In this episode of the cityCURRENT Show, Andrew Bartolotta sits down with Maria Intscher-Owrang, co-founder of Simplifyber, an advanced materials company redefining how products are made through innovative fiber technology.
After spending more than two decades in luxury fashion — including serving as VP of Design at Vera Wang — Maria stepped away from the traditional fashion industry to help solve one of manufacturing’s biggest challenges: waste, inefficiency, and outdated production systems.
Through Simplifyber’s groundbreaking liquid fiber molding technology, products can be created directly from cellulose-based materials like wood pulp and recycled fibers in a single step — dramatically reducing waste, assembly complexity, and dependence on plastics.
In this conversation, we discuss:
• Why Maria left luxury fashion to reinvent manufacturing
• How Simplifyber’s technology works and why it matters
• The future of sustainable materials and bio-based products
• Why performance — not just sustainability — drives innovation
• How design, manufacturing, and systems thinking intersect
This episode is a fascinating look at the future of fashion, materials science, sustainability, and entrepreneurship — and how one bold idea could transform industries around the world.
Learn more: https://www.simplifyber.com/
