Other rare leathers are so inferior! The small handbag made of Tyrannosaurus rex leather will be launched within this year.

80 million years ago, when Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth, it was about 12 meters long and was one of the most fearsome creatures in nature. But soon, it will turn into a small bag in your hand.

Image of a Tyrannosaurus rex leather bag created by AI | VML

Recently, Dutch advertising agency VML, biotech company The Organoid Company, and artificial leather company Lab-Grown Leather announced a collaborative project. They will use collagen fragments from Tyrannosaurus rex fossils as a blueprint to create "Tyrannosaurus rex leather" in the laboratory.

Seeing that the China Leather Industry Association also reported this news, I finally felt relieved. The news of the "Tyrannosaurus rex handbag" has been recognized by the industry and will surely shock every boss in Wenzhou leather factories.

So, is this Tyrannosaurus rex leather legitimate? Will this "vintage small bag" be more expensive than Hermès in the future?

What does Tyrannosaurus rex leather look like?

Unless there is a time machine, no one can see a living Tyrannosaurus rex. We can only imagine what its leather was like based on limited fossil clues and scientific speculation.

First of all, was Tyrannosaurus rex leather furry or covered in scales?

Scientists have argued about this question for a long time. Dilong paradoxus and Yutyrannus huali, which belong to the same Tyrannosauridae family as Tyrannosaurus rex, are more primitive on the evolutionary tree. Feather imprints can be observed on the fossils they left behind. Therefore, some people speculate that Tyrannosaurus rex may also have had feathers, perhaps even more developed than those of primitive tyrannosaurs.

Reconstruction of Dilong paradoxus, which is more primitive than Tyrannosaurus rex and covered in feathers | Conty / Wikimedia Commons

However, in a 2017 study, scientists analyzed the skin of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Wyrex on its neck, pelvis, and tail and compared it with some large Tyrannosauridae of the same period (such as Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus). They found that they were all covered with smooth and fine scales, without a trace of feathers. They speculated that Tyrannosaurus rex and its relatives mainly had scaly skin in adulthood. Even if they grew feathers, it might have been in their juvenile stage or in specific areas such as the head. Adult Tyrannosaurus rex were huge in size and had low heat - retention needs, so they no longer needed the possible downy feathers in their juvenile stage.

Fossilized skin of Tyrannosaurus rex Wyrex, covered with scales | Amanda Kelley

Then, what color was Tyrannosaurus rex leather? Was it a colorful black like crocodile skin or brown like cowhide?

Fossils rarely preserve information about skin pigments, so we still don't know the true skin color of Tyrannosaurus rex. Scientists can only refer to the colors of modern reptiles or birds to speculate on what color Tyrannosaurus rex might have been. Dinosaurs were diurnal animals. They may have had bright appearances like many modern diurnal reptiles and birds, using colors to court mates or drive away predators. Some scholars also speculate that, like modern predators on the grasslands, Tyrannosaurus rex may have been mainly brown in color.

In short, based on the current evidence, we can speculate that if Tyrannosaurus rex leather could really be restored, it might not be as delicate and soft as lambskin, but more similar to the feel of reptile leather, like crocodile skin or lizard skin, stiff, with a granular texture, and very wear - resistant. Its original color may have been very colorful, with an iridescent sheen when the light changes, but it may also have been a plain earth color.

Reconstruction of Tyrannosaurus rex based on current evidence, with most of the adult skin covered in scales and possibly some feathers remaining on the head | Steveoc 86 / Wikimedia Commons

However, we may be disappointed. The "Tyrannosaurus rex leather" cultured in the laboratory may not really restore the original scale patterns and colors on the dinosaur. Since the laboratory culture focuses on the collagen network of the dermis and does not include the epidermal scale structure, what is cultivated may just be a whole piece of smooth leather, more similar to ordinary cow or sheep leather. However, to match people's imagination of dinosaur skin, they may artificially dye and emboss the texture in the later stage, and the final product may be similar to current artificial leather.

Size is also a big problem. Adult Tyrannosaurus rex weighed 6 - 9 tons. According to three - dimensional weight estimation, their skin area could reach 30 - 40 square meters, while the entire leather area of an adult cow is about 4 - 5 square meters. The area of a Tyrannosaurus rex skin is equivalent to several cowhides. Theoretically, it can be made into a large number of bags and even cover several large sofas. However, in the laboratory, the area of leather that can be cultured in the initial stage will not be so large. The experimental products will probably start with wallets and handbags.

A real Tyrannosaurus rex is so big that it could make a whole room full of bags | FunkMonk & Fæ / Wikimedia Commons

According to reports, this team plans to launch their first Tyrannosaurus rex leather fashion item by the end of 2025, targeting the high - end accessory market. It may be a limited - edition luxury handbag. As the saying goes, rarity makes the price high. Coupled with the R & D cost and the slogans of "prehistoric animal" and "environment - friendly high - tech", the price may exceed that of any luxury brand's crocodile or ostrich skin bags on the market. The team also said that when the technology matures and production is expanded, they will also expand into other fields, such as clothing and even automobile interiors. By then, the rich may be wearing Tyrannosaurus rex, carrying Tyrannosaurus rex bags, and sitting on Tyrannosaurus rex - covered sofas.

