Stella McCartney's Magic of Mushrooms

Stella McCartney has collaborated with B&B Italia to reinterpret Mario Bellini’s 1972 masterwork – Le Bambole. A 50th anniversary is always special, but in this case the chair is upholstered with a new edgy play on the traditional toile that goes beyond the decorative.

It has been reimagined with environmentally conscious materials – the hand drawn ‘Fungi Forest’ print references ‘Fungi are the future of fashion and our planet.’ This is the theme of the Stella McCartney travelling installation which was launched this week at the 60th annual Salone del Mobile in Milan.

In an immersive experience, visitors can experience an infinity room illuminated by towering fungi sculptures created from recycled materials, surrounded with music by Cosmo Sheldrake using bioelectric sounds from plants and fungi.

The ‘Future of Fashion’ space is also decorated with a matching mushroom wallpaper from Cole and Son. It is crafted with a substrate derived from 79% renewable fibres processed using 30% less greenhouse gas than traditional non-woven wall coverings.

Stella McCartney has also created ready-to-wear in the mushroom print plus vegan accessories from mycelium ‘leather’ grown from mushroom roots and plant based fibres such as forest friendly viscose and regenerative cotton. Regenerated materials crafted from waste are also included.

For ease of recycling, the B&B Italia Le Bambole chair can be fully disassembled, when required, for future repurposing of both the components and the materials.

The design itself however, is an example of true sustainability - the work of the great Mario Bellini will live on, handed down to future generations.

This special edition of ‘Le Bambole’ will be available to order later this year.