"Le Chamignon du Schoteur" (2014) Photo: Phil Ross / All Rights Reserved
Everything begins with the gesture of an artist, and a cook. In the 1990s, Phil Ross took hold of mycelium—the discreet network that forms the living part of fungi—as a true creative medium for sculptures, furniture, and building blocks. From this intuition, years later, was born MycoWorks, a Californian company that has made living matter its raw material.
Scientist Matt Scullin, recruited by Phil Ross to transform this invention into a material usable by the fashion industry, can thus vary the thickness, density, or suppleness according to the needs of each brand. We don't manufacture this leather; we grow it. Their process, dubbed Fine Mycelium™, does not seek to imitate animal leather. It acts directly on the growth of the mycelium by adjusting light, air, and temperature so that its filaments intertwine to form a solid, textured material.
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The result is called Reishi™. A material in its own right, with its own texture and suppleness, conceived as a high-end alternative rather than a simple substitute. Cultivated directly into the desired shape—a bag, a pair of shoes—it generates almost zero waste. It is this dialogue between the gesture of an artist and precise scientific advancement. Mycelium does not replace anything; it simply opens up another way of thinking about material—slower, more organic, closer to the living.
It is this dialogue between the gesture of an artist and precise scientific advancement. Mycelium does not replace anything; it simply opens up another way of thinking about material—slower, more organic, closer to the living—almost a material with its own soul.
Bill Morris, Chief Product Officer at MycoWorks, demonstrates the suppleness of Reishi / Credit: Peter Prato for The New York Times. / 2022 / All Rights Reserved
Whether finished in Pebble, Mycelial, or Smooth textures, Reishi™ offers that unique sensory touch that has convinced even the most demanding creative minds. Hermès took an interest in it as early as 2017: three years of collaborative work gave birth to Sylvania, a version of Fine Mycelium that has since dressed their Victoria bag, a historic model of the house reinvented for the occasion. Hermès and MycoWorks have opened new perspectives in design.
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The Hermès x MycoWorks Sylviana bag / Photo: Coppi Barbieri / All Rights Reserved
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The story almost ended at the end of 2025 with MycoWorks filing for insolvency. Fortunately, DFX Corporation and Daniel Frydenlund—appointed Chairman of the Board at the beginning of the year—managed to save the patents and the know-how. The founders, for their part, left the venture.
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All Rights Reserved
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What Phil Ross and Matt Scullin created from mycelium is now being passed on to other hands, who are responsible for perpetuating their creation. In this era where we seek to rethink our relationship with resources, MycoWorks reminds us that the most daring innovation is the one we learn to cultivate. The journey of mycelium, from humid forests to the frontiers of contemporary design, is only just beginning.
