A true eco-warrior has put her own spin on the bridal tradition of wearing something old and something new by growing her own wedding dress out of old tree mulch and fungus - and now she wants other brides to do the same . Erin Smith , a former artist in residence at Microsoft Research who lives in New York City , used a $ 40 bag of agricultural waste from Ecovative Design to grow mycelium , a mass of fibers from microscopic mushrooms , to create the 'fabric ' for her dress , with the intention of wearing her unique , yet cardboard-like design to her nuptials in Vermont last August . ' I like the [ idea ] that maybe you change into something else for dancing , and you could literally tear the dress apart and put it in your garden , and it would literally keep growing with you , ' she told the Huffington Post . It 's alive ! Erin Smith , from New York City , grew this cardboard-like bridal gown out of tree mulch and fungus . Environmentally friendly : The artist can be seen giving a presentation about the dress she had grown . She added : 'There ’ s something kind of of lovely about that . ' In order to mold the mushroom material into the shape of a gown , she wrapped the sheets of mycelium around a dress form where they continued to grow . Erin said that her mom 'rolled her eyes ' when she found out that her daughter was planning to wear a homegrown dress to say ' I do ' , but she was n't particularly surprised . Despite her best intentions however , the artist ended up walking down the aisle in a thrift store dress because her dress was n't entirely finished growing . But Erin insisted that she is still interested in the concept of growing wedding dresses and noted that she would like to one day create a thinner and more malleable mycelium for making clothing , including bridal gowns . Innovative : Erin used a $ 40 bag of agricultural waste to grow mycelium , a mass of fibers from microscopic mushrooms , to create the 'fabric ' for her dress . She then wrapped the sheets around a dress form for shape . Circle of life : Erin said she liked the idea that a bride could tear the dress apart and put in her garden as compost . Clothing of the future : The dress is an example of taking a one time use object and turning it into something that is biodegradable immediately after use . ' I think the ability for us to grow our own clothing could have great positive potential , ' she told The Guardian . According to Erin , growing clothing would eliminate carbon emissions and allow people to make garments with precise dimensions and specifications . ' 'The concept behind a grown wedding dress was to take a one-time-use object and rethink its construction in order to have an appropriate material lifespan , ' she said . Erin noted that the average cost of a wedding gown in the US is about $ 1,200 and made out of nearly 12 yards of fabric . 'The wedding dress is a perfect example of a one-time-use , energy intensive and entirely non-sustainable model that is representative of so many of the choices that we make daily , ' she said .
Erin Smith used a $ 40 bag of agricultural waste to create sheets of 'fabric ' , which she wrapped around a dress form as they continued to grow . She said the ability to grow clothing has 'great positive potential '