If everything goes according to plan, in a couple of years Structural Colour Studio will be partnering with a large company or manufacturing on its own Shimmering Wood products for the most valued fashion houses in the world.

– We have been really lucky to have our innovation make it onto international trend lists. We have received lots of requests from material libraries and exhibitors worldwide. This has taken us, for example, to exhibition stands presenting new materials. That’s how our Shimmering Wood was spotted. That led to it catching the attention of fashion houses, say Anna Semi and Noora Yau from Structural Colour Studio.

Shimmering Wood was born out of a cooperation between three professionals from different fields. Anna Semi is a fashion designer, Noora Yau is a designer and Konrad Klockars is a materials scientist. This has been the greatest strength in moving the innovation towards commercial application.

– Usually an innovation is created by developing the material in a laboratory after which a designer makes their own interpretation using it. We did not set any boundaries – we have an open dialogue and we respect each other’s competences. Along this journey we have already tested the possibilities, applications and flexibilities of the material, and we have already come across a lot of questions fashion houses might pose us, say Semi and Yau.

Something valuable from wood

The uniquely shiny Shimmering Wood is made from nanocellulose which is cellulose that is extremely finely chopped. Yau and Semi say that in their work they have wanted to stick solely to one material, wood.

– When you coat wood with the colour we developed, it is still 100 per cent wood, Yau says.

– Wood is a material that is available close to us here in Finland. In my opinion, Finnish wood should be used to make high-value products. If we are utilising forests, we should use them to manufacture products that will be used for a long time – that will be cherished and that people will want to mend, Yau states.

Currently, vigorous efforts are being made to launch a startup around the innovation.

– We are already very close to this becoming a commercial product. But, we know and recognise that the luxury business is ruthless and we need to be very aware of what the business expects from us. We will concentrate on high-level fashion brands and, with that in mind, we want to build understanding on the wide variety of possibilities our product offers on different levels, they say. 

The era of new materials

Regulations alone have caused the world of fashion to look for new materials. The European Union aims to reduce microplastics by 30 per cent by 2030. This is why the selling of loose glitter made from plastic was banned in the EU at the end of 2023. There is high demand for shiny, responsible materials.

– Though the responsibility trend is on our side, we need to examine the history of the European fashion houses. The legacy of each house is based on craftsmanship and creativity. There is a lot of talk in our business about honouring the artisan tradition, and the ways in which it will be taken into the future, Semi says.

The challenge in winning over luxury labels is making sure Shimmering Wood can operate on the same level and has the same mentality as the traditional luxury fashion houses.

The challenge in winning over luxury labels is making sure Shimmering Wood can operate on the same level and has the same mentality as the traditional luxury fashion houses.

– We need to show how we work with the material. Instead of just using the sustainability angle, we will show how we create something new and exciting.

The material is the pitch

With a completely new material, the buyer or the designer has no preconceived notions about it or its properties.

– We need to be able to describe the feel of the material and how it behaves. We need to be able to demonstrate the material’s potential. That cannot simply be conveyed through an article in a scientific publication. We are making prototypes and artefacts that show the possibilities this material of the future can offer. Our job is to inspire, and to eliminate prejudice. When we are sending out material samples, they need to act as inspiring pitches, says Yau describing their objective.

In fashion, the same universal print patterns are present year after year, decade upon decade. Yet, they are always repeated, and they need to appear new. When a designer gets a hold of an entirely new kind of material, it is inspiring.

– There is great value in having an innovation that is genuinely responsible and adheres to sustainable development. It gives teams and companies confidence that they are actually doing things in a correct and proper manner. In a best case scenario, using a new material draws attention to the collection and the company. And this often means that the products will sell, Semi says.

What often seems to be a problem with new materials, is that they cannot be developed further. Some come up with a PR gimmick – like a pair of shoes, that’s all. The fact that Shimmering Wood is an innovation with a solid base in scientific research makes it versatile and applicable.

– It scales to other materials, too, which is something we will be looking into and developing, Yau and Semi say.

Associate Professor at Aalto University 
Pirjo Kääriäinen

Innovation and requirement for quality

Focusing on material innovations, bio-base material projects aiming to replace plastic and leather have received considerable publicity in the recent years. Similarly, for example, the use of natural dyes to reduce the chemical load has aroused interest.

– Though most of these projects are not yet ready and available for use, they have alerted many to recognise the problems regarding sustainability in the fashion and textile business. There is a lot of ongoing research in Finland revolving around bio-based materials and natural dyes. If successful, they may generate interesting new business. Unfortunately, their target often seems to be in products with quite a low added value, such as textile fibres, says Pirjo Kääriäinen, Professor at Aalto University.

Since luxury brands want to be forerunners in fashion, new material innovations are especially interesting to them. Luxury fashion houses are able to commercialise and produce even small quantities of products with a higher than average price – if the innovation is something their clientele is truly interested in.

– In order to succeed, even experimental products must have the quality element in order. Companies behind luxury brands have nowadays teams tasked with investigating the sustainable development aspects and gatekeeping material innovations. If you pass that, luxury brands may offer their procurement networks to help in the development of the material. The question of exclusive rights might arise.

Kääriäinen says that at the moment the most important trend and innovation driver is sustainable development. Developing new materials is slow – it takes between five to 15 years, or even longer. This is why they are not affected by rapidly changing trends.

She herself is interested in following the development of technologies in the field of chemical and enzymatic recycling of textiles. Biological and biotechnological processes used in the production of materials are interesting, but, so far, there is not much actual use or application for them.

– Then again, it has been amazing to witness the innovative ‘reinvention’ of traditional natural materials such as nettle and banana fibres. Does everything in the future need to be produced in an industrial scale?, Kääriäinen ponders.