Fashion designer makes clothes from milk

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MILKING IT: Fashion designer and microbiologist Anke Domaske poses with a pitcher of milk, milk fibre and milk yarn. Domaske uses milk yarn that is made from milk protein fibres, which is extracted from milk that did not meet hygiene standards, to create her fashion.

MILKING IT: Milk fibres and a pitcher of milk are pictured in the studio of fashion designer and microbiologist Anke Domaske in Hanover.

MILKING IT: Model Britta poses in a dress of fashion designer and microbiologist Anke Domaske made from milk protein fibres, which is extracted from milk that did not meet hygiene standards.

MILKING IT: Model Britta is reflected in a mirror as she poses in a dress of fashion designer and microbiologist Anke Domaske that uses milk yarn that is made from milk protein fibres, which is extracted from milk that did not meet hygiene standards.

MILKING IT: Fashion designer and microbiologist Anke Domaske poses between her dresses made from milk yarn.

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A young fashion designer from the German city of Hanover is revolutionising high fashion by designing clothes with a staple she can find in her fridge - milk.

Anke Domaske, 28, has developed a fabric called QMilch made from high concentrations of the milk protein casein - the first man-made fibre produced entirely without chemicals.

"It feels like silk and it doesn't smell - you can wash it just like anything else," Domaske told Reuters.

Made from all natural materials, the QMilch fabric is ecological but also has many health benefits, said Domaske, who also said the amino acids in the protein are antibacterial, anti-ageing and can help regulate both blood circulation and body temperature.

Domaske's fashion label Mademoiselle Chi Chi - a favourite among the likes of Mischa Barton and Ashlee Simpson - has now started weaving the milk fibre into its collection.

Currently the MCC clothes - which feature flowing wrap dresses with edgy cuts and bright patterns - are made from a combination of various fibres, including QMilch. But Domaske plans to design a collection made entirely from the milk fibre.

Milk fabric has been around since the 1930s but was always produced in unecological ways that used a lot of chemicals. Unlike earlier prototypes, QMilch is made almost entirely from casein.

"We have developed an all-natural fibre consisting of a very high concentration of casein, with a few other natural ingredients - and in only two years," the former microbiology student Domaske said.

The casein is extracted from dried milk powder and then heated up in a type of meat-mincing machine with other natural ingredients. The fibre comes out in strands and is then spun into yarn on a spinning machine.

Domaske said it would take about six litres of milk to produce an entire dress, which costs about €150 (NZ$261) to €200.

Luckily, for that kind of money, the clothes don't come with an expiry date - during the heating process, the molecules bind in such a way that the protein won't decompose.

Due to its anti-bacterial qualities, the milk fibre can also be used in medicine and makeup. Even some auto companies have looked into using the fibre for car upholstery.

- Reuters