A garment clad with iridescent wooden sequins is among the projects on display at the Designs for a Cooler Planet exhibition at Finland's Aalto University, demonstrating innovative applications of cellulose.
Designs for a Cooler Planet is an annual student exhibition at Aalto University, which kicks off during Helsinki Design Week each year and features projects that tackle sustainability in the design industry.
The university is known for encouraging its students to collaborate across disciplines ? a tradition highlighted in the exhibition, where students studying arts and sciences have joined forces to push the boundaries of their research.
While a range of biomaterials feature in the show, the following four projects from Designs for a Cooler Planet are united in their use of cellulose, the dominant substance found in plant cell walls. Helsinki Design Week concluded on Sunday, but the exhibition will remain on display at Aalto University until 3 October.

Photo courtesy of Aalto University
Shimmering Wood by Structural Colour Studio and Anna Semi
Noora Yau and Konrad Klockars of Structural Colour Studio collaborated with fashion designer Semi to create Shimmering Wood ? iridescent solid wooden sequins made shiny by their nanocellulose, presented on a black garment.
Similarly to butterfly wings and peacock feathers, the "microscopically small" nanostructures formed by the cellulose create vivid colours when they interact with light.
The sequins do not contain to...