Where does the Tyrannosaurus rex leather come from?

So, how is the so - called Tyrannosaurus rex leather actually made in the laboratory?

The key lies in collagen.

In 1988, a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil was unearthed in Montana, USA. Scientists isolated trace collagen fragments from it. These fragments are like scattered jigsaw pieces, providing some clues about the original collagen. Using these fragments, the genomic engineering team of The Organoid Company referred to the collagen genes of the existing relatives of dinosaurs (such as birds and reptiles) and combined large - scale DNA and protein models to reverse - reconstruct the collagen gene sequence of Tyrannosaurus rex.

Che Connon, a professor of tissue engineering at Newcastle University and one of the leaders of the project | BusinessLive

Next, the team edited the genetic information of the laboratory - cultured cells to make them express the collagen gene of Tyrannosaurus rex. These cells may be fibroblasts or stem cells in the dermis, which can be used as seeds to cultivate skin. Traditional skin tissue engineering requires scaffold materials to simulate the natural environment of the skin and guide the growth direction of cells. However, Lab - Grown Leather company revealed that they use a "scaffold - free culture technology", allowing cells to grow into a three - dimensional structure similar to skin tissue on their own.

After such tissue grows to a sufficient area and thickness, it can be harvested. At this time, the skin is still soft and moist raw leather and cannot be directly made into a leather bag. A series of tanning and finishing processes, as well as dyeing and embossing operations, are still needed later to finally make the finished leather.

Of course, from a small piece of leather in the laboratory to a finished bag, there is still a lot of exploration and testing to be done. For example, whether the thickness of the leather meets the standard, its tensile strength, and wear - resistance all need to be repeatedly tested and adjusted.

A small piece of cultured bovine dermis by another company, Modern Meadow | Modern Meadow

Lab - Grown Leather company claims that the Tyrannosaurus rex leather material they produce has the same structure as traditional leather, and its touch and durability are comparable to real leather. Moreover, no animals are harmed during the entire production process, so it is a "zero - cruelty" material. At the same time, Tyrannosaurus rex leather uses cell technology and can be biodegraded. Unlike PU leather, it does not cause plastic pollution. The founder believes that it is "both innovative and ethical".

It sounds cool, but in the eyes of many experts, the Tyrannosaurus rex leather bag is not what it claims to be. On the one hand, the collagen that can be extracted from fossils is just fragmented polypeptides, which are far from enough to restore the real collagen of Tyrannosaurus rex. Currently, we do not have the DNA of Tyrannosaurus rex. The so - called reconstruction is just a speculative simulation, which may be very different from the real Tyrannosaurus rex genes.

On the other hand, collagen is a common structural protein in all animals, and the differences in its sequence between different species are not significant. Even if this project successfully cultivates "Tyrannosaurus rex leather", in essence, it is just a general collagen leather. The collagen components in it are likely to be similar to those in cows or chickens, and there is no difference from other laboratory - cultured artificial biological leathers, let alone any dinosaur characteristics. This company uses the "dinosaur" label to sell at a high price, which is just a marketing gimmick.

Raw leather made of pure animal cells cultured in the laboratory through the cooperation of 3D Bio - Tissues in the UK and Lab - Grown Leather Ltd (not the Tyrannosaurus rex leather in this case) | 3D BioTissues

There is also the issue of skin tissue layers. The collagen fragments in fossils belong to the dermis, without any information about the epidermis and scales. Even if the collagen network is restored, the texture, thickness, and stratum corneum structure of the Tyrannosaurus rex epidermis cannot be restored. The final appearance of the leather depends on artificial treatment. In other words, they can make it look however they want, which has nothing to do with the real Tyrannosaurus rex.

However, bad publicity is still publicity. Even though there are many controversies, the news of Tyrannosaurus rex leather has spread all over the world, and everyone wants to see what a prehistoric animal turned into a leather bag looks like. From a commercial perspective, this project has been a great success.

Think outside the box. Does it have to be Tyrannosaurus rex?

Whether the Tyrannosaurus rex leather bag is really made of Tyrannosaurus rex leather aside, the definition of "leather" has now exceeded people's imagination.

There have been some bio - based innovative leather products before. For example, MycoWorks company cultivated "mushroom leather" from fungal mycelium. There are also plant - based leathers such as Piñatex® and AppleSkin, which are made from pineapple leaf fibers or apple juice residues as partial raw materials. Some companies (such as Modern Meadow and VitroLabs) have also started from bovine cells and tried to cultivate dermis in the laboratory.

A T - shirt made of laboratory - cultured bovine leather by Modern Meadow | Modern Meadow

In fact, as long as there is enough genetic sequence information, theoretically, we can make materials from any animal. With Tyrannosaurus rex leather, we can also have saber - toothed tiger skin, mammoth skin, and even Archaeopteryx skin. Some luxury brands use the skins of rare animals such as crocodiles, pythons, and ostriches, which causes ecological and ethical problems. If these animal leathers can be produced through cell culture, consumers' needs can be met without harming wild animals.