YOU WILL NEVER BE ME: Personalising biofabricated products with users' genetic materials

by Isabella Enrica

Abstract

Status shapes relationships, organisations and marketplaces and can be signalled through conspicuous consumption of luxury goods; and since low status is deeply unappealing, consuming becomes an ambition.

However, 'within the feminine sphere, objects became, first and foremost, symbols, sacrificing their utilitarian features to their symbolic functions' (Penny Sparke, 1995). That is the case with handbags, which are more than just symbolic accessories as they can stimulate strong memories of people and events because of their identity and biographical connections, but are mainly made of leather, a material full of ethical and environmental issues that do not seem to represent consumers' increasingly general concern for the environment.

This means that the next generation of women's handbags should reflect 'the values of the women of the future combined with the next great breakthrough in material science' (Women's Museum of California, 2017). Biofabrication is the intersection of biology, engineering and design, and by biofabricating materials like leather, results can be premium without harming the environment. Led by the hypothesis that it can be possible to design a product that represents its user's concern for the environment as well as their individuality better, this study aims to investigate if the addition of a user's genetic material to the biofabrication process of a kombucha leather bag could enhance the perception of value.

This study began with primary research and then evolved to material testings and prototyping as a primary means of enquiry to investigate that question.

Design Intent

As the concern for more sustainable materials and practices rise (Grand View Research, 2021), as well as the revenue in the Bags & Accessories segment (Statista, 2021), it is clear that personal products should start focusing on representing their user's environmental interests and personalities better.

To Belk (1988), possessions can not only literally be an extension of one's self - as when one has a tool that allows them to do things they would otherwise not be capable of - but also symbolically. The latter can be exemplified by trophies and uniforms that show others how one can be a different person than one would without these artefacts. The same happens with the possession of luxury products as they intrinsically mirror their owner's status (Kastanakis & Balabanis, 2012). Therefore, fashion can be considered as an artefact of the extended self since fashion products can be used to express and confirm individuals' identities socially (Belk, 1988). However, as explained in O'Cass and Frost (2002), 'handbags are no longer being consumed for their utility, but for the symbolic meanings these luxury brands represent'.

By adding a user's genetic material to the biofabrication of leather bags, their manufacturing process not only turns from a subtractive one to an additive one (The Business of Fashion, 2018), as the material should be made on-demand; but also creates a product that is forever physically related to its user in a hard-to-fraud way, being an almost literal self-extension. So being able to personalise a bag with a user's genetic material could enhance the perception of value.

The result is a strong product, with a chance of improvement, that looks durable and could reduce premature disposal. Additionally, material properties could also be used in favour of the designer as its production can be fully controlled (The Business of Fashion, 2018), opposed to natural leather (Fashionary, 2020).

Bio

Isabella is a product designer passionate about fashion and very interested in how products reflect users' personalities and signalling behaviour. She has graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Product Design at the University of Technology Sydney but has also studied at Istituto Marangoni (Milan, Italy) and PUC – RJ (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Her main passion is how product designers can resolve fashion issues and enhance people's lives. The topic of this study fuses these interests with biofabrication, which she believes to be the future of more ethical fashion materials.

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