Pure mycelium shoe debuts in Milan with a load-bearing fungal sole

A prototype shoe made entirely from pure mycelium, the root-like network of fungi, will debut at Milan Design Week. The project is a collaboration between researcher and designer Lars Dittrich of Vrije Universiteit Brussel and head shoemaker Marie De Ryck at La Monnaie/De Munt. It reframes how living materials enter application, moving beyond substitution toward a model in which design mediates between advanced biomaterials research and the demands of traditional craft.