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Informational PowerPoint-journal club

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Environmental impact of the fashion industry 

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Environmental impact of the fashion industry 

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Fashion & Environment - SustainYourStyle

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Cheap clothing is an affordable option for our pocket. But what is the real cost of that? Learn more about the impact of the fast fashion industry on the environment 🌏.

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When the call to make masks for heroes began, it was time to shift focus and make protective masks for those on the front lines supporting communities and people in a time of incredible need. After researching cotton mask patterns, I found a few favorites and began to make and test each mask. I prototyped over twenty-five designs, making modifications to improve comfort and quality while maintaining Aplat's zero waste and origami design principles.

I'm excited to share with you the final Aplat Mask design. I love its simple geometry and origami folds that adjust and fit over a wide range of face shapes and sizes. This design takes the pressure off of the ears and nose. It fits perfectly with glasses and goggles, reducing fog on the lens when breathing.

The cord tie can also be worn as a lanyard, allowing the mask to hang around the neck when not in use. The mask origami design allows it to fold flat, protecting the interior from dust and contaminant particles. For an added layer of protection, the interior features an area to insert a disposable carbon filter, paper towel, or coffee filter. Carbon filters shown above are available on Amazon here.

To sterilize your mask, simply machine wash or steam press with iron for 10 minutes after each use. Visit our Mask FAQs page for more information and tips on mask care and wear.

Aplat Mask Features

Comfortable over the head adjustable strap

Form fitting design

Area to insert a disposable filter

DIY Instructions
DOWNLOAD APLAT PATTERN HERE (8.5" x11" letter size).*
Print at 80-90% scale for younger children(5-7 years old).
*DISCLAIMER:
THE USE OF APLAT'S MASK DESIGN IS FOR INDIVIDUAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY. You are not authorized to use the Aplat mask design for commercial purposes, including but not limited to manufacturing, distribution and sale of the Aplat mask. All intellectual property rights to the Aplat mask design are expressly reserved. ©2020 Aplat Inc | U.S. Patent Pending 29/739,249

To make an Aplat Mask you will need:
Tools Materials

We recommend a heavy weight 100% cotton fabric 7oz-10oz at least 11" x 8"

Cotton cord, ribbon or shoe-lace for head strap at least 47" long and ¼" diameter

Step 1:
Print the Aplat Mask pattern on a letter size sheet of paper. For younger children, scale the pattern 80% to 90% before printing. Cut out and lay the paper pattern on two layers of cotton fabric. If your fabric has a face side or patterned side, layer the two cut pieces with the face side/patterned side inwards. Trace the outline with a pen and cut.

Step 2:
Stitch around the perimeter of the mask ¼" away from the edge of the seam. This is called a top stitch. Make sure to leave ½" openings on all four diagonal corners as shown above and an opening at the bottom creating a pocket.

Step 3:
Turn the sewn pocket inside out. Loop cord (47" long) through the open holes. Please do not use elastic ties that will melt in the dryer over time and are not biodegradable.

Step 4:
Top stitch the last open edge of the mask ¼" away from the edge of the seam.

Step 5:
Fold the top and bottom flaps to the center, to become the nose and chin cover. Top stitch the sides 1¼" from the edge as shown above.

Step 5 - Kids Size:
Simply fold the top and bottom in closer, finishing the rectangle at 2.5" tall. The two side top stitch can also come in towards the center, 1.5"-2" away from each edge.

front view

top view

side view
Step 6:
Open folded top and bottom at center and press near the seam to get a crisp "butterfly" wing to form, comfortably covering your nose and chin.
Please follow CDC guidelines - maintain six feet of physical distance, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, and do not touch your face.

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When the call to make masks for heroes began, it was time to shift focus and make protective masks for those on the front lines supporting communities and people in a time of incredible need. After researching cotton mask patterns, I found a few favorites and began to make and test each mask.

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rubbish to high fashion

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Contributors Stella Ko, CNN

Two pairs of dusty, pastel-orange roller skates. A ram's skull. Several meters of tangled, bright red rope. They aren't the sort of items you'd find in the great fashion houses of Europe or on North American catwalks.

But, for unconventional Chinese designer and performance artist Wan Yunfeng, they are perfect.

From his small apartment in eastern Beijing, Wan makes fashion that only he wears.

His distinctive gowns are crafted from discarded items, draped and twisted around his body and photographed to send a message about the destructive power of human consumption.

"I make clothes to bring awareness to the environment, it is performance art. So of course you can't wear these clothes in daily life, it is to deliver a message of environmental protection," he said.

In his latest photo series, the "Protection of the Ocean," Wan's outfits make him appear entangled in nets and plastic waste, his tortured facial expressions designed to mirror the pain of trapped, ocean animals.

"I want to reconstruct the scenes of those animals struggling before their deaths, caused by ocean pollution," he said.

Inspiration on stage

Wan grew up in a small, scenic town in the eastern area of Fushun, a city of more than 2 million people in northeastern Liaoning Province.

He inherited his artistic streak from his father, Wan Lun, who was a performer in the local errenzhuan theater, a type of Chinese opera from the country's northeast that is performed by two people.

Errenzhuan is more relaxed and relatable than the high culture of Peking opera, and features a cabaret-style mix of comedy, singing and dancing.

Wan used to watch his father on stage, but it was his female partners' bright, distinctive costumes that caught his eye.

"I loved the costumes more than the opera," he said. "Male costumes aren't powerful -- their color and style is very simple. But female clothing can be dramatic," he said.

After leaving home, Wan drifted through different careers -- for a while he was an actor, then a make-up artist working with some of China's top celebrities.

But his thoughts kept coming back to the dresses he saw on stage as a child. During a visit back to his parents' house, he found a pile of discarded clothes and linen.

"A sudden whim came into my head, and then I designed them into something I wanted ... to make them alive," he said.

East meets West

In his apartment in Beijing, Wan collects piles of used items on beds, in bags and stacked in small plastic drawers.

"I ask for materials from everyone. Some come from my daily life... some come from my friends," Wan said. "I also travel globally. I go to some antique markets and flea markets to buy things. You need to make it beautiful."

The self-taught designer draws on both traditional Chinese as well as Western influences, from the classic Chinese qipao dress to the late designer Karl Lagerfeld. "His design is creative and also for daily use. I worship him," Wan said.

Wan has posed in his creations in some of the world's major fashion cities: Paris, New York, Milan.

In Paris, near the Eiffel Tower, he wore an outfit made of recycled denim with a miniature version of the landmark on his head, accessorized with long, red Chinese tassels. He called the piece "Paris cowboy."

Outside the Louvre, in a creation called "The Northeast Flower," he modeled an old quilt cover that had been transformed into a Western-style ballgown with a makeshift pagoda-style crown. Wan said he chose the Louvre as a location to emphasize the cultural blend of his work -- the materials he used in that creation were Chinese but the design was distinctly European.

"It's a China-West collaboration. I really love Chinese culture and European culture, so I mixed them together to create something new," he said.

Some of his work has a more modern edge, as seen in "Crazy IKEA," a series of images taken in New York's Times Square, which show Wan dressed in a bright blue gown made of IKEA shopping bags.

The pastel-orange roller skates, ram's skull and tangled rope seen lying in his apartment will be used in his next project, a call for animal protection.

'I'm not just a model'

At home, Wan has encountered resistance to his avant-garde style.

Commentators on Chinese social media have criticized everything from the cut of this clothes to the shape of his legs. They ask why he dresses as a woman and lifts his legs so high when he walks. On the latter, Wan explains that movement is part of his performance.

"It is because I am imitating how animals walk. There are a lot of endangered animals in the world so when I walk on the road it is to express how animals walk, and I hope people can understand that," he said.

"When people don't get it I tell them that I'm not just a model walking a runway, but a person trying to spread the message of environmental protection."

The criticism has affected Wan in the past.

At one point, he postponed his work and threw out many of his earlier creations. But now he has decided it is important for him to carry on. "If even just one person is influenced by me, I should do it," he said.

"Criticism is OK, exaggeration is OK too. I just have to protect our environment. I just believe that everyone should work to protect our environment, don't you think?"

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chinese artist turns trash into high fashion - cnn

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Written by Ben Westcott, CNNNanlin Fang, CNNBeijing

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Chinese artist Wan Yunfeng is turning trash into high fashion

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Contributors Stella Ko, CNN Two pairs of dusty, pastel-orange roller skates. A ram's skull. Several meters of tangled, bright red rope. They aren't the sort of items you'd find in the great fashion houses of Europe or on North American catwalks. But, for unconventional Chinese designer and performance artist Wan Yunfeng, they are perfect.

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Designer 'aims to capture the algorithms that shape the world around us.'

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You graduated from CSM in 2015. What is something that really stuck with you from your time in the studios there?
It was great how we were given a lot of freedom. We weren't given direction, so we had to think independently. It was nice how our grade didn't really count until the final year, so we could do what we wanted, as long as we didn't fail, of course. It gave me the courage to experiment. I took each project as an opportunity to learn something new. That really made me bolder. That's what stayed with me. I'm not afraid to take risks and find new ways to express myself.
What inspired you to start your own brand?
I really enjoyed making my final collection and wanted to have my own brand. But I knew I needed more experience. During my placement year, I just spent at places I liked personally, like Kei Kagami, which taught me about design, but not really how to run a business. I had never been to high fashion places, so I did an internship at Céline after I graduated, which taught me a lot about construction. After that, I did a short-term commercial project, for a high street collaboration with the university, and I realized it's great to learn about the commercial market. Afterward, I did Stella McCartney as a graduate trainee in womenswear. I did a lot of the catwalk line. That was interesting because I was constantly pushed to create simple, but interesting design. I needed to have a commercial mindset. That wasn't easy, a good challenge.

