Refashion Week 2023 Sustainable Botanical Installation

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In April 2022 ReFashion Week NYC was presented in collaboration with the Sanitation Foundation in order to highlight sustainability in the fashion industry.

As part of this event I created an installation from up-cycled and foraged botanical materials and flowers destined for the compost.

The winter look was inspired by the Adirondack forest where I grew up and first fell in love with plants. This design is made from foraged materials from the forest of my hometown. The bodice is Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) and skirt is made of common temperate forest conifers such as Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadesnsis), Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvesteris). Two types of ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides and Drypoteris sp.) and turkey tail mushrooms are interwoven.

The spring look was made of cut flowers destined for the compost in my local Brooklyn neighborhood, many of which were generously donated by Hibiscus Flower Shop. I used many different cut flowers including daisies, carnations, roses and ranunculus.

The pants included in the garment were made using recycled fabric from Fab Scrap. The base models and the hanging flowers were made of chicken wire and papier-mâché.

As a plant biologist I am inspired to create things that reflect the interdependent ecologies of the natural world. There is lots we can learn from nature about how to engineer a more sustainable future.

Almost all items used in the creation of this garment were recycled, reused or composted.

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Details from the Looks

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