It has been years since I last spoke with Ece Gözen, and much has changed in the meantime. Her career has taken new directions, her vision has expanded, and her work has evolved considerably. It has been remarkable to witness how far she has come.

Gözen is one of those designers who have managed to turn their creative abilities into something far greater than fashion. Since I first came to know her as a fashion designer, she has pursued a series of projects that have brought her closer to the vision she always had in mind. The latest milestone came just a few days ago, when she sent me a message about her latest achievement. Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear the news.

In her message, Gözen shared that Gozen, the biotechnology company she founded and leads as CEO, had signed a long-term exclusive licensing agreement with Nuera, a wholly owned subsidiary of Desa, for the production and global commercialization of Lunaform, the biomaterial she invented. Developed through a controlled fermentation process, Lunaform takes just seven days to grow as microorganisms weave natural nanofibers into a structured material. It is now cultivated at Nuera’s facility in Istanbul before being processed at Desa’s tannery in Çorlu, where it is customized to meet brands’ specific requirements. Depending on customer demand, the material can then be turned into finished products at manufacturing facilities in Türkiye and Tuscany. The integrated model brings together every stage, from biofabrication to finished products, opening up possibilities across industries ranging from luxury fashion to automotive. Among the first outcomes of the partnership were Lunaform designs featured in Desa’s 1972 collection at Milan Fashion Week.

After reading her message, I went back to my archives and revisited our last interview, which took place in 2019, before the pandemic had even begun. Back then, Gözen had only just started exploring bio-based materials. Driven by curiosity, personal initiative and a desire to develop solutions that could contribute to the planet’s future, she had embarked on a journey without knowing exactly where it would lead.

A graduate of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University's Department of Textile and Fashion Design, Gözen had already established her own label and quickly gained recognition in Türkiye and abroad for her collections. Yet, when we met in 2019, she had been working with bio-based materials for only five months. Although she had built a fashion brand and was selling her collections both locally and internationally, she knew there was more she wanted to explore. A mentorship program in London, which she joined after receiving an award in 2016, had played an important role in broadening her perspective on design. She had begun to see design as something that went beyond the shape of a garment, extending to the origins of its materials and the relationship between production and nature.

Her ambition was to create a platform where science, art and design could come together to help build a more sustainable world. With this in mind, she returned to Istanbul and began looking beyond clothing, focusing instead on materials, systems and technologies developed in collaboration with nature. She wanted to develop her own approaches to working with biomaterials and bioplastics derived from living organisms, with the ultimate goal of taking these innovations to industrial-scale production.

I remember her showing me a small sample of biomaterial that day as she talked about what she hoped to achieve. Looking back, it is fascinating how much of what she envisioned then has come to life.

In 2023, French luxury fashion house Balenciaga introduced pieces made with Lunaform, the material Gözen had spent years developing, bringing her work to the attention of the global fashion world. It was a moment when we could begin to see her vision taking shape. Scientists, designers and environmental researchers around the world had been exploring similar ideas, but few had managed to take a material from an experimental stage all the way to industrial-scale production. Gözen was among those who managed to make that leap.

When we met again recently, she told me more about the journey I had been following from a distance, the biomaterial she speaks about with such passion and the new company established to take her work further.

Reflecting on what the journey has taught her, Gözen says that developing an entirely new material is only one part of a much bigger transformation. The world also needs new kinds of companies, business models and partnerships capable of bringing these innovations to life. For her, Nuera represents precisely that next step: a way to take her vision beyond the laboratory and into industrial production. As she puts it, "Real change does not come simply from creating a new form; it also requires building the conditions that allow it to find a place in the world.” She sees leading this transformation as one of the most meaningful parts of her work.

That transition is already underway. Lunaform is now produced at Nuera’s Istanbul facility, where microorganisms form natural nanofiber structures in just seven days. The material is entirely bio-based when harvested, and the facility has an annual production capacity of approximately 15,000 square meters. From there, it goes to Desa’s LWG Gold-certified tannery in Çorlu, where it is tailored to brands’ requirements in terms of color, texture and thickness. Different surface finishes further expand its creative potential, offering new possibilities for luxury fashion and design.

But the collaboration does not stop at material production and processing. Nuera's integrated business model also gives brands access to manufacturing facilities operated by Desa in Istanbul and Düzce, as well as Desa Internazionale in Tuscany. This means that products designed with Lunaform can move directly into production within the same network before reaching international markets through the brand's distribution channels. Rather than having to coordinate with several suppliers, brands can work with a single partner throughout the process, from biofabrication to the finished product.

For now, Gözen is focused on helping Nuera grow into a successful global company. But she also has other ideas in mind, hinting at future design projects through her San Francisco-based company, Gozen, with Lunaform continuing to play a central role.