I was on a work-holiday visa, which expired. So, I decided to use my experience, and the vision I developed at Central Saint Martins, by launching my own brand.
Going from your graduate collection to your first commercial one, how did you adapt your work?
Practicality and innovation are really important to me. My fabrics never wrinkles and they can stretch to any size. That way, it's really compact and easy to take with you when you travel. What I learned from my experience at Céline and Stella was that I needed a product that would be attractive to customers, but still embody the brand value. That is why we started the bubble accessories. It was still related to my work with garments, with the transparency and dimensions, but at the same time, it's easy to wear. It can be easily developed season to season while staying recognisable.
Originally, they were produced by my art teacher from high school. We were asked to produce them for a few stores in Shanghai and they are made to order. Now, they are so popular that even my mom is helping.
What was the inspiration behind the collection you will be presenting in Paris?
It's a continuation of my work since the graduate collection, which was based on fractals, nature, and geometry. How everything is a repetition of itself. I wanted to show the beauty of repetition through the textile. That's why I started "AIR-WAVE", our first collection, to create geometry trough movement with the bode. I wanted to push it with colour and prints, print images onto the fabric, which is why I made them myself this time.
Some of the visuals are scanned rocks from Brighton, surface waves from the rocks. Another one was ripped old magazine paper, scanned so it looks flat. A third print was based of florals. In Chinese, a "floral print" is called "print a flower" so literally stole my mom's rooftop garden. I took her flowers, and literally spray-painted them onto fabric. I combined these different types of printing with a lighter, polyester fabric, which is more suitable for a spring summer collection.

I read "The Grammar of Ornament" by Rick Owen, which was very much linked to my original concept. The most beautiful prints are always linked to nature.
I saw you worked with a new "air-weave" technique. Could you explain what that is?
I first developed this for my first commercial collection. You have to weave it 3D and add layer by layer. Some are very tiny weaves - the smaller it is, the better it moves. Last season we did everything by hand, which was crazy. This season, we still did it by hand, but I invented a board with needles upside down, which makes the distancing of each weave much more accurate. We lay the strips of fabric onto the board, and on the pinned locations, we hand stitch each layer. It's easier because we can work together. For one dress, we'll have seven people working together.
Do you develop the fabric first, or do you start with the silhouette?
The first season, because the fabric was so special, it was really difficult to make the garments and keep the movement. This season, we purposely kept all of our patterns square and we are careful not to waste any fabric. With the leftover strips, we made hats and added flowers. Those are our headpieces. We call the bouquets.
If I understood correctly, this technique involves a minimal waste approach. Could you explain more about your vision on sustainability?
My mom grew up in the countryside and her seamstress taught her to cut fabric, and how to keep all the cut-outs and make shoe soles. When I was studying, my mom would force me not to throw anything away. Keep every bit calico and every pin! It was very intense, and annoying, but somehow it stayed with me. Last season we used all the strips to make ribbon bags, this season we did the hat. Because you can add the flower, it looks different every day.
My approach to sustainability comes very organically. I will be honest,... I would be hesitant to call myself a sustainable brand because I know how much knowledge you must have before you can be truly sustainable. It's so hard, sometimes I feel like it's impossible to create ethically, but I try to improve myself constantly.
I saw you describe the Susan Fang brand as "pure" and "design-focused." Could you explain why that is important to you?
I always ask myself - what makes something beautiful? I realized, beauty already exists in nature, so I just have to backtrack to create something new. It's about having a simple mindset. I don't look at what's currently in trend. The most beautiful thing is already there, in this world.
How do you approach the communication of your brand? For example, the lookbook images, how did that happen?
For my most recent lookbook, we wanted the garments to speak for themselves because there was already so much detail. One of the flower prints inspired us to look at a herbarium, which we tried to replicate with the plastic. The shoot was done in my flat! Ever since I was studying I was working in that flat, so it's an important space for me.
Can you say anything about what will happen at the presentation in Paris? (I saw some beautiful flowers pop up online!)
We actually had a lot of ideas, but in the end, we wanted to do something simple, just to show the garments. There won't be models and the guests can walk in and out. We will spraypaint the floral print onto the ceiling and position the flowers on the floor. The rooms and accessories will float in-between. At night we will put flashlights at the bases of the flowers, which will project their shadow onto the ceiling.
Who did you collaborate with for the presentation?
We found the florist by chance! Flowers were really important to me, the exhibition needed to look perfect. I asked my friend who works at See by Chloé and she told me that one of the fitting models now started her own flower shop. The girl is Marta, and she only has the best seasonal flowers.

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Susan Fang is Desperately Seeking Beauty - 1 Granary

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"Let's spray paint the flowers a little more!" It's Friday afternoon and team of Susan Fang can be heard working busily throughout our phone interview. The London-based designer will be presenting her Spring Summer 19 collection the next day and final touches always take more time than planned.

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By watching the Native-Americans, the conquistadors discovered that avocado seeds produced a milky liquid that turned red when exposed to air. They then used this as a natural ink, and some documents written with it are preserved to this day. Many of these works reside in the archives of Popayán in Columbia.

The ink was also used to mark cotton and as a textile dye. In fact, in the dyeing process you will often hear people speak about "mordants". A mordant is a plant or metal based fixative that is used to extend the colour and wash fastness of natural dyes.

One of the magical things about avocado stones is that they contain tannin that acts as a mordant that binds wonderfully to cotton fibres. The depth of the shares you can achieve depend on how many pits you use and how long you leave the solution to steep.

If you want to try using this natural dye, it really is quite easy: Wash your avocado stones removing any fleshy bits that may have stuck to the pit. Add the whole stone to your pot filled with water; the more stones, the darker the colour. (Make sure your pot is big enough to hold the fabric and water as otherwise the textile won't be able to move freely, which is important to ensure an even dye.) Bring to a low boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the avocado pits begin to turn the water to pink and then a deep maroon, which should take anywhere between 20-40 minutes for the colour to change. You can either place your material in the mix whilst it is simmering or later, once it's cooled. If you do the latter, probably best to leave it overnight. Basically, the longer you leave the fabric in the liquid, the brighter the colours.

Do note: the "avocado ink" sold today is typically named for its green color and has nothing to do with the red ink of the avocado seed.

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Did you know that the Conquistadors used avocado stones for ink?

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By watching the Native-Americans, the conquistadors discovered that avocado seeds produced a milky liquid that turned red when exposed to air. They then used this as a natural ink, and some documents written with it are preserved to this day. Many of these works reside in the archives of Popayán in Columbia.

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with avocados

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using tea

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For their part, Ebner and Hasenöhrl begin by laying out the materials and space you'll need to get started. As they explain, setting up a dyeing studio is easier than you might think. You'll need a space that is large enough for several buckets and containers, as well as supplies including fabrics, plants, spoons, tongs, and a drying rack or clothesline. The authors recommend dyeing outdoors or in a dedicated room as opposed to in the kitchen, due to the odors and messes that some plant pigments can create.

When it comes to choosing the fabric you'll dye, many textiles are game-from wool, silk, and cotton to nettle fiber and hemp. But know that each will respond to a given dye differently; some might saturate more easily, and others less. No matter what the material, it should be washed before the dyeing process begins. This allows the cloth to better absorb the colors they're dunked into. (If you're unsure if a fabric is machine washer-safe, wash it by hand. Also, note that after you complete the plant-dyeing process, the resulting garment should only be washed by hand.)

Next, you'll need to prepare your cloth through a process called mordanting, which will further enhance the fabric's absorbency. There are numerous approaches, but a simple option is to purchase mineral-based aluminum mordant, which is available online and in most pharmacies. First, dissolve 100 grams of aluminum mordant in warm water, then pour the concoction into a bucket, filling it with up to five liters of cold water. After, submerge your cloth in the mixture for at least three hours (longer won't hurt), then rinse and wring out your material. (Make sure to wear gloves when handling the mordant; most varieties of it are natural, but they can still irritate the skin and shouldn't be ingested.) Now, your fabric is ready to take the plant dye.

Ebner and Hasenöhrl detail many dye recipes, each of which achieves different levels of saturation and effects, but they recommend a basic version for beginners. To create your dye, use one kilogram of dyestuff (the plant you choose to dye your cloth) per kilogram of dyeing fabric-say, one kilogram of dried hibiscus flower for one kilogram of silk. Soak the dyestuff in a large pot filled with enough water to also fully submerge your fabric.

The following day, heat the mixture slowly on a stove or portable burner, letting it boil for one to two hours. Allow it to cool, then use a strainer to remove the plants from the liquid, called the dye bath. Immerse your fabric, then heat the pot slowly again, this time bringing it to a boil for about an hour. Then, carefully remove the fabric, rinse it, and hang it to dry. Voilà!

(Another step, known as post-mordanting, can be added, but is not necessary. This consists of removing your cloth from the dye bath, adding a shot of iron-infused water into the pot, mixing, then adding your cloth back in. This will deepen the hue of your cloth.)

Of course, a wide range of natural materials can be used as dyestuff, and each achieves a different hue, depending on the particular plant you use. Below, we excerpt some of our favorites from Ebner and Hasenöhrl's tome-all easily sourced from your home or local market.

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5 Natural Dyes You Can Create from the Contents of Your Kitchen

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For their part, Ebner and Hasenöhrl begin by laying out the materials and space you'll need to get started. As they explain, setting up a dyeing studio is easier than you might think. You'll need a space that is large enough for several buckets and containers, as well as supplies including fabrics, plants, spoons, tongs, and a drying rack or clothesline.

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What's the best way to wash clothing that you've dyed with plants? Do we need to use special washing detergent? Will the colour last? I receive these questions every week, so I'm sharing my tips here with you.

