Polybion has announced the launch of Fold Studies 01, the latest Limited Drop from VIBELAB, a programme developed in collaboration with material innovators, brands, independent designers, manufacturers and creative partners. The initiative is designed to translate biomaterials into real, usable objects and place those objects into circulation today.
Rather than serving as a retail expansion or the introduction of a competing consumer brand, the Limited Drops programme functions as a strategic activation, allowing Polybion to explore how cultivated materials can be applied in practical contexts. Fold Studies 01 focuses on a simple but ambitious proposition: folding cultured biomaterials into functional everyday essentials.
At the centre of the collection is Celium™, Polybion’s premium cultivated cellulose material. The objects are defined by a construction method that eliminates the need for additional components, hidden fastenings or external structural elements. Instead, each piece is formed from a seamless surface developed from living material and shaped through folding.
The fold itself becomes the structure. It determines how the object stands, opens and carries its contents, embedding functionality directly into the material rather than relying on conventional assembly methods.
The collection highlights an alternative approach to product design, where form and function emerge from the inherent properties of the material. By folding Celium™ into usable objects, Polybion demonstrates how cultivated biomaterials can be transformed from laboratory-grown surfaces into products intended for everyday circulation.
According to Polybion, more than 500 million bacteria collaborated in the growth of the surface materials used throughout the drop. The result is a series of objects that maintain their integrity through material design, with functionality achieved through folding rather than added hardware or construction techniques.
With Fold Studies 01, VIBELAB continues its exploration of how biomaterials can be integrated into contemporary product design, offering a tangible example of how cultivated cellulose can be shaped into practical objects that are designed to be used, carried and experienced in everyday life.
