Orthopaedic garments improve the quality of life for individuals with chronic conditions, injuries, or in search of preventative support. This study explores the potential application of fungal textile materials to orthopaedic garments for the hand and wrist areas, focusing on identifying key experiential qualities for seven participants. Iterative exploration in creating fungal materials with differential flexibility and cushioning resulted in three distinct material samples, four textural patterns, and three concepts, each showcasing the varied qualities. These outcomes were assessed through semi-structured qualitative interviews, focusing on qualities of fungal textile and user perceptions of their comfort, relevance, and desirability. Participants valued the materials’ natural qualities and potential for varying combinations to suit breathability and temporal needs in their unique use cases, informing further prototyping. By harnessing the unique qualities of fungal textiles, this research proposes how these materials can meet diverse wellness needs while reducing reliance on synthetic and non-renewable materials.

This paper presents our investigation into methods to create fungal textiles with variable cushioning and flexibility properties, for differing technical and experiential characteristics. Fungal materials have generated rising interest in design communities over the past several years, resulting in applications in packaging, building, insulation, fashion and more due to their circular lifecycle and tunable customization on a myriad of properties and scales. In the fashion industry, these novel materials have been used as leather alternatives with a broad range of applications to the human form. Imitating conventional textile behavior, these applications, however, usually retain the same characteristics throughout the breadth of the material, a departure from the dynamic living organism it was created from. We aim to bridge this gap by endowing a singular fungal textile with multiple properties, serving the dual function of highlighting its organic origins and reducing the material complexity often required to achieve such versatility in a single material. Specifically, we present our design exploration to create localized support and flexibility in fungal textiles. We explored two techniques of creating fungal textiles, investigating diverse fungal species, growth and manufacturing methods, and post-processing techniques. The new techniques and unique properties of these materials suggest promising applications in areas such as assistive wearables, enhancing both user and planetary wellbeing.