First of all, I'm going to let you into a little secret: I'm not actually that careful with my naturally dyed clothing. I often throw everything into the washing machine in one go and the colours last fine!

The key to long-lasting colours involves:

how you prepare your fabric before dyeing

choosing the best plants to give long-lasting colours

your dyeing technique

Throughout this blog post I only refer to plant fibres such as cotton, linen and bamboo. That's because I only work with plant fibres, never animal fibres. All the methods in my book Botanical Colour at your Fingertips are vegan.

Everything I write about natural dyeing is based on my own experience. There are so many factors involved in natural dyeing, so you may experience something different to me. Each question and answer is more of a discussion point where I tell you what I have discovered through my own experimentation.

If you email me with more questions, I'll happily update the blog post in the future.
1. Which plants wash out quickly and are not recommended?
There are some plants that will never dye fabric, no matter which mordant we choose to use or how well we try to dye the fibres. Turmeric, red cabbage and beetroot are examples of plants that are stains, not dyes. These stains will wash out of fabric after a few washes - some more quickly than others.

Years ago, I feared staining tea towels and clothing with beetroot juice, but in actual fact the colour washes out easily. At worst, a light grey mark is left for a short while until all trace of the colour vanishes. Beetroot juice even fades in the dark!

The colour from turmeric doesn't survive on fabric either, but I do have a fondness for this medicinal plant, as its therapeutic properties may transfer into the cloth and benefit the wearer of the clothing. Does the idea of wearing anti-inflammatory clothing appeal to you? Fabric needs to be repeatedly dyed with turmeric to top up the colour. I like to think of this as more of a fabric conditioning treatment that adds this healing layer onto the cloth. It will wear off through washing, so needs to be topped up.
2. Which are the most colourfast plants?
One of the first ideas that I introduce in my book Botanical Colour at your Fingertips is that tannins play an important role in plant dyeing. Tannins are natural mordants and help dyes attach to fibres, which means the colour is more likely to stand the test of time through repeated washing. Some of my favourites that I explore in my book include oak leaves, acorns, black tea, pomegranate skins and different types of tree cones, such as alder and redwood.

Avocado skins and stones also contain tannins. The bright pink tinge often fades gradually over time and leaves a more muted peachy tone. However, my avocado pink clothing is still much more pinky-peach than beige, so don't let this deter you. Click here for more tips on avocado dyeing >>>

If you would like your colours to survive repeated washing (don't we all?), then choose your plants carefully.
3. Can you dye with black tea or will it wash out?
Yes, tea leaves contain tannins and make a wonderful dye! Tea will dye cellulose fibres (such as cotton and linen) without any mordant or pretreatment, but only to a pale shade. I like to pretreat all of my fabric in diluted soya milk (find the method in Botanical Colour at your Fingertips) and this helps us achieve much deeper shades on cellulose fabric.

Tea dyeing is the perfect introduction to botanical dyeing as almost everyone has some tea bags or loose tea in the kitchen. Since it's an edible dye, this is the one time that I use my kitchen saucepans for dyeing. I've written a blog post on dyeing with tea and I show you how to paint patterns with milk beforehand. It's a really simple and fun trick!
4. Do you use the washing machine or hand wash?
I rarely hand wash anything - everything gets thrown into the washing machine on a 30° cycle. I wash all clothing at this temperature, except for underwear and soiled children's clothing as those items need a higher temperature to kill bacteria.

In an ideal world, I'd group together all of my plant-dyed clothing and wash together. However, I don't want to wait for several items to get dirty, so I wash all my family's clothing together. I recommend keeping bright colours, lights and darks separate, because synthetic dyes can rinse out of fabric and tint your delicate plant hues. I wash my plant dyed clothes with other pale coloured items.

5. Do you use washing liquid or powder? My favourite items of clothing that I wear several times a week:
Personally, I use Bio-D washing liquid, which is a fairly natural washing detergent sold in the UK. (You can often find zero waste or health food shops that have refil stations for Bio-D.) I've always favoured washing liquid over powder, as that's simply what I've always known, but some people may prefer powders. The important thing is that you use something gentle, to preserve your plant colours.
Above: My favourite linen dress and cotton scarf - both dyed with avocado stones. The grey-purple colour is from dipping the dyed fabric into an after-bath of ferrous sulphate to shift the peach-pink colour to grey-purple. 6. Should we use pH neutral washing detergent?
Update: As of July 2020, I now use Greenscents (unscented washing liquid) which I feel has even more natural ingredients.

Generally, yes, but sometimes we may want to play around the pH of a dye and control the final colour. Many plant dyes are pH sensitive, so a final rinse in either an acidic or alkaline bucket of water will shift the colour into two directions. You may prefer the colour from either an acidic or alkaline bath, so after washing your clothing, give it a quick rinse in a bucket of water with a squeeze of lemon juice (or a dash of white vinegar), or a sprinkle of baking soda. Don't add too much acid or alkali as this could damage your fibres.
7. How does pH affect natural dyes?
Also, if you discover that you don't like a new dye colour after rinsing out freshly dyed fabric, try rinsing it in a bucket of acidic or alkaline water to see if the colour shifts to a slightly different shade that you prefer.

One of the beautiful things about natural dyes is that they are alive. The colours dance in different lighting and appear to mysteriously change shades, and most colours are universally flattering on our skin tones. These are all reasons why I love natural colours. However, they are susceptible to accidental staining from acidic food, such as lemon juice! It can be annoying at times, but all you need to do is wash your clothing in your usual way, and the stain will disappear. Keep reading for a little tip I have for citrus staining.
Tip: Pattern making with splashes of lemon juice. Use this simple method to disguise accidental splashes of lemon or lime juice on your clothing. Rather than wash the item because of a small patch, take off your clothing and add to the pattern so it looks more intentional. This grey dress was dyed with oak leaves and iron. Some dyes are more pH sensitive than others, so some dyes will discharge more than others.
8. Why do some of my naturally dyed tops develop different coloured patches under the arms?
Citrus juice will temporarily bleach the fabric, so if you're like me and you often forget to wear an apron in the kitchen (when will I learn?!), then your clothing will end up with bleached spots. It's particularly noticeable with fabric that's been darkened with iron, as the citrus acts as a discharge and temporarily bleaches the colour. The effect isn't as noticeable on colours that haven't been darkened with iron. Rather than wash my clothing just because I've accidentally sprayed myself with citrus, I often just add to the effect and splatter some more across the clothing to add to the pattern. Then the bleached spots look intentional and I can continue wearing the clothing. After all, it's not dirty, the pH has simply been changed. You can even play around with this effect and paint on stripes or spots whenever you choose!

This could be from either the pH of your sweat or an ingredient in your deodorant. Some dyes will be more sensitive than others. First of all, you could try a different deodorant to see if that makes a difference.
9. Can you put plant-dyed clothing in the dryer?
This happened to me many years ago when I wore a dress that I'd dyed with logwood (back when I used dye extracts). My sweat or deodorant - I'm still not sure which - lightened the underarms. The dress returned to normal in the wash, but it kept happening each time I wore it. It hasn't happened with any of the dyes I currently use, probably because I don't use that deodorant anymore. It's hard to pin point the exact cause in these situations, but try changing deodorant to see if that helps. Our sweat can vary according to what we eat. My diet has varied a lot over the years, so that could definitely be a factor in my case, so you may find that things change over time if your eating habits change. Dyes from plants are most certainly alive!

Yes, I do! I always use the low heat setting. I don't think that the heat from the dryer will cause any harm - in fact the heat may even help set the dyes and improve colourfastness. You could try an experiment to see if this is the case for you.

Don't use a high heat on delicate fabric. Prolonged use of a dryer will eventually weaken fibres over time. There's always some fluff left in a dryer, and those are the fibres that have been lost from the clothing through the tumbling in the machine. Over time, more and more fibres are lost and your clothing will literally get thinner and thinner.
10. What can we do about stains on naturally dyed clothing?
If you dry your washing outside, always dry it in the shade as sunlight can fade colours.

First, try soaking the stained clothing in cool water with some washing liquid added. I've made the mistake of washing blood-stained clothing in the washing machine and the heat actually sets the blood! The protein in blood makes it quite an effective dye on clothing which can be problematic. For other stains, see if this initial soaking helps loosen the particles that have caused the mark, then put the clothing in the washing machine. I tend to use a slightly longer cycle for dirty or stained clothing.

If we use any bleaching agents on naturally dyed clothing, then it is likely to wash out the colour of the fabric too. Some stains that are difficult to remove may actually contain tannins, so they are in fact dyes! Tea stains are notoriously hard to remove (without bleach) and that's because tea is actually a dye. For baby clothing that is stained with food, I've managed to remove tough marks with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. But I wouldn't recommend this for plant-dyes as everything will get bleached.
Tip: Try hammering leaves and flowers on stained clothing to strategically cover marks. You could try making a simple pattern with just single leaves dancing across the surface of your clothing. Print a pattern on stained clothing to give it a new lease of life. 11. How much does plant-dyed clothing fade over the course of a year of regular use?
When you stain naturally dyed clothing and you don't feel you can wear it anymore as it is, there's not much that you can do but camouflage the stain. You could try dyeing it a darker colour, but often a stain will continue to grin through. Adding a new pattern is probably the best way to distract from a stain. Here are a few options:

This is so hard to answer. I want to say, "How long is a piece of string?" but I will answer it as best I can. I have several items of plant-dyed clothing that I've shown you through this blog post that have been washed a lot and the colours are still going strong. They were fairly muted colours to begin with and I can't really see any change in colour. Saying that, if I'd cut out a piece of surplus fabric from one of the seams and then kept it in a cupboard and not washed it, then my clothing is most likely paler, or the tones have shifted slightly. But when colours fade slowly over time, we don't really notice. As you can see from the photos, the colours are most definitely still there, and I enjoy wearing these pieces every week.

