TED2011
Suzanne Lee: Grow your own clothes
苏珊李：自己种衣服
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设计师苏珊李和大家分享她的实验成果：用红茶菌培养的生物材料，能被像布料或者植物皮一样用来做衣服。实验的过程是迷人的，实验结果是诱人的（尽管还有个小缺陷），而它的潜力，是令人震惊的。
Suzanne Lee - Designer
TED Fellow Suzanne Lee is a fashion designer turned biological conjurer, who gleefully plays with new materials and processes. Full bio
TED Fellow Suzanne Lee is a fashion designer turned biological conjurer, who gleefully plays with new materials and processes. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
So as a fashion designer,
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作为一名时装设计师
00:17
I've always tended to think of materials
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我习惯于考虑用某些材料
00:19
something like this,
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比如这个
00:21
or this,
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或者这种
00:24
or maybe this.
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或者这种
00:27
But then I met a biologist,
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但当我和一位生物学家谈过
00:30
and now I think of materials like this --
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现在我开始考虑这样的材料——
00:33
green tea, sugar,
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绿茶，糖
00:35
a few microbes and a little time.
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一些细菌加上一点时间
00:38
I'm essentially using a kombucha recipe,
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我基本上用的是红茶菌配方
00:40
which is a symbiotic mix
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它是一个细菌，真菌
00:42
of bacteria, yeasts and other micro-organisms,
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和其他一些微生物的共生混合物
00:45
which spin cellulose
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在它们发酵时，
00:47
in a fermentation process.
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能纺出纤维素。
00:50
Over time, these tiny threads
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时间一长，这些纤细的纤维
00:52
form in the liquid into layers
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能在液体中形成纤维层
00:54
and produce a mat on the surface.
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最后在液体表面形成一块垫子
00:59
So we start by brewing the tea.
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我们从煮茶开始
01:01
I brew up to about 30 liters of tea at a time,
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我每次煮差不多三十公升的茶
01:04
and then while it's still hot, add a couple of kilos of sugar.
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当茶还热的时候，加入几公斤糖
01:07
We stir this in until it's completely dissolved
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我们搅拌糖直道它完全的溶解
01:10
and then pour it into a growth bath.
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然后把茶倒入一个生长池中
01:12
We need to check that the temperature
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我们需要确认温度
01:14
has cooled to below 30 degrees C.
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降到摄氏三十度以下
01:17
And then we're ready to add the living organism.
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接着加入活的微生物
01:19
And along with that, some acetic acid.
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同时加入一些醋酸
01:21
And once you get this process going,
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其实一旦你这个发酵工程
01:23
you can actually recycle
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你就可以回收使用
01:25
your previous fermented liquid.
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从前发酵过的液体
01:28
We need to maintain an optimum temperature for the growth.
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我们需要维持一个最适宜生长的温度
01:31
And I use a heat mat to sit the bath on
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我在池子下面垫了一张电热毯，
01:34
and a thermostat to regulate it.
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再用一个恒温器来调节电热毯的温度
01:36
And actually, in hot weather, I can just grow it outside.
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其实，在天热的时候，我能在室外培养
01:39
So this is my mini fabric farm.
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这就是我的迷你布料农场
01:41
After about three days,
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大约三天后
01:43
the bubbles will appear on the surface of the liquid.
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液体表面出现气泡
01:46
So this is telling us that the fermentation is in full swing.
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这就是在告诉我们发酵过程已经全速运转了
01:49
And the bacteria are feeding
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液体中的糖分
01:51
on the sugar nutrients in the liquid.
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给细菌生长的养分
01:53
So they're spinning these tiny nano fibers
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它们开始纺出极纤细的纳米纤维
01:55
of pure cellulose.
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是极纯的纤维素
01:57
And they're sticking together, forming layers
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这些纤维互相粘合，形成纤维层
01:59
and giving us a sheet on the surface.
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最终给我们在液体表面一大片纤维布
02:01
After about two to three weeks,
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大约两到三周后
02:03
we're looking at something which is about an inch in thickness.
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我们能看到一英寸厚的纤维毯
02:06
So the bath on the left is after five days,
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左边的池子是发酵了五天的
02:09
and on the right, after 10.
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右边的是十天后的
02:11
And this is a static culture.
