Design Futures: [6]nMare - Speculative Design on Harvesting Fashion Cultures with Algae

  • Fiona Fung
What if we could harvest future fashion cultures, based on the use of algae as an alternative source of fuel to petroleum-based products, to create more positive energy systems? Algae has sustainability credentials to become an energetic biofuel for the future, without doing so at the expense of the Earth’s fragility. Informed by algal bioscience, attention is focused on themes of energy, permanence and flux, ritual, and the influence of technology on our lives.

[6]nMare presents an optimistic future outlook on how algae’s multiple benefits and functions can inspire a potential system where resource integration is not only measured at the material level, but also through the positive livelihood it creates, forming the tribes and spirit, of our identities and material culture. What if the increase in algae farming also meant an increase in algal products integrated into our lives? Algae, which is also known for its nutritional benefits, could be intermingled with our bodies via health/rest and relaxation cultures, and through cosmetic delivery systems, re-defining the semiotics of sports & leisure references in our lives.