I estimate that my dyed linen dresses have each been washed 25 times and they are both still grey/lilac (from avocado stones and ferrous sulphate) and grey/brown (from oak leaves and ferrous sulphate). My favourite scarf that I dyed with avocado stones is still very much a pinky-peach, and I've worn it almost daily through all the seasons in the last year and it's washed frequently.
12. How can we prevent fading?
So the answer to the original question it that the colours will fade gradually over time, but not enough to take away from the enjoyment of wearing your garments. The type of dyes that you choose, the fabric you use and the way you dye your fabric will all have a big effect on the longevity of your colours.

First of all, make sure you're using dyes that are long lasting (as outlined at the beginning of this post). My complete dyeing method is in Botanical Colour at your Fingertips and I show you how to pretreat fabric in a bath of soya milk, which certainly helps with colourfastness. It's important to add that this isn't the only way to dye fabric. Natural dyeing is one of those crafts that has had many, many (re)interpretations. My book shows you the method that I use to produce long lasting colours. I wear my dyed clothing all the time and I'm very satisfied with the methods and results.

When you have your basics right, then you set the foundation for creating longer lasting colours. Also keep these points in mind:
Linen dress and organic cotton/hemp dress both dyed with avocado stones and dipped in iron water to shift the pink to grey-purple. 13. How much does light affect colour?

Wash as little as possible. Do you really need to wash your clothing after every wear? Try airing clothing outside in the shade to freshen it up.

Don't dry in the sunlight - always dry in the shade. Sunlight will rapidly fade some dyes.

Use a gentle washing detergent.

Sunlight affects some dyes more than others. Interestingly, I've noticed that the yellow dye from pomegranate skins darkens in sunlight. I imagine that the tannins react with sunlight and deepen the colour. However, many other dyes will lighten in sunlight. It's best to carry out a lightfastness test on any new dyes you use to assess how much the colour changes in sunlight. This is especially important if you plan to make and dye items for the home, such as cushion/pillow covers or curtains. After carrying out a series of light and washfastness tests, then you can choose the most appropriate dyes for the use you have in mind (e.g. clothing or home).

Don't display clothing in the light as this will fade colours more rapidly. The same goes for synthetic dyes: they can bleach in the sun. I once bought a top in a shop that came from the display in the window. I was thrilled to have found the last one in my size, only to get home and discover that the front was much paler than the back!

14. Can you redye clothing?

Yes, of course. If the colour fades then you can redye it. If you've pretreated the fabric with soya milk (or mordanted using another method) then you shouldn't need to redo this step. Just dampen the clothing and add to a new dye pot, then follow your usual dyeing method. Equally, if you grow tired of a shade, then you can layer on a new colour in the same way. Or dip dye half the fabric to add some interest.

15. Does fabric type make a difference to how well the colour lasts?

Yes, I've found that unbleached and less processed fabric takes on dye better and colours last longer. For example, unbleached organic cotton and linen develop deeper colours than processed fibres such as bamboo viscose. In terms of longevity of colour, in my experience the purest fibres keep their colour better.
Two tops dyed with Japanese indigo. The one on the left is made from less processed fabric (organic cotton and hemp) and the colour was vivid right from the beginning and the colour has lasted well. The top on the right is made from viscose, which is a processed cellulose fibre, and the colour has always been paler and I feel that it's faded slightly more.

The dresses I wear are linen (I ordered white dresses from Not Perfect Linen on Etsy) and I've found that they have held their colour very well over time. In contrast, a few years ago I dyed myself some viscose tops with elastane and those faded more quickly. My scarves are all made from unbleached organic cotton from Greenfibres (this page gives you a coupon code for 10% off all Greenfibres fabric!) and the colours last remarkably well. Of course, the most important thing is that you choose your dyes wisely so they have the best chance of lasting. It's still fun to play around with more transient colours, but we can't expect the colours to survive repeated washing.

I hope that some of these answers are helpful to you. Of course these are just my experiences and you may well notice something different happening to your clothing. There are endless factors at play with natural dyeing and it's a continual journey of discovery. Enjoy!

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FAQs: Washing and caring for plant-dyed clothing

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­What's the best way to wash clothing that you've dyed with plants? Do we need to use special washing detergent? Will the colour last? I receive these questions every week, so I'm sharing my tips here with you. First of all, I'm going to let you into a little secret: I'm not actually that careful with my naturally dyed clothing.

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stinging nettles

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One of my favourite plants to dye with in the spring is the stinging nettle - it's one of the plants I most look forward to. The leaves give me a soft grey-green hue at this time of year (maybe you get a slightly different colour?) - the colour just feels so fresh and "alive" at the beginning of spring.

In this blog post I'll give your some of my nettle dyeing tips for the freshest colours, and also chat to two nettle-loving herbalists, Kim and Vicky, from Handmade Apothecary. They've answered some of my questions about nettles and helped me understand why lower heat works best when extracting dye from the leaves.

As soon as the first nettles pop up through the ground, I eagerly wait until the plants are tall enough for their first harvest. Then I trim the top few leaves.

( Photo by Siobhan Watts)

Nettles grow wild in so many places that I'm never short of leaves. As I'm collecting them for dyeing and not eating, I don't mind that they come from less than pristine areas, such as my local park where there are lots of dogs.

When harvesting nettles at this time of year we need to be on the lookout for nesting caterpillars. This is a tip that I heard from my friend Alice Bettany - the herbalist at Sacred Seeds. The Red Admiral butterfly lays its eggs on nettle leaves, so a curled up leaf is a sign that there is a hungry caterpillar inside. So it goes without saying, don't cut off any leaves that may be housing caterpillars.

I cut the top part off the nettle plants with scissors and use the scissors as tongs to place the stems of leaves in my basket or bag. Some people wear gloves to protect them from stings, but I find that if I'm careful I don't get stung. The only time I sometimes get stung is when I stand up and forget that there are nettles close to my bare ankles!

When I get home, I leave the basket of nettles on my balcony for a few hours to allow any insects to crawl away. I then have another thorough look when I put the leaves in my pot.

As with all my dyeing, my methods are loose and intuitive, and often slightly different every time. I don't weigh my dye plants or record the temperature of the water. But here I've written out my general method.
A note on safety
Use separate equipment from your usual kitchen equipment - you need a separate set that is reserved for dyeing. Keep good air flow when dyeing indoors. Keep your dye pots well away from food, children and pets.
What you need

Aluminium pot - I find this is the key for getting the brightest colours. I get muddier/browner shades when using stainless steel.

Wooden spoon

Sieve

Bowl for straining dye into

Prewashed and mordanted fabric

Nettles

A note on fabric
I pretreat my fabric (cellulose/plant fibres) using the soya milk method, as outlined in my book Botanical Colour at your Fingertips. You might choose another method, or if you're dyeing protein fibres then you might not use anything at all. But for clarity, my fabric is all cellulose and pretreated with soya milk.
Dyeing method
1. Place nettles in a large aluminium pot (I find I get the brightest colours with aluminium).

2. Fill the pot with just enough water to cover the nettles.

3. Place the dye pot on the stove and heat very gently. As the leaves soften, push them down below the water level. Stop heating once the water reaches simmering point. Then turn off the heat and allow the nettles to steep in the dye pot for a few hours. The aim is to gently coax colour out of the leaves - not cook the nettles.

4. Have a look inside your dye pot regularly and see if the water is changing colour. It will look yellow at first and darken over the next few hours. I like to put a swatch of fabric into the dye pot and use a wooden spoon to scoop it out every so often to monitor the dye colour.

5. You may decide to heat the dye again.

6. Monitor the colour over the next day or two and observe the colour change of the liquid. Mine goes from yellow to green to dark grey-green.

7. Strain out the leaves when you are happy with the colour of your dye. This might be after one, two or three days. If you let the leaves sit for too long in a warm place, the dye might begin to smell, so be mindful of this and use the dye before this happens. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and make sure there aren't any bits of leaf in the dye as they can embed into your fabric or yarn and potentially leave darker patches on fabric. Strain again through fabric if necessary, to remove all the pieces of leaves.

8. Pour the dye back into your aluminium dye pot and heat gently for a few minutes. Now the leaves aren't in the dye, you might choose to use a slightly higher heat. Over the next few hours observe the dye further darken in colour - my dye becomes almost black. Many dyes seem to darken in colour in this way - perhaps in part due to oxidation, also the reaction with aluminium, and as Kim and Vicky mention in the interview below - the leaves contain iron, so the darkening of the dye may be a natural "saddening" of the dye colour from iron. The sides of my aluminium dye pot end up with an almost blue tinge (see photo below) - this is where the dye has reacted with the metal.

9. Add in some extra water to raise the level so there's more space for your fabric to move about.

10. When you're happy with the dye colour, add in damp fabric then heat gently and stir with a spoon to help it dye evenly. ( See my blog post here for tips on dyeing the most even colours). Simmer the fabric and ensure its submerged under the dye at all times.

11. Allow to soak for as long as you like, and reheat a couple of times if you feel it needs it. Stir the fabric whenever you pass, just to move things about so it dyes evenly.

12. After a day or so, take the fabric out, squeeze out the excess dye and allow to hang to dry. Wait a few days before rinsing out the excess dye. If you're dyeing cellulose fibres then the final colour will be considerably lighter than the original colour that came out of the dye bath, but I find that a lovely misty grey-green shade remains.
Further experiments

Dye fabric swatches at various points of the process and see how the fabric dyes different colours. My dye goes through an emerald green stage - that would be an exciting point to dye some fabric!

