EPHEA™, an innovative material derived from the vegetative body of a mushroom, was introduced during the Balenciaga Winter 22 360° show as a Maxi Hooded Wrap Coat. This moment marked the first time that such a substance has been applied to fashion, and the first time one has achieved such high-level features, particularly in terms of volume, thickness and overall homogeneity. The Balenciaga Maxi Hooded Wrap Coat made with EPHEA™ feels and visibly resembles a hide-based material, finished with a non-toxic treatment. It will be available end of October in selected Balenciaga stores in Beijing, Beverly Hills, London, Milan, New York City, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo and Toronto. EPHEA™ is an organic, viable, and otherwise environmentally sound alternative to leathers and synthetics created exclusively for Balenciaga that uses minimal resources and emits trace amounts of CO2 as it feeds on low-value agro-industrial residue. Engineered to diminish an ecological footprint without compromising quality or technical performance within a co-development process, EPHEA™ is an unprecedented class of bio-fabricated material, made with pure mycelium—the first of its kind to be cultivated on a pure, as opposed to hybrid, basis, therefore eliminating the uses of contaminating chemicals in the growing process. Balenciaga acknowledges the role that fashion plays in depleting and reshaping our natural surroundings and believes that brands are now tasked with finding ways to keep the planet livable. Therefore, the Balenciaga teams are, together with their value chains, continuously researching and implementing ideas in support of lessening the company’s environmental impact and influencing others to do the same.