VML: World's first T-Rex leather product unveiled - a luxury handbag designed by Enfin Levé
Prehistoric meets high fashion as the world's first product made from T-Rex Leather™ - a one-of-a-kind luxury handbag - debuts on 2 April 2026 alongside colossal T.rex statue
AMSTERDAM, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a world first that sounds more Jurassic Park than luxury fashion, scientists, creatives and designers have come together to create the world's first product made from lab-grown T-Rex Leather™ - a handbag designed to showcase the material's potential.
Engineered using reconstructed dinosaur collagen and brought to life without harming a single animal, T-Rex leather makes its first public debut in Amsterdam this April, where the handbag will be displayed beside a life-sized T.rex statue - marking the moment prehistoric biology meets future-facing couture.
Following the 2025 announcement of the ambition to create the world's first T-Rex leather, creative agency VML (a group company of WPP PLC), genomic engineering leader The Organoid Company, and sustainable biotechnology pioneer Lab-Grown Leather Ltd. - a group company of BSF Enterprise PLC (LSE: BSFA) - have been developing this new material, which will be made available to luxury brands in the future.
As its first expression, a one-of-a-kind handbag has been exclusively designed by avant-garde techwear label Enfin Levé. Founded by Polish designer Michal Hadas, Enfin Levé is known for its technical precision and functional innovation, bridging artisanal craftsmanship and progressive techwear to create elevated garments and accessories for men and women.
The unveiling will take place at Art Zoo Museum in Amsterdam on 2 April 2026, where the bag will be displayed beside a colossal T.rex structure acquired by the museum from Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The structure is a cast of one of the most famous Tyrannosaurus rex specimens in the world, making Art Zoo a fitting setting for showcasing the first-ever product made from T-Rex Leather™. Positioned alongside its prehistoric counterpart, the bag symbolises a bridge between ancient biology and future-facing luxury design.
About T-Rex leather
T-Rex leather is the outcome of a unique scientific collaboration between VML, The Organoid Company and Lab-Grown Leather Ltd., created to demonstrate that the future of luxury leather need not rely on animals being killed for their hides.
To engineer leather from an extinct species, the team began with fossilized T.rex collagen sequences. Using advanced computational biology and AI modelling, scientists predicted and reconstructed the remaining genetic information required to form a complete collagen blueprint. This fully synthesized DNA was inserted into a carrier cell line. Billions of these engineered cells were then cultivated using Lab-Grown Leather's proprietary Advanced Tissue Engineering Platform (ATEP™) and integrated into its Elemental-X™ product stream.
Unlike many alternative materials, Lab-Grown Leather's scaffold-free approach allows the cells to create their own natural structure, resulting in a material that is structurally identical to traditional leather. The outcome is a durable, repairable, biodegradable and fully traceable leather - grown without animal slaughter, deforestation, or chromium-heavy tanning processes.
Once produced, the T-Rex Leather™ was entrusted to Enfin Levé, who transformed the prehistoric-inspired biomaterial into a singular luxury handbag. The piece demonstrates that by going back 68 million years, it is possible to create the leather of the future - without harming any living creatures in the process.
Auction and future commercial availability
The bag unveiled on 2 April 2026 is a one-of-its-kind collector's piece. Following its six week exhibition at Art Zoo, it will be auctioned and sold to the highest bidder.
While this first piece is unique, T-Rex leather itself will continue to be produced. The material will be made commercially available to brands and designers, with further details on purchasing and supply to be released in due course. Initial applications will focus on luxury accessories, with long-term ambitions extending into fashion, automotive, and other high-performance material sectors.
Reimagining leather for a changing planet
Dinosaurs evolved to survive extreme environmental conditions - conditions that echo the accelerating climate challenges of today. By studying and reconstructing ancient biology, the collaboration opens new possibilities for resilient, high-performance materials engineered through modern biotechnology.
Traditional leather production is associated with significant environmental challenges, including deforestation and chemical-intensive tanning. T-Rex leather, like other forms of Elemental Leather™ from Lab-Grown Leather Ltd., offers a path to dramatically reduce these impacts while maintaining the tactile quality, strength and longevity expected of premium leather goods.
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