費 sugar stream
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廢棄的糖水
05:17
from a food餐飲 processing處理 plant.
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能從食物處理工廠取得
05:19
Finally最後, at the end結束 of use, we could biodegrade生物降解 it naturally自然
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最後用完後 我們能讓它自然生物降解
05:22
along沿 with your vegetable蔬菜 peelings削皮.
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跟你那些蔬菜皮一樣
05:25
What I'm not suggesting提示 is that microbial微生物 cellulose纖維素
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我不是在說微生物纖維素
05:28
is going to be a replacement替代
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講會取代
05:30
for cotton, leather皮革 or other textile紡織品 materials物料.
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棉花 皮革或其它紡織品材料
05:33
But I do think it could be quite相當 a smart聰明 and sustainable可持續發展 addition加成
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但我認為它是相當聰明且永續的新材料
05:37
to our increasingly日益 precious珍貴 natural自然 resources資源.
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對我們日趨珍貴的自然資源來說
05:40
Ultimately最終,, maybe it won't慣於 even be fashion時尚
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它或許最終不會在時尚界
05:42
where we see these microbes微生物 have their impact碰撞.
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讓我們看見這些微生物的影響力
05:44
We could, for example, imagine想像
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我們能夠想象 例如是
05:46
growing生長 a lamp, a chair椅子,
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生長一座臺燈 一張椅子
05:49
a car汽車 or maybe even a house.
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一輛車 或甚至一棟房子
05:52
So I guess猜測 what my question to you is:
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所以我想問你們
05:55
in the future未來, what would you choose選擇 to grow增長?
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未來你們會選擇去生長什麼
05:57
Thank you very much.
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謝謝大家
05:59
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
06:08
Bruno布魯諾 Giussani吉薩尼: Suzanne蘇珊娜, just a curiosity好奇心,
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布諾•吉商尼: 蘇珊 讓我很快問個問題
06:10
what you're wearing穿著 is not random隨機. (Suzanne蘇珊娜 Lee背風處: No.)
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你今天的衣服不是隨便搭的 (蘇珊•李: 沒錯)
06:13
This is one of the jackets夾克 you grew成長?
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這件是你生長的夾克嗎?
06:15
SLSL: Yes, it is.
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蘇珊•李: 是的 沒錯
06:17
It's probably大概 -- part部分 of the project's項目 still in process處理
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這大概是一個進行中的企劃的部分
06:19
because this one
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因為這件
06:21
is actually其實 biodegrading生物降解 in front面前 of your eyes眼睛.
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其實正在你們面前進行生物降解
06:23
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:25
It's absorbing吸收 my sweat, and it's feeding饋送 on it.
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它正在吸收我的汗 而且正在吃它
06:28
BGBG: Okay, so we'll let you go and save保存 it, and rescue拯救 it.
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布諾•吉商尼: 好吧 你快去維護並拯救它
06:30
Suzanne蘇珊娜 Lee背風處. (SLSL: Thank you.)
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謝謝你 蘇珊•李 (蘇珊•李: 謝謝.)
06:33
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Ching-Yuan Chen
Reviewed by K. C. Peng

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Suzanne Lee - Designer
TED Fellow Suzanne Lee is a fashion designer turned biological conjurer, who gleefully plays with new materials and processes.

Why you should listen

Fashion designer Suzanne Lee directs the BioCouture research project, which sprang from an idea in her book Fashioning the Future: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe, a seminal text on fashion and future technologies. Her research harnesses nature to propose a radical future fashion vision: Can we grow a dress from a vat of liquid?

Using bacterial-cellulose, Lee aims to address pressing ecological and sustainability issues around fashion and beyond. A Senior Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, she is working with scientists to investigate whether synthetic biology can engineer optimized organisms for growing future consumer products

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