Balenciaga is turning runway innovation into a materials first moment for Spring 26, debuting an advanced bioengineered silk alternative with AMSilk and 3D woven tailoring with WEFFAN, in collaboration with the Kering Material Innovation Lab. With these launches now reaching stores, the house is positioning next gen fabrics and low waste construction as part of its core luxury language, not just experimental one offs.
Bioengineered silk steps into luxury
For Spring 26, Balenciaga becomes the first fashion house to introduce AMSilk’s advanced bioengineered silk alternative in a commercial collection, developed with the Munich based biotech startup and now available in ready to wear. The new material debuts in a fluid wrap shirt and shirtdress, designed to mirror the drape and sheen of traditional silk while offering enhanced elasticity and wrinkle resistance for everyday wear.
According to Kering, the AMSilk fibre is fossil fuel free and derived from renewable sources, and its production uses about 97% less water and emits 81% less carbon dioxide than conventional silk manufacturing. The fabric is certified Product Class I and microplastic free by the Hohenstein Textile Testing Institute, bacteriostatic by Microbial Testing Competence, and approved as vegan and cruelty free by The Vegan Society.
How AMSilk’s “spider silk” textile is made
The innovation behind AMSilk’s material lies in DNA editing and protein engineering that takes cues from spider silk. Scientists use a spider genome as a blueprint to engineer microorganisms in a bioreactor, where they produce lab grown proteins that are then transformed into polymers, spun into ultrafine yarns and woven into a silk like textile that can be cut and tailored like any natural fibre.
On its product pages, Balenciaga explains that this wrap shirt is made from “a new class of bioengineered materials, inspired by spider silk and produced using precision biofermentation,” offering a plant based alternative to conventional fibres. By collaborating with AMSilk, Balenciaga says it is helping drive fashion’s transformation through biotechnology and opening exciting opportunities for advanced materials in luxury.
WEFFAN’s 3D woven tailoring
Alongside the silk alternative, Balenciaga’s Spring 26 collection introduces 3D weaving as a new way to construct tailoring, developed with WEFFAN, a startup founded in 2020 by textile designer Graysha Audren. The technology features in a classic single breasted, three pocket tailored jacket with pleated trousers, where the garment’s architecture is embedded in the fabric during weaving rather than added later through traditional cutting and assembly.
Using upgraded jacquard looms, 3D weaving integrates pattern pieces, pockets and structural lines into a flat textile; once off the loom, precise cuts allow the piece to unfold into a three dimensional, origami like form that is then finished with couture level tailoring. This method can significantly cut offcut waste and shorten manufacturing time by addressing inefficiencies and excess material use at the earliest creative stage.
Kering’s Material Innovation Lab in the mix
The collaboration sits within Kering’s Material Innovation Lab (MIL) ecosystem, a research hub founded in 2013 in Milan to accelerate sustainable materials, processes and technologies across the Group’s brands. MIL maintains a vetted textile library and works directly with designers and startups, helping to validate and scale solutions like bioengineered fibres, low impact dyeing and water saving finishing techniques.
In recent seasons, MIL has also backed projects such as the S|STYLE – DENIM LAB 2025 platform, which challenged designers to rework denim using regenerative cotton, reduced water washing and next gen finishes with partners PureDenim and Tonello. These initiatives show how the same infrastructure supporting Balenciaga’s material experiments is reshaping other fabric categories from denim to tailoring across the wider Kering portfolio.
Why this matters for fashion’s future
With bioengineered silk now in Balenciaga stores, this is one of the clearest signs yet that lab grown and biotech fibres are moving from lab trials into commercial luxury product. For consumers, that means access to high performance, animal free silk alternatives with a dramatically lower environmental footprint, without sacrificing the drape or finish expected at the house’s price point.
For the industry, Balenciaga’s work with AMSilk and WEFFAN signals how partnerships between heritage houses, innovation labs and specialist startups can rewire both materials and manufacturing in tandem. It also shows that sustainability focused textiles can sit at the heart of a fashion narrative, with craft and couture standards used to frame climate conscious design as aspirational rather than a compromise.
