Fashion designer Ilfa Siebenhaar and textile designer Laura Luchtman are both located in the fashion hub De Wasserij, in Rotterdam. Ilfa is specialized in fashion design and does research in biodesign with the main focus on how to innovate the design processes and the impact it has on the environment. Laura’s work is focused on experimental colour and material research. Together they started Living Colour, a sustainable alternative to artificial textile dyes. With their work they bridge the gap between design and science and establish a new natural colour aesthetic. They advocate for positive change and by doing so prepare the market for a future where clothes and textiles are dyed by bacteria. Joining this conversation is special guest and researcher Barbara Schrammeijer.

In The Growcast, biodesigner Emma van der Leest and program maker Barbara Vos, interview eight Rotterdam based pioneering biodesigners – our so called bioneers – about what the future will look like if we design with nature as our guideline. In 8 episodes we’ll take you on a journey through biodesign: if we designed the new economy with living organisms, could it be the change we need for today’s current and future environmental and ecological challenges?

The Growcast is made possible by BlueCity and BlueCity Lab with the support of Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and the municipality of Rotterdam.