ICONE meets the future: Stan Smith Mylo, the first mushroom myzel sneaker

Designerin Stella McCartney, Yoga-Label Lululemon und Luxuskonzern Kering setzen bereits auf Mylo, die pflanzliche Lederalternative.Now Adida's mushrooms-or better the mycelium underground-are also looking to bring the sustainability of the Stan-Smith silhouette to a new level.Fashionunited spoke to the experts behind the shoe, which should not remain the only model with the innovative material.

For the Stan Smith Mylo, the Herzogenaurach sporting articler worked with the US biotechnology company Bolt Threads, which developed the mycelium material.Myzel is a renewable mushroom network that runs through the earth.

With its mushroom myzel shoe, Adidas believes that the groundbreaking technology has found the groundbreaking technology within the alternative solutions for leather."We have the feeling that Mylo and the way we could bring Mylo to life in a shoe are really innovative in the field of leather," said David Quass, Global Director for Brand Sustainability at Adidas, to Fashionunited.“We are ahm in nature by taking Myzel cells and growing them in the laboratory.""

Photo: Myzel material

Mit diesem biobasierten Material geht Adidas den nächsten Schritt seiner ""Own The Game""-Strategie, bei der das Unternehmen einen starken Fokus auf Nachhaltigkeit setzen will.

“Sustainability has been an integral part of Adidas corporate philosophy for more than two decades. Sie ist ein direkter Ausdruck des Unternehmenszwecks, durch Sport Leben verändern zu können"", sagte Konzernchef Kasper Rorsted jüngst bei der Vorstellung der Fünf-Jahres-Strategie im März.

Stan Smith Mylo: Adidas produces the first mushroom myzel sneaker

The mycelium, which is the basis of the leather alternative, is produced in a highly efficient growth process that takes less than two weeks.A vertical agricultural technology is used for the process that enables the mycelium to breed in a space -saving system that increases the yield per square meter, according to the message.As a result, the production speed of the leather alternative exceeds that of animal material significantly.

„Mit der Idee, dass man ein Material in zwei Wochen wachsen lassen kann, im Gegensatz zum Züchten einer Tierhaut in einer Zeitspanne von einem Jahr, hat man die Möglichkeit, damit wesentlich mehr zu machen"", sagte Jamie Bainbridge, VP Design and Product Development bei Bolt Threads.The partnership with Adidas helped Bolt Threads to better understand his material and ability and to make it into a commercial product, said Bainbridge during the interview.

Photo: Storage of Mylo

The finished Mylo is used for the outer material in the Stan Smith.The midsole, on the other hand, consists of natural rubber.In terms of color, Adidas decided on the first mushroom myzel shoe - typical of the Stan Smith - for a simple white, even if mylo can be colored in different tones like normal leather like normal leather.The changeability also applies to surface treatment and embossing.

Despite an already known silhouette that has not really changed in the past 50 years, Adidas has been working on developing the new basic material for the Stan Smylo for more than twelve months.Because the material is still new, the team looked at every step of the production process and found out how the process can be innovated so that the product that everyone knows, Martin Love, Category Director at Adidas Originals explained.

Adidas: Sustainability should not be an exclusive club

Adidas has not yet announced an exact price to Fashionunited, but the Stan Smith Mylo should not be more expensive than previous models. Die “Stan Smith""-Modelle starten im Adidas-Onlineshop bei knapp unter 100 Euro und können je nach Version im Preis ansteigen. So liegt der im März erschienene “Stan Smith, Forever"" – aus Recyclingmaterialien – bei 110 Euro.

As far as the general pricing is concerned, Adidas does not want consumers to pay for sustainability. „Nachhaltigkeit sollte nicht in irgendeiner Form ein exklusiver Club sein"", so Love im Gespräch.However, innovative materials can increase the price, but here Adidas can also help reduce prices with its procurement practices.

“The scaling of innovations in the brand context is always associated with internal expenses. Es liegt an uns als Marke, diese Kosten abzumildern und die richtige Skalierungsmechanik und -dynamik zu finden, um sicherzustellen, dass der Mylo Stan zu einem wettbewerbsfähigen Preis – im Vergleich zu anderen Franchise-Produkten – angeboten wird, die der Konsument von Adidas gewohnt ist"", so Quass.

The Stan Smith Mylo should come onto the market within the next twelve months.According to Rorsted and experts, it should not remain.Adidas plans to implement other products from mylo.

Photos: Adidas