Cycling with Nature: A Biomimicry Journey in Product Design

When Lian van Leeuwen joined the Biomimicry Practitioner Programme, she wasn’t just looking to improve the comfort of cycling bib shorts — she was chasing a deeper question: How can performance gear move from extractive to regenerative? 

"For me, coming across biomimicry really excited me because it was the other way around... not just about doing less harm, but about doing things in a more positive, life-aligned way," she says. 

Lian's project looked to nature to design a product that consists of life-friendly materials, and is recyclable. If you're interested in nature-inspired product design, you can also read this article: 10 Biomimicry Product Examples for Nature-Inspired Designers.

Her project took her into the peloton of nature’s designers. “Nature is so resourceful and efficient—using just a few building blocks to do everything, including us. That still amazes me”. 

She started asking nature several questions to design her cycling chamois - one that would not be harmful to the environment.

One of the questions we ask most often in biomimicry "How does nature accomplish x?". 

And on her journey, unusual alliances bloomed within her Practitioner Programme cohort. "I loved those deeper conversations with fellow cohort participants. You realize you’re connecting not just on content but on a whole way of seeing," she says. Connecting with like-minded peers stimulated her curiosity even further. 

Her study led her to investigate α-keratin in wool—flexible, insulating, and antimicrobial. Keratins have typically durable, insoluble, and chemically un-reactive properties. 

You can read more about keratin in this Science Direct article.

She also explored the shock-absorbing structures of fungi, such as mycelium and Amadou. (Amadou is a spongy fungus that grows on the bark of certain trees). 

Talking to mycelium, she says she would ask: "How does it feel to be grossly underestimated?”, and laughs. But more seriously, Lian says we should be figuring out faster and better how this organism can offer alternatives to the materials that are now harming our planet—and us.

Interested in what else mycelium can offer? Read this case study: Fungi as a Protein Source

That sense of quiet intelligence underpins her work, learning from hyphae’s mesh networks, from fungi’s resilience, and from wool’s shape-memory to rethink layering, padding, and even disassembly for recyclability.

Here's what surprised her most: "The huge versatility of mycelium... and how we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. That root system is just incredibly promising in so many ways." 

Did you know that mycelium actually works in quite similar ways to human brains, by using electrical impulses and electrolytes. You can read more in this list of facts about mycelium.

As her project prototypes continue to evolve, and her biomimicry journey continues, Lian’s message to the world is simple: "I always find it fascinating that we keep referring to ourselves as separate from nature - while we are just as much part of this planet's ecosystem as any other living being.

If we really want to solve our biggest challenges, it is key to not only be inspired by nature, but start acting like it".

Watch Lian present an overview of her project below: 

What's the next step in your biomimicry journey? 

If you're interested in doing your own biomimicry project, explore the Biomimicry Practitioner Programme here, or see other Practitioner Projects here.