Move over, Birkin. Watch out, Chanel. In the cut-throat world of high-fashion handbags, there’s a new apex predator on the prowl.
If a team of scientists and bio-engineers have their way, the next coveted status symbol won’t be calfskin or crocodile. Instead, it will be fashioned from the hide of a species last seen 66 million years ago — Tyrannosaurus rex.
The researchers believe they can grow a close recreation of the dinosaur’s skin in a laboratory by the end of this year, using fragments of proteins extracted from the fossilised remains of one of the largest carnivores ever to have stalked the Earth.
The result would be a leather with a provenance predating even the oldest Parisian fashion house. The initial price tag would be suitably eye-watering, with the material necessary for a handbag or wallet costing tens of thousands of pounds to produce.
However, eventually the cost could plummet, potentially making the material an alternative to conventional leathers for more every day uses, such as upholstering car seats.
The project has similarities to the plot of Jurassic Park, but the team promised that while T. rex may soon grace a runway it will not walk the earth.
Researchers say they are not attempting to resurrect T. rex
ALAMY
Che Connon, professor of tissue engineering at the University of Newcastle, one of the leaders of the project, said: “We’re not bringing back any species here.”
Instead, the initiative aims to showcase the potential of scientific techniques that allow cells nurtured in a petri dish to be programmed to produce new materials, ranging from drugs to animal skin.
“This is a way for us to demonstrate the power of engineering biology,” Connon said. His spin-out company, Lab Grown Leather, has already begun using the same methods to produce “ethical imitations” of more conventional hides such as calfskin.
Thomas Mitchell, chief executive of The Organoid Company, a Netherlands-based biotech company that is also part of the effort, said: “We don’t have T. rex DNA, but we do have fossilised amino acid fragments.”
These amino acids, preserved since all non-avian dinosaurs died out after an asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous period, include the building blocks of proteins that formed the animal’s hide.
New scientific methods were used to produce a sample of the leather
Mitchell and his colleagues will use a sophisticated AI system to fill in the gaps in the ancient and incomplete T. rex amino acid molecules. This, they believe, will allow them to reconstruct a replica of T. rex collagen — the primary structural protein in animal skin and therefore a key ingredient in its leather.
Once they know the structure of the T. rex collagen, they will create strands of DNA that contain the code required to build it. This genetic material will then be inserted into animal cells, which will use it to produce sheets of the replica T. rex skin in a dish in a laboratory.
They have noticed that some of the T. rex amino acids look similar to those found in modern birds, particularly ostriches. “Collagen is highly conserved,” said Mitchell, meaning it changes relatively little between species and over evolutionary time. This makes it one of the few plausible candidates for molecular resurrection.
The hope is that the dinosaur leather would have qualities not seen in modern hides. It is possible, Connon explained, that it will be stronger and more resistant to wear.
The project is also being backed by VML, a branding agency whose clients include AstraZeneca, Microsoft and Nestlé. Bas Korsten, its chief creative officer, said: “While we do think that a lot of people will be excited by the idea of carrying a beautiful T. rex leather handbag, wallet or belt its usage potential stretches far beyond the fashion and luxury sectors.
“It is a highly innovative, ethically produced alternative that challenges us to reconsider how and why we use and purchase animal-derived goods, and gives rise to a more sustainable future across the wider materials industry. We’re going back 66 million years to redefine what consumers expect from leather.”
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