World’s first lab-grown T-Rex leather handbag unveiled in Amsterdam could fetch €575,000
In a major breakthrough for synthetic biology, researchers on Thursday unveiled a new form of lab-grown leather created from reconstructed Tyrannosaurus rex protein sequences. The material is the main component of a new, luxury handbag shown off in a debut at Amsterdam's Art Zoo Museum, which is expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of euros when it eventually hits the auction block.
The estimated value of a single swatch of material measuring about 10 x 15 centimeters was estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000 euros. The leather was tanned and produced with a blueish-green hue, and turned into a handbag adorned with sterling silver and black diamonds. On display at the museum alongside a full-scale dinosaur structure, the bag will eventually be sold at auction.
An unsourced claim published in USA Today on Thursday morning suggested the purse could fetch about 575,000 euros at auction. Museum workers and the innovators behind the T-rex leather said they have no idea how the newspaper came up with the figure. In any case, it should easily sell for a few hundred thousand euros, said Art Zoo Museum curator Iacopo Briand.
Even though the Tyrannosaurus rex has been gone for 66 million years, project leaders were inspired by techniques first proposed nearly two decades could create new classes of ethical materials. The creation process began with existing scientific data from fossilized fragments of Tyrannosaurus rex collagen.
Researchers used artificial intelligence to model the protein and predict missing sequences to develop a genetic blueprint of the extinct species. This synthesized sequence was then integrated into a host cell line, allowing for the cultivation of tissue using a specialized engineering process.
The new material demonstrates another path forward when it comes to animal-friendly alternatives to leather, which may not have the same characteristics, durability, and varnished look of an animal hide. In their quest for an authentic leather, developers were "going for characteristics like smell, feel, and functionality," said Dr. Che Connon, the CEO of British business Lab-Grown Leather, one of the companies responsible for producing the material.
He argued that other alternatives, like mushroom leather, are less effective because they are coated in plastic, do not develop a patina, and do not appeal to the senses in the same way. "We grew a dinosaur skin, and then it went through the conventional tanning process," he told NL Times.
The resulting product is a single luxury handbag designed by the independent studio Enfin Levé, with the material produced by Connon's team, and colleagues at The Organoid Company, based in Rotterdam. The design studio bonded the leather to a durable cotton developed for British pilots during World War II, and attached a nylon strap from Japanese supplier Shindo, before adding the silver and diamonds.
"Because this is so unique, we're still figuring out the best marketplace for this," Briand told NL Times. Negotiations are ongoing with several auction houses, but Briand has his eye on New York, for the auction companies accustomed to exceptional items, and Paris, for their history with art and fashion sales.
He expects the item to sell to a private collector, and the final price is anyone's guess. "There is not really a limit for something so unique," Briand said. "This very first piece is like the first Apple Computer, or the first Birkin bag, which just sold for 10 million euros."
"What we're saying is that it will sell for at least as much as ten Birkin bags," said Bas Korsten, the Chief Creative Officer at VML, the creative agency also involved in the project. The luxury item remains as a proof-of-concept for high-end applications of extinct biology.
Beyond its status as a collector's item, the technology also means leather can be produced without the accompanying environmental concerns linked to the livestock industry, said Connon. Traditional leather production is often criticized for its connection to deforestation and heavy chemical use during tanning.
The material is fully traceable and compatible with commonly-used methods to finish leather. This lab-grown alternative eliminates the need for animal slaughter while providing a material that is both biodegradable and repairable. Developers are now looking at how they can scale up production for wider use.
