Mycelium is finding its way into the world of luxury furnishings

Biotechnology company MycoWorks announced that it has partnered with Ligne Roset, to bring MycoWorks’ flagship Fine Mycelium material, Reishi, into luxury furnishings.

MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium product, Reishi, is a made-to-order, natural material that compares to the finest animal leathers, with lower environmental impact.Fine Mycelium sheets are harvested at their peak and finished by the company’s preferred tannery partner, Curtidos Badia, who craft Reishi to the fashion industry’s highest standards for leather, says MycoWorks.

“Decades ago, my co-founder Phil Ross and I explored using mycelium to create molded chairs and stools as part of our art practice,” said Sophia Wang, MycoWorks Co-Founder & Chief of Culture. “Furniture demonstrates the beauty, utility, and performance of materials. This partnership with Ligne Roset is a full circle moment for MycoWorks, validating that Reishi will be used in furniture design for years to come.”

The biotechnology company uses mycelium, a natural resource, to create Fine Mycelium, a patented technology, and engineers mycelium cells as they grow to create three dimensional structures that are densely entwined and inherently strong.

“Fine Mycelium is a materials science and biotechnology breakthrough that offers designers total creative control. Delivering uncompromising quality and aesthetic expression, Fine Mycelium can be fully optimized from initial growth to the final stage of harvest: a revolutionary advantage of our process,” says MycoWorks.

MycoWorks will continue to help launch designs made with Reishi in the furniture space, which represents approximately 10 per cent of the global leather and synthetic leather market, according to the company.

In parallel, MycoWorks will continue to partner with a growing list of luxury brands, including Hermès and Nick Fouquet, to “create a new category of goods that meet the highest design and quality standards of their industries.”

“We are proud to be the first to introduce Reishi into our collections and to the furniture design industry,” said Antoine Roset, Marketing Director Groupe Roset. “We have been waiting for years for a natural, sustainable material that meets our quality standards and our customers’ expectations. We believe Reishi is the answer.”