Compare different dye pots - aluminium vs stainless steel (non reactive) vs copper vs iron. Aluminium, copper and iron are all reactive metals and will affect the colours in different ways. I feel that aluminium brightens my dye as I get much duller results with stainless steel, iron will darken ("sadden") the dye and copper will enhance the colour in some way (perhaps even bring out the green even more!) Try it and see!

Gather nettles at different points in the spring, summer and autumn and observe how the dye colour changes. I get beige/brown colours later in the year. Maybe it will be the same for you, or perhaps not. If you dye with nettles regularly you'll be able to track the way the seasons affect the colour.

Colourfastness
Before you dye your favourite clothes with nettles, be sure to check how well the the colour lasts after washing a few times and exposure to sunlight. The level of colourfastness will be determined by how well you've prewashed and pretreated/mordanted the fabric. I find the colour from nettles lasts well, but I can't take any responsibility for your results. It can depend on the fabric you use and lots of other factors. Even if the colour doesn't last as long as you'd hoped, you can easily redye. But personally I find nettles make a reliable dye. After all, people have been dyeing with nettles for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Now let's talk to Kim and Vicky from Handmade Apothecary about nettles in more detail.
1. It's spring now and we have new nettles popping up everywhere. The young leaves always give me the brightest colours in the dye pot. Are these young nettles the most potent in terms of nutrition and medicinal value?
It seems those lush, green spring nettles are at their best for harvesting for food and medicine as well as dyeing! The nettle tops (the stem and top 6-8 leaves) are best picked before flowering occurs when they are tender and full protein and rich in minerals such as iron, calcium, silica and magnesium - fantastic for everyone, but particularly for vegans and those with a tendency to anaemia.

After nettles have gone to flower, they are tougher, more bitter and contain insoluble crystals of calcium carbonate that can irritate the kidneys and theoretically cause kidney stones in really large doses. Don't worry if you miss the season though, nettles that have been cut back have a second 'flush' in autumn and can be harvested once again.
2. When I dye with nettles, I'm very mindful of not cooking the leaves - this ensures I extract the best greens from the leaves. If I heat the water too much then the dye becomes much more brown. Why is this?

This is very interesting that you mention this, and will be from two main things. First, the short heating time ensures the chlorophyll (the photosynthetic cell in plants that provides the green colour) doesn't break down, and stays fresh and green. Also, if you simmer nettles for a long time, you will find the liquid is not only dark, but if you sip it, is very metallic tasting. This is because the iron dissolves out of the herb into the water, and the darker colour will come from the iron oxidising.
3. When making nettle infusions, does a low heat/slow infusion offer different health benefits in comparison to making tea perhaps the more typical way with boiling water? Which method do you prefer and why?
Pouring boiling water over nettle leaves and brewing it like you would a tea is the traditional way of making it. For leafy herbs, herbalists tend not to boil them for long as other more delicate phytochemical compounds will break down: simmering and decocting are reserved for tougher materials like bark, seeds and roots.
However, to obtain the greatest nutritional/mineral benefit, then adding nettles to your food is the preferred method. Cook nettles like spinach, they don't need much heating; chop them and add them at the end of cooking time for soups or stir fries. just a couple of minutes is all it need to destroy the stings and once blended in add an excellent umami taste!
4. When dyeing with dried nettles the colour cannot be compared to the beautiful colour from fresh leaves. In terms of the nutritional value of nettles, is there a difference between fresh and dried?
One of the main benefits of nettle is the mineral content (iron, silica calcium etc) which are very stable, and so drying does not affect their taste. Nettles dry and store very well, unlike some other delicate herbs. So, use fresh when you can get it, but don't worry about drying it for use once the season passes. They are a kitchen staple for us and are so yummy and nutritious, they should be enjoyed all year round. An old saying goes, "If they would eat nettles in March and Muggins (Mugwort) in May, many a maid would not go to clay".
5. What are your favourite ways to use nettles in your herbal practice?
Nettles have so many lovely uses! The infusion makes an excellent final hair tonic for strengthening and adding shine. Just make a strong infusion and once cool enough, use it as a final rinse in the shower after shampooing. The seeds are a fantastic super food, high in omega 3 and used by herbalists for people who are stressed and exhausted. Just a pinch (less is more in the case of nettle seed) are great blended into smoothies, stirred into hot porridge or as part of an energy ball recipe. There is even research about nettle helping stabilise blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes. Then there is a simple nettle anaemia tonic, which helps boost iron levels and is great for women (and men) of all ages.

Thanks for the fascinating chat, Kim and Vicky! I really appreciate your insights into the beloved stinging nettle.

Kim and Vicky have a brilliant book called The Handmade Apothecary: Healing Herbal Remedies which I bought last year and thoroughly recommend. There are quite a few nettle recipes in there!

I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.

If you decide to do some nettle dyeing and share photos on Instagram, use the hashtag #mylocaldyeplants so we can see each other's results and variations in colour.

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One of my favourite plants to dye with in the spring is the stinging nettle - it's one of the plants I most look forward to. The leaves give me a soft grey-green hue at this time of year (maybe you get a slightly different colour?)

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avocados

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Transparent Eco Brand Directory, Shopping Guides, Learning Guides | MOCHNI

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It's hard to imagine by looking at avocados that they can produce a beautiful pink dye, but with this easy tutorial you can all try this at home and give new life to your pre-loved garments. Keep in mind that natural fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, silk etc will take the dye much easier.

Now start collecting your skins or pits(you can use both). Try scraping as much as you can off them and put them in the freezer until you have enough to use. You can wash them, but I can never be bothered, it doesn't make much of a difference later on.

What you will need:
* Avocado skins or pits(they will produce slightly different shades, experiment with both)
* Two nonreactive stainless-steel pots to start with(later on you can try different ones to see how it will affect your results)
* Pre-washed fiber (I really recommend to always stick to natural and organic ones)
* Nonreactive stainless steel tongs( You can use a wooden spoon, but depending on what timber it's made of and how treated it might affect the result)
* A strainer
* Water
* Heat source
* Salt

Always make your dyes outside or in a well-ventilated area and use a different pot to the one you would cook food in. Although many natural dyes are completely safe, unless you know exactly what their properties are and how they will affect you when you inhale the steam, it's better to be safe than sorry. Also if cooking on gas or fire makes sure, you have a nice even ground surface and enough empty space around to not start a bigger fire! And the last and most important safety suggestion is never falling asleep while your pot is cooking and check on it quite often to make sure there's enough water left, just like cooking a soup. Natural dyeing will definitely test your patience, so maybe chose a day when you're full of energy!
Now let's get to the fun part!
* Place your skins in the pot and fill up with water. Add enough water to let them float freely, but remember the more avocados, the more concentrated the dye. Depending on what shade you're after.

* You can break them up for a faster result.

* Now heat them up and bring to a simmer. Don't boil them! Even though it might seem that it will speed up the process, I found that that slow simmering works much better! You will start noticing the changes after about fifteen minutes. Heat for about an hour for stronger colors and make sure you close the lid so your dye doesn't just evaporate. Stir it every now and then.

* Here is how it looked after forty-five minutes. When you're satisfied with the color, strain your dye into another nonreactive pot! There's nothing more annoying than picking bits of avocado from your fabric later on.

* Don't straight away dispose of your skins; you can repeat the previous steps again if you need more dye!

* Your dye is now ready; submerge your fabric in it. If you live in a very hot place just leave it under the sun so it stays warm for longer. Otherwise close the lid again and just let it sit.

* For best results and stronger color, I do recommend leaving it overnight, but for this tutorial, I look my fabric out after a few hours to take pictures, while I still had light. Be patient! After you're finished, you can actually store your dye in the fridge to use again. Just remember to heat it up!

* Take your fabric out and squeeze as much water out as possible. Let it dry in a shady spot! Natural dyes are very sensitive to the sun! Before you rinse your fabric, just let it sit for a week or longer. This will help with more permanent results.

* I recommend dipping your dyed piece in warm salt water for a few minutes. It works as a fixative. Ocean water is perfect, but if you're mixing your own make sure you buy salt that's not iodized!

Here are my results. I love the lighter shades, but if you want stronger pinks just use more skins and heat them for longer!

Now start eating avocados and have some fun! If you have any questions I am available through my website liya.com.au and am always very happy to help out.

Please note: Somfiberses need a mordant for dyeing, but if dyeing with avocado pits, you do not need to pre mordant your fibers, as tannin in them acts as a mordant. Otherwise, there has already been an article posted here by someone else on one of the ways to mordant your fibers.

xx

Liya

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Tutorial: Natural Dyeing With Avocado Skins

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It's hard to imagine by looking at avocados that they can produce a beautiful pink dye, but with this easy tutorial you can all try this at home and give new life to your pre-loved garments. Keep in mind that natural fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, silk etc will take the dye much easier.

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tea

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Dyeing with tea is easy, inexpensive, and gives your textiles a rich earthy color. Tea is rich in tannins which bonds well with natural fibers, which means that it doesn't require a mordant (a substance used to bind the dye to the fabric). It is a great choice for those who are new to dyeing. Last month I got together with my good friend Carly from to dye some textiles, and I loved it so much that I've done a couple extra batches since. I am in no means an expert but have learned some things along the way that I'm excited to share with you guys. Keep in mind that this tutorial is geared towards dyeing with children, so the process will differ a bit from the standard process of dyeing (i.e. a basic vinegar soak for the mordant instead of mordanting on the stove + cooling the hot dye instead of dyeing on the stove so that this project can safely be done with children).

