When most people think about sustainable fashion, the conversation usually revolves around shopping habits. Buy secondhand. Choose natural fibers. Wear what you already own. Those are all great places to start, and they’re conversations I have all the time. When I recorded this episode of The Lexy Show with artist and designer Caroline Zimbalist, I expected to talk about biomaterials as a textile swap. Instead I left thinking the future of fashion might not be woven at all. It might be cooked.
That might sound like something straight out of a science fiction movie, but it’s exactly what Caroline is doing. Her work combines art, fashion, science, and sustainability into something that feels both experimental and surprisingly practical. Instead of relying on conventional textiles, she creates biomaterials using natural ingredients that she literally cooks on a household stove before transforming them into sculptural garments, jewelry, and home decor. It made me realize that the future of fashion might not begin in a factory after all—it might begin in someone’s kitchen.
Unlike many conventional fabrics, biomaterials have the potential to reduce our reliance on petroleum-based fibers and open the door to materials that can safely return to the earth at the end of their life. This is one of the most fascinating examples of sustainable innovation I’ve come across, and it reminded me that some of fashion’s biggest breakthroughs aren’t happening inside giant corporations—they’re happening in artists’ studios.
The Moment That Changed Caroline’s Approach to Fashion
One of the things that surprised me most during our conversation was how Caroline found herself working with biomaterials in the first place. It wasn’t because she set out to become a sustainability advocate.
While studying fashion design, Caroline was experimenting with industrial materials like silicone and urethane in her dorm room. Because she was sleeping in the same space where she was creating, repeated exposure eventually led to silicone poisoning. That experience completely changed the direction of her career. Instead of continuing to work with toxic materials, she started searching for natural alternatives—and ultimately discovered biomaterials.
I think there’s an important lesson in that. Sustainability doesn’t always start with saving the planet. Sometimes it starts because the current system just isn’t working anymore. And that’s a valid entry point too.
Fashion Innovation Can Look Completely Different
Listening to Caroline describe her process honestly blew my mind. She starts with water, natural starches, pigments like spirulina and beetroot, and literally cooks her materials on a household stove before molding them into finished pieces. It sounded more like someone making homemade pasta than someone creating couture. Even more incredible, she explained that once the material has served its purpose, it can actually be returned to the pot, reheated, and transformed again. It’s a completely different way of thinking about what fashion materials can be.
As someone who spends a lot of time talking about synthetic fabrics, polyester, and microplastics, I couldn’t stop thinking about how refreshing it was to hear someone approaching fashion from an entirely different angle. Rather than trying to improve existing materials, she’s asking whether we can create something entirely new. Something designed with both creativity and the environment in mind from the very beginning.
Conversations like this remind me that sustainable fashion isn’t standing still. It’s evolving, and that’s exciting.
Sustainable Fashion Isn’t Supposed to Be Fashion
If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you already know one of my biggest pet peeves is the idea that sustainable fashion has to look… boring.
For some reason, sustainability still gets associated with neutral color palettes, plain basics, and capsule wardrobes that all look exactly the same. While that approach works for some people, it isn’t the only version of sustainability.
Caroline summed it up perfectly during our conversation when she said, “I feel like what people don’t understand is, at the end of the day, a sustainable design is truly a hands-on, thought-out, intentional creation.” I love that perspective because it shifts the conversation away from what sustainable fashion looks like and toward the intention behind how it’s made.
Caroline’s work couldn’t be further from that stereotype. Her pieces are colorful, sculptural, artistic, and expressive. They’re proof that sustainability isn’t an aesthetic. It’s a mindset. Whether you’re shopping secondhand, designing biomaterials, repairing your favorite jacket, or supporting independent artists, there isn’t one “correct” way to participate in more conscious fashion.
I think we’ve done ourselves a disservice by reducing sustainable fashion to beige linen and minimalist wardrobes. Sustainability should encourage creativity, not limit it. Whether that’s through vintage shopping, independent designers, or entirely new materials, the goal isn’t to make everyone dress the same—it’s to give people better options. The more creativity we bring into sustainability, the more people we’ll inspire to join the conversation.
Why Representation Matters
One theme that kept coming up throughout our conversation was visibility.
Imagine someone walking the Met Gala in a fully biodegradable gown. Within minutes, millions of people would be asking what it’s made from. That’s how innovation reaches the mainstream. Not through a press release, through a moment. We already know this works. It’s how handbags, sneakers, and beauty trends go viral. So why not materials that could actually change the industry? The more this stuff shows up in the mainstream, the less “alternative” it feels. It just becomes fashion.
Progress Doesn’t Happen Overnight
Another point that really stuck with me was something Caroline shared about innovation.
During our conversation, Caroline mentioned that nylon took years to become “sellable.” Hearing that completely shifted my perspective on sustainable innovation.
Sometimes we expect environmentally friendly alternatives to replace conventional materials overnight, but that’s rarely how progress works. Every major invention starts with experimentation, setbacks, and years of development before it becomes commercially viable.
Caroline’s own career reflects that reality. During our conversation, she talked about being told “no” countless times before eventually being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Hearing her describe that moment wasn’t just inspiring. It was a reminder that meaningful innovation often isn’t recognized immediately. The people pushing industries forward usually spend years experimenting long before the rest of the world catches up.
That doesn’t make the early work any less important.
In fact, it’s often where the biggest breakthroughs begin.
The designers experimenting today are laying the groundwork for what fashion could look like decades from now.
What I Took Away From This Conversation
One of my favorite parts of hosting The Lexy Show is getting to talk with people who challenge the way I think about sustainability. This conversation reminded me that sustainability is also about imagination.
It’s about asking better questions.
The real question Caroline’s work raises is whether beautiful design and environmental responsibility ever had to be opposites in the first place.
If there’s one thing I took away from this conversation, it’s that sustainable fashion isn’t standing still. There are people out there completely reimagining what our clothes can be made from, and that’s something worth paying attention to. If you haven’t listened yet, start with the part where she explains how a bioplastic vessel can go back in the pot and become something completely different. That’s the whole argument in one image.
