Organic is not enough. Dasha Tsapenko grows textiles rather than producing them – with the help of mycelium, plant fibres and bacterial processes. Her studio is a laboratory, a workshop and a testing ground all in one. The Ukrainian-born designer describes her work as radically sustainable, uncompromisingly aesthetic – and often poetic.
Dasha Tsapenko is more than just a designer – she is a pioneer of a new understanding of design. In her studio in The Hague, Netherlands, she uses living organisms such as fungi, plants and bacteria to create wearable sculptures, textiles and objects that not only demonstrate sustainable alternatives to conventional production, but also question our relationship with nature. Her maxim: form follows spores – it is not the form that sets the tone, but the fungus as a living organism.
Tsapenko first studied architecture in Kiev before deepening her interdisciplinary research in Eindhoven and at the renowned Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht. She began experimenting with biological processes at an early age. Her breakthrough came in 2020 with the Bio Art & Design Award, which enabled her to collaborate with microbiologist Han Wösten from Utrecht University. The resulting project, ‘FUR_tilize,’ formed the basis for her current work with mycelium.
Ecosystems made of textiles
Tsapenko’s projects fluctuate between biodesign, textile art and speculative research. With the help of mycelium, she ‘grows’ fabrics – from hemp, flax or local waste products. The fibres are dyed, woven or knitted, inoculated with spores and processed into new textile structures in a controlled environment. It is not only the technique that is crucial here, but also the artist’s attitude: ‘I see my role more as a companion to a process that takes place between material, organism and environment,’ she explains.
The designer is currently working on a collection of bio-based home textiles that use mycelium as a coating, carrier material or binding agent. Special attention is paid to colour: the fibres are dyed with plant pigments and then cultivated with spores. This results in vibrant curtains and textile surfaces that are not only functional but also deeply organic.
Mycelium as a statement
The designs are deliberately raw, vulnerable and full of life – just like the Gunya kimonos and net curtains she designed for the Ukrainian restaurant Grybova Hata in the Carpathian Mountains. There, the mushroom textiles partition the open kitchen areas from the dining room, while six oversized capes reminiscent of traditional shepherd’s cloaks have been produced entirely from grown mycelium. The restaurant team was also involved in the creation process and can explain the origin and production of the pieces to guests.
‘For me, design is a dialogue with nature. It’s not about shaping something – it’s about listening, accompanying and letting things grow together.’ – Dasha Tsapenko
Another highlight: Tsapenko grew the longest tablecloth ever made from mycelium for Steinbeisser – a 20-metre-long mycelium textile organism that served as the living centrepiece of the table at the anniversary dinner for biodynamic agriculture at the Goetheanum in Dornach.
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