$600K Lab-Grown T-Rex Leather Bag Sparks Scientific Doubt

Polish brand Enfin Levé unveiled a handbag claimed to be made from lab-grown T-rex leather, priced around $600,000 for a Paris auction, but experts question the claim: the Montana fossil tissue sample may be bacterial rather than dinosaur flesh, and the bag’s material reportedly uses AI-generated synthetic collagen blended with chicken proteins, meaning it may be more chicken than dinosaur. If true, it isn’t dinosaur leather, but the episode highlights advances and debate around lab-grown, cruelty-free materials in fashion.