Bio-Inspired Textiles is an interdisciplinary research project that sits at the intersection of biology, material science and textile design to enhance sustainable and circular practice. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the Leadership Fellows scheme, the project maps how design intersects with scientific disciplines and explores the ways biology can teach designers to do more with limited resources.

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Drawing on the research by Professor Julian Vincent, Dr Steven Naleway and their respective teams, the Bio-Inspired Textiles project focuses on how role of structure in biology could help us improve the efficiency, longevity, and recovery of the resources (substance and energy) we use to create textile products. 

We collaborated with over forty eight designer-makers who helped us develop the Bio-Inspired Textiles framework. The framework is centred around eight structures observed in biological materials from both the plant and animal kingdoms.  The makers used a wide range of textile techniques from their own individual skill sets, to create experimental prototypes based on the eight structures,  this work constitutes inspirational case studies for other designers to see how they can draw on their own techniques to engage in the Bio-Inspired Textiles approach. 

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