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这都是静态培养
02:13
You don't have to do anything to it;
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你不需要做任何事
02:15
you just literally watch it grow.
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就看它长就好了
02:17
It doesn't need light.
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这也不需要光线
02:19
And when it's ready to harvest, you take it out of the bath
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当是采收的时候，你把纤维毯从池子中拿出来
02:22
and you wash it in cold, soapy water.
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在冷的肥皂水里洗洗
02:24
At this point, it's really heavy.
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这是纤维毯是很重的
02:26
It's over 90 percent water,
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九成都是水份
02:28
so we need to let that evaporate.
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我们需要把水份蒸发出来
02:30
So I spread it out onto a wooden sheet.
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所以我把纤维毯铺在一块木板上
02:32
Again, you can do that outside
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同样地，你可以把它晾在户外
02:34
and just let it dry in the air.
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在空气中风干就好了
02:36
And as it's drying, it's compressing,
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当纤维毯风干时，它会缩水
02:38
so what you're left with, depending on the recipe,
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所以根据你用的配方，你可能得到
02:40
is something that's either
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的结果或者是
02:42
like a really light-weight, transparent paper,
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非常轻的透明的纸张
02:44
or something which is much more like a flexible vegetable leather.
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或者是弹性十足的像植物皮一样的东西
02:48
And then you can either cut that out
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你可以用它剪裁
02:50
and sew it conventionally,
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照惯例缝纫
02:52
or you can use the wet material
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或者用湿的材料
02:54
to form it around a three-dimensional shape.
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包在三维的物体外面塑形
02:57
And as it evaporates,
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当材料风干的时候
02:59
it will knit itself together, forming seams.
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它自己会粘连，缝合在一起。
03:01
So the color in this jacket is coming purely from green tea.
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这件夹克的颜色就是绿茶的颜色
03:04
I guess it also looks a little bit like human skin,
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我觉得它看起来有点像人皮做的
03:06
which intrigues me.
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让我很有兴趣
03:09
Since it's organic,
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既然这是有机材料
03:11
I'm really keen to try and minimize the addition of any chemicals.
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我试图少加化学物质进来
03:14
I can make it change color without using dye
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我能不通过燃料而改变它的颜色
03:17
by a process of iron oxidation.
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而是用铁氧化的方式。
03:19
Using fruit and vegetable staining,
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或者用水果和蔬菜的色素
03:21
create organic patterning.
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做出有机图样
03:23
And using indigo,
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或者使用靛蓝
03:25
make it anti-microbial.
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使它抗菌
03:27
And in fact, cotton
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事实上，棉织品
03:29
would take up to 18 dips in indigo
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要在靛蓝中染十八次
03:32
to achieve a color this dark.
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才能染成这个颜色
03:34
And because of the super-absorbency of this kind of cellulose,
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因为这个纤维素的材料吸收力特强
03:37
it just takes one, and a really short one at that.
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只要快速染一次就够了
03:40
What I can't yet do is make it water-resistant.
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我没做成功的是让它防水
03:43
So if I was to walk outside in the rain
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如果我现在在雨里走走
03:46
wearing this dress today,
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穿今天的这件夹克
03:48
I would immediately start to absorb
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我会马上开始吸水
03:50
huge amounts of water.
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很多很多水份
03:53
The dress would get really heavy,
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这件衣服会变得很重
03:55
and eventually the seams would probably fall apart --
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最后全开线——
03:57
leaving me feeling rather naked.
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让我觉得露太多
03:59
Possibly a good performance piece,
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它有很好的表演效果
04:01
but definitely not ideal for everyday wear.
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但是绝对不适合日常的衣着。
04:05
What I'm looking for
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我现在在找一个办法
04:07
is a way to give the material
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让这个材料
04:09
the qualities that I need.
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有我想要的质量
04:11
So what I want to do is say to a future bug,
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我想和未来的细菌说
04:14
"Spin me a thread.
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”给我一条线
04:16
Align it in this direction.
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让它和我一起解决这些问题。
04:18
Make it hydrophobic.
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让它防水
04:20
And while you're at it,
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同时
04:22
just form it around this 3D shape."
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让它绕着这个三维物体塑形”
04:25
Bacterial cellulose is actually already being used for wound healing,
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细菌纤维素已经被用在愈合伤口上
04:29
and possibly in the future
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在未来很可能
04:31
for biocompatible blood vessels,
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会被用来做成生物兼容性的血管组织
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possibly even replacement bone tissue.