Materials:

- fabric
- tea bags (50+, I used 100 black tea bags)
- a large pot (enamel or other nonreactive metal)
- 2 large buckets (I used the 5 gallon ones from Home Depot)
- distilled white vinegar

Instructions for dyeing with tea:

I chose to dye linen, muslin and some of Elliot's cotton shirts (old ones that have been worn a lot + new ones). Choose natural fibers such as cotton, linen, muslin, silk and wool and keep in mind that hot water dyes will shrink fabric. If you plan on using old or vintage textiles, wash them before dyeing to remove any debris. If you are using new textiles, run them through a wash cycle with detergent before dyeing to remove any residue. This will make it easier for the dye to penetrate the fibers and to prevent uneven dyeing. If you plan on dyeing heirloom pieces, I'd advise doing a test run on scrap pieces with the same fabric content first to make sure that you like the result.

Unwrap the tea bags from their packaging and remove all of the strings and tags. The number of tea bags you'll need is dependent on how much fabric you'll be dyeing and how dark you'd like it to be. I made a concentrated dye and used a 15 qt pot and 100 tea bags.

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Let the tea bags steep for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use a strainer to remove all of the tea bags. If some of the bags break in the process, don't worry because we'll be straining the dye again before we use it. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Fill one of the large 5 gallon buckets halfway with water and add your vinegar. I used a ratio of about one part vinegar to four parts water. The vinegar will help to open the fibers. Wet your fabric thoroughly with water.

Carefully pour the concentrated dye into your second 5 gallon bucket using a piece of fabric to strain it a second time. Since I created a concentrated dye, I added some water at this point until I had enough to cover all of the fabric completely. Submerge the wet fabric into the dye bath. Make sure that all of your fabric is completely submerged. It is *important* to also make sure that your fabric is not overcrowded, otherwise you will likely end up with splotchy and uneven coloring. You also want to make sure that there aren't any air bubbles trapped in the fabric. You can even let your kids participate by simply cooling the dye before starting! You won't achieve as rich of a color by only using cooled dye, but it can be a really fun project for them.

Soak for at least an hour, checking on it every 15 minutes or so. Keep in mind that the color will look darker when wet. You can also soak overnight if you want a darker color which is what I did. If soaking overnight, make sure you agitate and stir fabric every so often so that the fabric absorbs the dye evenly.

When you're happy with the color, remove the fabric from the dye and soak in a cold water bath (two parts vinegar, one part water) for 15 minutes. Rinse until the water runs clear. Hang to dry. I let them sit on the drying rack for about a week and then I ran them through a delicate cold cycle in the washer. A good wash will eliminate any remaining tea or vinegar odor.

A note on washing: Plant dyes are PH sensitive so you'll need to use a bio soap such as Seventh Generation or Ecos. Natural dyes will fade a bit but the fabric will hold a good amount of color if cared for properly.

(top) muslin (bottom) linen / cotton t shirt -- both dyed with tea overnight

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Dyeing with tea is easy, inexpensive, and gives your textiles a rich earthy color. Tea is rich in tannins which bonds well with natural fibers, which means that it doesn't require a mordant (a substance used to bind the dye to the fabric). It is a great choice for those who are new to dyeing.

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onion skins

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Plants have been used for thousands of years to make natural dyes. Onion skins are one of the best natural sources. They produce lovely, easily-extracted colors. The dye is absorbed well by the fibers without a mordant (a fixative or binder), which is usually required when using other botanicals for dyeing. Onions are readily available all over the world-all you need is the papery, outer skins. Some grocers will even give you the leftover skins at the bottom of their bins. When using onion skin dye, natural fabrics are the best materials to color, including wool, hemp, cotton.

Saturate Fabric in Water and Set to Simmer

Add enough water to your pot to thoroughly wet your material and allow it to float freely in one of the containers. Heat the water slowly, bringing it to a gentle simmer for about 20 minutes. At the same time, in a separate pot, get the skins started.

Boil and Simmer Onion Skins

Fill another pot with about three times as much water as skins. The skins should float freely. Make sure that there is enough water for the fabric or fiber also to float freely once you add it later. Put the lid on. Bring the bath to a boil. Turn it down and simmer the skins in the water for an hour.

Periodically Check the Color

As the onion skins are boiling, carefully lift the lid of your pot, allowing the steam to escape and check on the color. More prolonged boiling will release more dye, but only to a point. If you want a lighter shade, check more frequently (10-minute increments).

Strain Out Skins and Add Fabric to Dyebath

Place the mesh strainer over another pot, strain out the skins, and discard the skins. The reserved liquid is your dye. Set the dyebath to simmer. Once it's simmering, put the wet fabric in the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Turn off the heat after 30 minutes. Using tongs, remove the fabric from the bath and place it into an empty pot or container to cool down.

Rinse Fabric and Dry

Once it's cool enough to handle, rinse the fabric in fresh water. A special note with wool: Rinse it with water that's the same temperature as the fabric. For example, if you have hot wool, use hot water. It will prevent felting, which can make the material more coarse. Hang the fabric up to dry on a clothesline or portable drying rack that is not in direct sunlight.

Additional Options

While fixatives or binders are not necessary for onion skin dye, you can use a mordant (a bath in a solution of water and alum) to ensure colorfastness. And, to change the onion-dyed fabric to green, dip the dyed fabric into an iron mordant solution.​

You can substitute other non-toxic plants, such as yellow and orange marigolds, cosmos, or coreopsis, for the onion skins. These flowers yield yellow, gold, brown, and reddish tones similar to red and yellow onion skins.

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How to Make a Natural Onion Skin Dye for Yarns and Textiles

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Plants have been used for thousands of years to make natural dyes. Onion skins are one of the best natural sources. They produce lovely, easily-extracted colors. The dye is absorbed well by the fibers without a mordant (a fixative or binder), which is usually required when using other botanicals for dyeing.

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photos that inspire me

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21 FMP ideas in 2021 | editorial fashion, fashion photography inspiration, fashion poses

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Apr 3, 2021 - Explore izzy ✧*｡'s board "FMP", followed by 221 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about editorial fashion, fashion photography inspiration, fashion poses.

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terracotta pots in my garden- natural material

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terracotta pots in my garden- natural material

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I've been thinking of what colours would suit my brand identity (eco-friendly and diversity) and these palettes are what I've created so far- I'm now going to do a poll on Instagram to see what other people thinks works best.

I want the colours to be earthy and natural to fit with the eco-friendly point, but also suit the diversity part of the brand's ethos.

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Fashion marketing campaigns tend to be creative, sometimes controversial, but always at the forefront of what's cool.

Whether or not the clothes are wearable... well, that's beside the point. Here are a few of my favourites from over the past few years.
For more on this topic, readers can explore:
1. Jigsaw's Love Immigration

There's been a surge of socially conscious campaigns in recent years, as consumers look to brands to do more than just sell. It's a tricky balance to get right, as the likes of Pepsi showed with the failure of its Kendall Jenner ad.

The fashion world can be sceptical when it comes to shouting about important causes, especially considering relating issues like the environment and sustainability. In 2017, however, Jigsaw decided to break the mould, basing its print, social, and digital marketing campaign around the importance of immigration in fashion.

Called: 'Love Immigration', it was a bold and evocative celebration of diversity within British fashion, and the values of openness, love, and collaboration that the brand strives to uphold.

As well as winning praise from both consumers and other fashion brands, it was named as Marketing Week's campaign of the year.

2. Ted Baker's Keeping up with the Bakers

Ted Baker has a history of innovative and inspiring campaigns, including experiments with Instagram stories and a shoppable video directed by Guy Ritchie.

For its spring/ summer campaign in 2017, Ted Baker pushed the boundaries even further with 'Keeping up with the Bakers' - an eight-part sitcom that played out episodically over Instagram. Users were encouraged to come back daily to partake in daily challenges which were released with each episode.

Alongside this, it also unveiled a 360 degree shoppable film, which allowed users to browse the Baker's home and purchase items discovered there.

With Ted Baker traditionally taking on a different narrative for each passing season, Keeping Up with the Bakers has certainly become a standout, creating a fully immersive world for consumers to explore.

3. Nike's Better for It

We're always writing about Nike on the blog, and with a back catalogue that reflects its strong brand identity, there's a good reason why.

2015's 'Better for It' campaign is one of the most memorable in recent years.

Depicting the inner thoughts of women during sporting activity, it highlights the correlation between sport and self-esteem, and cleverly hints at how what we wear can also have a bearing.

With a light-hearted but empowering tone, it succeeded in engaging female consumers.
How fashion and beauty brands can stand out on Instagram
4. Hermès' House of Scarves

Hermès' microsite, La Maison des Carrés, was set up to showcase its popular selection of scarves.

Instead if simply encouraging visitors to buy online, it aims to bring to life the history and artistry of the brand.

With its beautiful design and superb attention to detail, it entices visitors to get lost in its world of illustration.

While we have previously pointed out that Hermès' website might come across as self-indulgent (and therefore off-putting to consumers), there's no denying that this part stands out for its creative and original approach.

5. Inside Chanel

Alongside Chanel News, Inside Chanel is a microsite dedicated to telling the story of the brand - a key part of its overarching marketing strategy.

Separated into 12 chapters, each detailing an important part of the brand's history, it offers something of real value for consumers.

Combining photography, digital sketches and video - it uses rich content to bring the story to life.

With 100 years of history, the in-depth and well-produced nature of the campaign also reflects the quality of the brand.

6. H&M's Close the Loop

We recently wrote about why women are talking about H&M's latest campaign, but its 'Close the Loop' ad is another example of the brand's innovative marketing.

With the aim of promoting its mission to make fashion more sustainable, it created one of the most diverse ads of all time.

Featuring plus-size model Tess Holliday and Muslim model Mariah Idrissi the ad garnered a massively positive response for its celebration of different cultures in relation to fashion.

By creating a buzz around the campaign, it ensured that its message of sustainability was heard.

7. NastyGal's #GirlBoss

Nasty Gal has an ethos of self-empowerment and discovery, which is nicely weaved into all of its marketing campaigns.

