Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) are rethinking the future of fashion—starting with our shoes. Assistant Professor Troy Nachtigall and Associate Professor Oscar Tomico are creating “living shoes” made from kombucha-based bio-soles. Their project brings together biotechnology, 3D printing, and sustainable design, showing how clothes and accessories could one day be grown instead of manufactured.
TU/e’s research group Wearable Senses first made headlines ten years ago when Dutch Education Minister Jet Bussemaker wore a fully 3D printed outfit. At the time, printing a pair of shoes took more than four days. Now, improved technology can do the job in one.
Faster, more affordable 3D printing opens the door to mass customisation—footwear shaped to a person’s foot and movement. However, most printed shoes still use petrochemical plastics that wear out quickly and cannot be recycled. Nachtigall and Tomico want to replace these materials with biological alternatives that can renew themselves instead of ending up as waste.
Their latest innovation uses kombucha, a fermented tea rich in bacteria and yeast, to grow a biopolymer film called SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). This fungal-like layer can be turned into a biodegradable shoe sole that users can regrow at home.
“Instead of throwing shoes away, you can let the sole grow again by placing it back into a kombucha bath,” explains Nachtigall. This process transforms maintenance into regeneration, offering a circular alternative to disposable fashion.
Tomico believes this shift goes beyond materials. “When we see clothes and shoes as living organisms, we treat them differently,” he says. Their design group, Making With, explores collaboration between humans and nature—where growth, repair, and decay become part of design.
In the future, shoes could even monitor their own condition using sensors and AI. A “shoe doctor” app might suggest when to water, feed, or regrow the material, much like apps that help care for plants. This blend of biological and digital intelligence could make fashion more personal, local, and sustainable.
Living fashion is still experimental, but its potential is clear. By merging biology, data, and design, TU/e’s researchers imagine a world where products evolve alongside us. As Tomico says, “We’ve taken so much from nature—it’s time to give back.”
Source: Eindhoven University of Technology
Photo: Bart van Overbeeke