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可能还会被用来替换骨组织
04:36
But with synthetic biology,
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融合合成生物学
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we can actually imagine engineering this bacterium
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我们能想象设计这些细菌
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to produce something
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来做出我们需要的
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that gives us the quality,
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有品质，
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quantity and shape
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有重量，有形状
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of material that we desire.
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的材料
04:50
Obviously, as a designer, that's really exciting
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显然，作为一名设计师，这是很令人兴奋的
04:53
because then I start to think, wow,
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因为我开始想，哇
04:55
we could actually imagine
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我们可以想象
04:57
growing consumable products.
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种出可消耗的产品
05:01
What excites me about using microbes
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微生物学让我兴奋的是
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is their efficiency.
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它的高效率
05:06
So we only grow what we need.
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我们能只种我们需要的
05:08
There's no waste.
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那就不会有浪费
05:10
And in fact, we could make it from a waste stream --
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事实上，我们可以用废水来种衣服——
05:13
so for example,
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比如说
05:15
a waste sugar stream
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废的糖水
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from a food processing plant.
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从食物加工场出来的
05:19
Finally, at the end of use, we could biodegrade it naturally
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最后，在用完后，我们还可以自然地把它们降解
05:22
along with your vegetable peelings.
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就和你的瓜果菜皮一起
05:25
What I'm not suggesting is that microbial cellulose
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我并不是说要用微生物的纤维素
05:28
is going to be a replacement
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将能够代替
05:30
for cotton, leather or other textile materials.
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棉花，皮革或者其他的纺织品
05:33
But I do think it could be quite a smart and sustainable addition
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但我相信对现今日趋珍贵的自然资源来说
05:37
to our increasingly precious natural resources.
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它会是一个非常巧妙和持续性的辅助物
05:40
Ultimately, maybe it won't even be fashion
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最终，可能我们不会在时尚界
05:42
where we see these microbes have their impact.
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看到这些微生物大展宏图
05:44
We could, for example, imagine
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我们可能，比如说，想象用它
05:46
growing a lamp, a chair,
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来种一盏灯，种一把椅子
05:49
a car or maybe even a house.
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一辆车，或者是一幢房子
05:52
So I guess what my question to you is:
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我想我给大家的问题是
05:55
in the future, what would you choose to grow?
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未来，你会选择种什么？
05:57
Thank you very much.
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谢谢大家
05:59
(Applause)
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（掌声）
06:08
Bruno Giussani: Suzanne, just a curiosity,
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布鲁诺 吉萨尼：苏珊，快速问一下
06:10
what you're wearing is not random. (Suzanne Lee: No.)
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你今天不是随便穿的 （苏珊：不是）
06:13
This is one of the jackets you grew?
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这就是你种出来的夹克？
06:15
SL: Yes, it is.
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苏珊：是的，这就是
06:17
It's probably -- part of the project's still in process
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这也许--是这项目探索中的一部分，
06:19
because this one
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因为这件织品
06:21
is actually biodegrading in front of your eyes.
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其实在我们面前正在降解
06:23
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
06:25
It's absorbing my sweat, and it's feeding on it.
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它在吸收我的汗，从中获得养分
06:28
BG: Okay, so we'll let you go and save it, and rescue it.
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布鲁诺：好好好，我们这就让你下台，你好救回这件夹克
06:30
Suzanne Lee. (SL: Thank you.)
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苏珊李 （苏珊：谢谢）
06:33
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Suzanne Lee - DesignerTED Fellow Suzanne Lee is a fashion designer turned biological conjurer, who gleefully plays with new materials and processes.
Why you should listen
Fashion designer Suzanne Lee directs the BioCouture research project, which sprang from an idea in her book Fashioning the Future: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe, a seminal text on fashion and future technologies. Her research harnesses nature to propose a radical future fashion vision: Can we grow a dress from a vat of liquid?
Using bacterial-cellulose, Lee aims to address pressing ecological and sustainability issues around fashion and beyond. A Senior Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, she is working with scientists to investigate whether synthetic biology can engineer optimized organisms for growing future consumer products
Suzanne Lee | Speaker | TED.com