As well as being the title of founder Sophia Amoruso's self-penned book, the hashtag #girlboss is also the title of the Nasty Gal's separate content hub.

Alongside long-form articles on fashion and general lifestyle, it is also the home of Girl Boss radio - a podcast where Sophia interviews various women who have made their mark.

A great example of a multi-channel campaign, it reflects the core values of the brand while subtly promoting it.
(Read more on brands using podcasts.)

Four career lessons from @sophiaamoruso that every young person should know: https://t.co/HB01H2YbxQ pic.twitter.com/J5SABfJbKa

- Girlboss (@girlboss) October 7, 2016

8. Swoon for Monsoon

A number of fashion brands have released shoppable magazines, and while Net A Porter's 'The Edit' is often cited as one of the best, Swoon for Monsoon proves that it's not only an approach reserved for high end brands.

Hosted on its main website, the campaign comprised of digital magazines that could be accessed on web, tablet and mobile.

Including visual elements such as GIF's and video, there were also contributions from influencers to ramp up engagement and consumer interest.

A sleek slice of shoppable content - it was also a great example of how to integrate editorial elements into ecommerce.

9. #CastMeMarc

Using social media as the driving force for its Autumn/Winter campaign, Marc Jacobs took to Instagram to do a bit of model scouting.

For the chance to be featured in his Autumn/Winter campaign, it asked followers to tag a photo of themselves using the hashtag #castmemarc.

As well as creating awareness of the brand, it was successful in giving consumers and fans of the brand a memorable and potentially valuable experience.

10. Lacoste's Timeless

Lacoste is a brand with a long history, having been founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste and André Gillier.

Its heritage is the basis of its 2017 short film, Timeless, which uses a time jump feature to take viewers on a visual journey through its fashion past.

It also uses a narrative arc to do this, telling the story of two star-crossed lovers who are pulled through multiple decades in a single train journey. Combining nostalgia, urgency, and intrigue - it packs a lot into less than two minutes.

How has the overwhelming shift to online impacted retailer returns strategies?

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10 examples of great fashion marketing campaigns

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Fashion marketing campaigns tend to be creative, sometimes controversial, but always at the forefront of what's cool. Here are a few of Econsultancy's favourites from over the past few years.

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@thevxlley on ig
https://instagram.com/thevxlley?igshid=3movz4l5yf6f

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“We at UnderNewMGMT seek to shift traditional industry power structures by exclusively hiring and collaborating with individuals from the POC, immigrants, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ communities...We constantly develop new designs that utilize vintage and recycled materials to provide our clients with unique, sustainable event and floral options. We avoid using single use floral foam and other non-renewable materials whenever possible.”
https://www.undernewmgmt.co/our-story

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Florists are mostly remembered on Valentine's Day, Anniversaries and by desperate husbands seeking to placate their disgruntled spouses. Each flower has a significance attached to it and adds meaning to different occasions. Flowers can be arranged in a classic, timeless arrangements, or into one of the new and exotic designs that are coming up. It might seem that floristry, as an art and discipline has its own place in people's life is quietly removed from the up and changing fashion world.

"Flowers and fashion seem effortlessly entwined; the perfect fit; an obvious match"

Says Melissa Alexander, a former fashion stylist and model agent who set up JamJar Flowers eight years ago, a business built on her love for flowers and rustic glass containers. As for many people who started off their career in Fashion and went towards floristry, they claim that much of designs, color, and aesthetics knowledge played a key role in their success in the floristry business.

Fashion has always shown its love for floristry through beautiful floral and botanical designs in the summer and spring collection. In one of the most defining moments, the "Flower Wall" made an arresting impact in The 2012 Christian Dior collection from Raf Simons. Rather than putting the whole focus on the designs, the show literally "said it with flowers". Each room was blanketed with millions of flowers so as to create a beautiful scene to create the famed Flower Wall.

It was perhaps the most extravagant use of flowers in a fashion event which has since influenced innumerable fashion shows and events. The trend was again witnessed as the flower wall designed by Mark Colle for Dior 2014 collection.

Having gotten increasingly popular, flowers have earned a special place in bridal fashion shows . These shows are extremely popular and have a huge influence on the look that most blushing brides would be wearing as well as the wedding decor.

In fact, the trending of certain floral arrangements based on ensuing fashion trend has led to a boom in companies that predict upcoming floral trends. flowertrendsforecast.com does an excellent job by advising florists about the same keeping them at the top of their game.

This, is but the tip of the ice berg. The trend or the use of floral arrangements is not just limited to the big fashion shows. Rambert Rigaud, a former studio director for Dior haute couture who is now a florist has high end fashion brands like Dior, Saint Laurent, Carven, Charlotte Olympia and Isabelle Marant as his major customers.

In the world, where social media and Instagram pictures take the forefront, brands are putting more and more focus on creating a grand living experience. It's about creating a moment that can be captured, and shows off their unique brand.

High end boutiques take this trend forward with aesthetically placed floral pop-up shops. More and more floristry and fashion businesses with similar values and appreciation for aesthetics are coming together in similar initiatives which are being loved by the customers and widely popularized through the social media by the same.

Floristry is no longer limited to the décor section in the fashion world. It has been taking much more of the center stage. Flower arrangements are being used to create beautiful fashion art work. In a world, where fashion's favorite flower keeps changing along with preferred arrangements and the florists have to keep adjusting to keep pace with the coming demands.

Floral artists are working with the fashion world creating floral jewellery. These include jeweller pieces such as boas, crowns and striking adornments are being created by florists like Joseph Free. This work can be seen in fashion shows, movies and more. In fact, SHOW studio's latest exhibition Fashion Flora presents the use of flowers as motif in fashion throughout the decades.

SHOW studio's latest exhibition Fashion Flora

Fashion world is affecting floristry and the way the business is created in wholly different ways creating international and tech-savvy business coming up.

Whitney Bromber Hawkins, co-founder of FlowerBx asks, "Have you ever seen more flowers exchanged than in fashion?" As the former vice-president of Communications at Tom Ford, she saw a large no of being sent and received by the designers. She realized that there was no consistent, slick and simple approach. And this led her to create FlowerBx which aims to an international luxury brand for flowers. This is a previously unheard of in the floristry. The company was able to raise £1m in first-round funding, earned the backing of fashion's heavy hitters, with Net-a-Porter's Natalie Massenet, Mark Sebba, Natalie Massenet as early investors.

It would be quite an understatement to say that Fashion Industry has quite an impact on the floristry world and frankly, this impact is quite mutual. We can see the demands being hinged more towards nature. This is likely to lead to an increase in the intersection between the fashion and floristry world.

Fashion is no longer restricted to the rich or the up and coming. With almost everyone having access to social media, people are very fashion aware. No one wants to be left behind. They know which is 'in' and what is 'out' and only want to take what is currently trending. Thus, fashion is not just affecting the florists or the people who are coming in contact with the fashion world directly. Rather everyone and their decisions regarding the kind of floral display or decor they choose are impacted by the fashion world.

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Fashion Industry's Impact In The Floristry World

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Florists are mostly remembered on Valentine's Day, Anniversaries and by desperate husbands seeking to placate their disgruntled spouses. Each flower has a significance attached to it and adds meaning to different occasions. Flowers can be arranged in a classic, timeless arrangements, or into one of the new and exotic designs that are coming up.

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LONDON, United Kingdom - In fashion, flowers are not just for Valentine's Day - they're for please, thank you and, quite simply, for life. Fashion's affinity for floristry became larger than life when for ' debut haute couture show for Christian Dior in 2012, he famously commissioned Belgian florist Mark Colle to bedeck the walls of a 16th arrondissement hôtel particulier with thick beds of flowers, each room a different colour and variety. Overnight, the "flower wall" trend was born and would become a popular request for Instagram-friendly weddings and industry events. Perhaps contrastingly, the pre-collection appointments for Céline are notoriously Instagram-unfriendly (taking photos of the clothes in the showroom is banned) but photos of the range of succulents, hothouse foliage and fougère ferns are permitted, and as a result they quickly proliferate on social media into décor phenomena - the French brand ignited a craze for cheese plants and palm leaves after including them in Juergen Teller-lensed campaigns.

It's clear that fashion has always had a love of floristry. Christian Dior would name his designs after flowers from his beloved Granville garden and Roy Halston would spend six-figure sums on white orchids at the height of his career. Now, the higher end of floristry is becoming an increasingly fashion-like business. Social media and fashion moments ignite horticultural trends; in turn, some fashion folk are creating floristry businesses that are disrupting the market with international, tech-savvy services, while others are seizing the opportunity in more traditional operations.

"Have you ever seen more flowers exchanged than in fashion?" asks Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, the former senior vice president of communications at , who co-founded Flowerbx in 2015. In her previous job, Bromberg Hawkings would be sending flowers on behalf of Ford and receiving bouquets for the designer from the great and good, both of which were always bunches of single-stem flowers. Her big idea came when she realised that there was no digital service that offered consistency and a simplified, slick approach to sending flowers. "I was buying my clothes on Net-a-Porter and my groceries on Ocado and I couldn't buy flowers online, so I would have to go to Covent Garden Market in the morning or order from a florist and then you never know what you're going to get."

"There's never been an international flower brand," adds Bromberg Hawkings, who closed an oversubscribed $1.94 million seed-plus funding round earlier this year and named former Net-a-Porter chief executive Mark Sebba as non-executive chairman and investor (other investors included fashion fairy godmothers Dame Natalie Massenet, Carmen Busquets, Eiesha Bharti Pasricha and Tania Fares). With a negative-capital business (the stock is ordered on-demand from suppliers in Holland with a 48-hour turnaround) Flowerbx could become "the Uber of flower delivery," according to Busquets.

