And, well, the glittering machine of the vegan revolution never goes on holiday. In the middle of August, Stella McCartney is at it again: in her search for the ideal material to replace leather, she is now aiming for Mirum. Producing the material (super-sustainable, claims the British brand with its usual modesty) is a US start-up (NFW) in which McCartney herself has invested. Even in the August heat, one detail cannot go unnoticed. Reading the promotional material of the vegan fundamentalist brand, it seems to be understood that Mirum products stand side by side in a green success story with those in Mylo, the alternative to mycelium-generated leather on which McCartney was betting everything just a year ago. But the truth is that Mylo has since technically failed.
Stella McCartney tries again
In May 2022, Stella McCartney spoke of Mylo as “the future of fashion”. Today, Mylo is closer to being the past: Bolt Threads, which raised millions in investment for its development, stopped production in early July 2023. Why? The material did not reach the fateful industrial scalability. It is a widespread problem, Business of Fashion observed: many next-gen materials travel with the wind in the sails of marketing offices, but without real economic sustainability. In search of the vegan philosopher’s stone, Stella McCartney is now shelving Mylo and launching Mirum (already “scalable”, they point out to reassure the public). Who knows with what results. We, meanwhile, already have our philosopher’s stone: leather.
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