Dive Brief:
- Gozen, a biomaterials manufacturer based in Istanbul, has opened a 40,000-square-foot production facility in Turkey, according to a press release from the company.
- The new factory will allow Gozen to offer its leather alternative material, called Lunaform, at scale, with capacity to produce more than 40,000 garments per year, according to the release. The company said the increased capacity will provide expanded fashion industry access to Lunaform, which was used by Kering-owned Balenciaga to make its Maxi Bathrobe Coat.
- Gozen simultaneously announced the release of its first commercial Lunaform range, which consists of three new collections designed to showcase the features of the material’s fibrous nanocellulose structure.
Dive Insight:
Gozen, which was founded in 2022, has been scaling its capabilities over the past few years as fashion’s interest in biomaterials has increased. In 2023, the company raised $3.3 million in a seed funding round aimed at financing its new facility and scaling its manufacturing. Last year, the company hired a chief product officer as part of what Gozen called a “new chapter” in material production.
As the company expands, founder and CEO Ece Gozen said the fashion industry has embraced its Lunaform product.
“During our recent appearance at Première Vision in Paris, we were thrilled to hear that Lunaform is viewed as unique among biomaterials in having a memory of its own,” Gozen said in the company’s latest press release. “Leaders from the worlds of leather, denim and textiles were excited by its different levels of touch and its ability to conform to your movement. These qualities truly open up new possibilities.”
Lunaform is “100% bio-based in its wet state” and is created through a process of controlled fermentation, according to Gozen’s release, which explains that the material is grown on site in seven days “with minimal inputs required.”
The alternative leather product has a fibrous cellulosic structure and can be used in novel ways, as showcased in its three new commercially available collections, said the company.
In its “Origins” line, Lunaform is designed to showcase the distinctive patterns created by the activity of microorganisms as the material is produced. A “Transparent” line, created with nanocellulose, is a translucent material with “a look that cannot be achieved with untreated animal leather,” per the company. For its “Indigo” collection, the material is given a finish that “challenges the boundaries between textile, leather and denim.”
Gozen’s founder said in the release that the product range is currently available to brands for use in commercial products.
“Through collaboration, we are expanding the possibilities of what nature and technology can create alone — and we are making that change, right now,” she said.
