Carol is a bio-designer specialising in bacterial cellulose-based textiles in combination with knit and footwear. By making use of new technologies intertwined with traditional design approaches, her work investigates the potential of bacterial cellulose as a textile material through multidisciplinary design proposals.
EDUCATION
PhD program in Design [2024 - 2027] Kyoto Institute of Technology. Three-dimensional Fabrication Strategies of Bacterial Cellulose addressing the gap between Fashion & Textile making.
MA Fashion & Textile Design [2021 - 2024] University of Borås. Graduating Project: Bacterial Brickbats
MA Degree Research Exchange Term [2023 - 2024] Kyoto Institute of Technology. Research Topic: Material development of bacterial cellulose-knit textile in the context of footwear
BA (Hons) Footwear Design: Product Design & Innovation [2014 - 2018] London College of Fashion. Graduating Project: La Petit Morte
PUBLICATIONS
· "THE OTHER: Future Body Perspectives on Design Methods"Carolina De Lara and Emma Van Gerven in Driving Design Vol. 3: Reimagining, Reconfiguring, Redistributing Design by Distributed Design Platform (2025)
· “Fermenting Knits: A Material-Driven Exploration of Knit-Based Bacterial Cellulose Biocomposite Textile Materials through Fibre Reassembly.” Research Directions: Biotechnology Design 2 (2024): e3. Web. <doi.org/10.1017/btd.2024.3.>
· “Biomaterial Artistry: Investigating the Aesthetic Expressions of Voluminous Form-Giving Applied to Knit-Bacterial Cellulose Composite Textiles Derived from Material Development in the Context of Footwear.” Cambridge Open Engage (2023): n. pag. Web. [Preprint]
· “Kintsugi; Exploring the Form-Giving Potential of Knit-Bacterial Cellulose Biocomposites in the Context of Footwear.” Cambridge Open Engage (2023): n. pag. Web. [Preprint]
AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS
· NEXT GEN DESIGN 2025: „REDESIGN TOMORROW, TODAY“ Residency Program; Design Austria @Vienna Design Week
· 国費外国人留学生制度 The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Scholarship Program
EXHIBITIONS
2025
Travelling and Virtual Group Exhibition Vienna Design Week. Vienna, Austria (September 25 - 28). || Visiting: Mikser Festival, Belgrade (Serbia); Barcelona Design Week, Barcelona (Spain); What Design Can Do, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Skopje Design Week, Skopje (North Macedonia)
2024
Joint Degree exhibition at Dutch Design Week. Eindhoven, The Netherlands. (October 19 - 27)
Bacterial Brickbats [Extended]
Master collection exhibition: EXIT24. Textilmuseet. Borås, Sweden. (May - July)
2023
Exhibited at SPCS Season 4 "Living Dyes" Study Joint Exhibition, FabCafe Tokyo. Tokyo, Japan. (Nov. 30 - Dec. 6)
Presented at "BIOCALIBRATED: Tools and Techniques for Biodesign Practices" Symposium, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. London, United Kingdom (Nov. 30 - Dec. 1)
Exhibited at SPCS Season 4 "Living Dyes" Study Joint Exhibition, FabCafe Kyoto. Kyoto, Japan. (November 7 - 11)
Exhibited at Arcintex Hybrid Symposium: What are Smart Textiles and Bio-Materials in the Anthropocene? Center for Creative Industries & Professions, VIA University College. Herning, Denmark. (May 2 - 3).
Exhibited at Fashion for Future Materials Exhibition [Unibz] The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. Bolzano, Italy. (April 27 - May 6).
2022
Exhibited at Arcintex Hybrid Symposium: LIVING TEXTILE ARCHITECTURES – Towards Multi-Species, Multi-Scale Interaction. HBBE, University of Newcastle. Newcastle, UK. (October 12 - 14).
Selected samples exhibited at the Textile Museum Fashion Center. Högskolan i Borås, Sweden. (September - October).
Exhibited at Momentum. The Swedish School of Textiles, Borås, Sweden. (June - September).
2018
Collaboration with BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring, Degree Runway and Showroom Exhibition. London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. London, UK. (July 16).
BA Degree Work Exhibition. London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. London, UK. (June 20 - July 4).