Bromberg Hawkings certainly has plans for global expansion, with a launch in France this autumn. "The second we nail that and have gotten the concept through in different markets, we can leverage the relationships we have in Holland," she says. "You go to Prada in Los Angeles, Tokyo or Shanghai and you get the same tissue paper and smell of the product. What we're offering is consistency of experience, which you just don't have right now."

I was buying my clothes on Net-a-Porter and my groceries on Ocado and I couldn't buy flowers online.

If Flowerbx aims to be the Net-a-Porter of floristry - its branded vans with handsome drivers are quickly becoming a presence in London, just as Net-a-Porter's black vans once did - then there are also plenty of other independent spirits who want to keep individualistic flair alive. At the most recent Rodarte show at Paris Couture Week, white gypsophila (also known as baby's breath) and bird of paradise flowers were turned into boas, crowns and striking adornments by florist Joseph Free, who creates bespoke arrangements for clients. "I work out of my place and it's not a flower shop," says Free, who is based in Los Angeles and began working with the Mulleavy sisters two seasons ago on flowers and jewellery. "I do personal orders for people and work on films and with an artist called Willem de Rooji, and it's special and expensive - it's not just a $150 bouquet of flowers a guy is getting for his girlfriend or surfaces covered in white flowers at a wedding."

Melissa Alexander, a former fashion stylist and model agent, set up JamJar Flowers eight years ago, and has built a business based on her love of natural blooms and rustic glass containers. "Flowers and fashion seem effortlessly entwined; the perfect fit; an obvious match," says Alexander, who adds that social media has been instrumental in her business's success as she never advertised it. "Global brands of florists sound alien to me - flowers seem to me to have to be made with passion." Although Alexander is hesitant about florists becoming increasingly similar to global fashion brands, she does acknowledge that they are becoming more trend-led.

"Flower fashions don't change quite as often as the collections do but nevertheless flowers and ways of arranging them go in and out of fashion in exactly the same way," adds Alexander. At the moment, she cites the work of Saipua and Nicolette Camille as a pervasive influence, both florists based in New York inspired by the Dutch Masters (perhaps not coincidentally Dries van Noten and have both staged shows in recent years around clear boxes of Dutch Master floral compositions). "The there is another trend towards seasonal, locally sourced flowers, meadow style flowers, simple single-stemmed arrangements using seasonal flowers like we did with Fern Verrow at Spring Restaurant. Everything feels very easy and comfortable in its surroundings."

Eric Buterbaugh, the Los Angeles-based florist whose clients include , Christian Dior and Cartier, attests that he certainly does see his business as a fashion brand, drawing on his experience working for Gianni Versace in London in the early '90s and fashion shows he has frequented in his 21 years as a florist. "It is just such a big deal with the fashion industry. A few years ago I thought it would play out, but it's just grown bigger and bigger and bigger with every season - it's just never going away," says Buterbaugh. He has applied the age-old fashion-cum-beauty-brand structure to his own business and, since 2015, has also made floral fragrances and candles, which are sold in Saks Fifth Avenue and Le Bon Marché in Paris. There have also been pop-up spaces in fashion boutiques and department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman. "The world of shopping is changing now and it's about thinking outside the box," says Buterbaugh. "People are asking me to do flower pop-ups in their fashion stores and everybody is doing the co-branding or hooking up with someone who has a similar aesthetic, so it's sort of exciting and different."

"Flowers have always complimented fashion," says Flora Starkey, who became a florist five years ago after running her own fashion label, Superfine. Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Comme des Garçons and Vivienne Westwood are clients. "Working in fashion for years before moving into floristry totally shaped a lot of the way that I approach working with flowers. Apart from the obvious visual connections between the two worlds - colour, shape, texture, composition - it gave me a love of working as part of a creative team." Starkey's success is also a prime example of fashion's love for independent creative spirits in floristry, who go far beyond the single-stem bunches of peonies. She believes working with seasonal plants makes one more creative. "They are both seasonally led in their nature and change throughout the year. I think social media has probably heightened our visual awareness in some ways and made us more discerning."

Perhaps the antithesis of Starkey's practise is Bloom & Wild, a UK-based online service which delivers flowers in flat-pack cardboard boxes that fit through a letterbox (they are specially developed to avoid damage to the flowers). Approximately 70 percent of the start-up's transactions are done on smartphones and earlier this year, it raised $4.86 million in investment, bringing the total investment since its launch in 2013 to $9.4 million.

"Bloom & Wild is 100 percent online, so we have to seek clients and build a brand and for that, and social media is incredible," says lead floral designer Rowan Lewis, who hails from a fashion background at Matthew Williamson. "It has become a real brand to the point that some clients are superfans. I did a workshop with a group of women recently and it was like they were groupies - they knew all the names of the bouquets and could name ones from years ago that we don't even do any more." As for the social media buzz that she generates with fashion-like visual imagery, Lewis has a simple answer for the connection between the two worlds. "Flowers can never look ugly and that's why they are so great for producing content."
Editor's Note: This article was revised on July 17, 2017. A previous version of this article misstated that Bloom & Wild is an online subscription service. This is incorrect. While Bloom & Wild does offer subscription options, it is not exclusively a subscription service. Related Articles: Can Blanc Build the Net-a-Porter of Dry Cleaners? The Entire World Is Watching Fashion. So What Do We Want Them to Know?

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LONDON, United Kingdom - In fashion, flowers are not just for Valentine's Day - they're for please, thank you and, quite simply, for life. Fashion's affinity for floristry became larger than life when for ' debut haute couture show for Christian Dior in 2012, he famously commissioned Belgian florist Mark Colle to bedeck the walls of a 16th arrondissement hôtel particulier with thick beds of flowers, each room a different colour and variety.

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fashion industry loving new-gen floristry

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fashion industry loving new-gen floristry

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To celebrate, the songstress hosted an after-party which saw its high-profile attendees ( Kaia Gerber and Iris Law to name just a few) pose in front of an assortment of statement blue roses, hydrangeas, delphiniums, pampas grass, asparagus fern and gyp as they entered the Fenty lair.

The interior of the party, which was hosted at West London's Laylow, saw an eclectic mix of white and pink blooms line both floors of the soirée.

Each crop had been meticulously placed, arranged and styled by Romy St. Clair and Iona Mathieson of Peckham-based SAGE Flowers, the floristry company they founded in 2018.

"It was super fun. Rihanna's stylist and collaborator Jahleel Weaver got in contact directly with us about them, as our friend Grace Ladoja (Skepta and Mabel's manager) told him that if he needs flowers, he should come to us," Mathieson explains.

Despite having no formal training, the girls have also designed the flowers for ASAI, Gucci, Glossier, Christian Louboutin and Nike, to name just a few.

SAGE's floral arrangements for the Fenty BFA after-party /

McQueens has been lending its luxe petals to the fashion world's elite since it first opened in Shoreditch in 1991, while Scarlett & Violet has also been serving London's fashion scene since 2006.

But increasingly brands are providing an opportunity for a fresh crop of new-gen florists, such as SAGE, to flourish.

Prada's Resort 2020 campaign with flowers arranged by Alexander Manho Young /

"For us, the big moment was our first job for Glossier which was super fun and beautiful, we were given a really loose brief so we were able to produce what we wanted and our style really shone through," Mathieson explains. "Since then we've been able to demand brands use us for our style, as opposed to fitting in with a mood board they already had."

Alisa Lambina founded Islington-based Untitled (Flowers) in January 2018 after graduating from art school. One of her florists, Alexander Manho Young, styled the flowers for the Prada Resort 2020 campaign.

Read more

Flower power: Carly Rogers and the cult of being an anti florist

Both Untitled (Flowers) and SAGE have blossomed in part thanks to their fresh and quirky aesthetics, which have attracted an inevitably cooler and younger crowd to floristry.

Laboos Flowers was also founded in 2018 by former art director Frances Knight-Jacobs, and has been tapped by the likes of Vivienne Westwood, the British Fashion Council and renowned fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan.

While business may be booming for all three businesses, keeping up with the increased demand comes at a price.

SAGE arranged the flowers for the limited-edition Fenty x ASAI collaboration /

For Knight-Jacobs, who refers to Laboos as an "eco-conscious" florist, she has found it impossible to make her work fully sustainable. "It's difficult finding a balance between a clients' brief, the availability of flowers at the time of the job and sourcing affordable stock that will make a profit," she laments.

Hers is a sentiment shared by the girls behind SAGE and Untitled (Flowers) too.

"Flowers are generally packaged in plastic, wrapped in elastic bands and flown in from all over the world. They have a huge carbon footprint, and that's before they're put in non-degradable plastic floral foam," Mathieson admits.

Lambina of Untitled (Flowers), is steadfast: "The flower industry, like most industries, has a long way to go if it is to reach a level of sustainability that is harmless to the health of the planet."

While both smaller and more established florists collectively grapple with trying to make their floral offerings as green as possible, the girls at SAGE are well aware of the fact that flowers are only ever an accessory, a prop. Mathieson clarifies, "In the grand scheme of things, we know floristry isn't important. We're not curing disease, we're not solving the big problems."

Her argument is continued by St. Clair, who says, "In a world of Instagram filters, cosmetic surgery and fast fashion, it's nice to work with something that is so timeless and naturally beautiful."

With more collaborations and fashion events on the horizon (the owners of the florists are made to sign NDA's before committing to projects with big brands), the future for these new-gen florists looks set to bloom.

As St. Clair aptly summarises, "Flowers have significance and meaning in almost every culture, it's amazing to celebrate that and to see how they are being used within our generation."

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Blooming marvellous: fashion is loving these new-gen florists

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To celebrate, the songstress hosted an after-party which saw its high-profile attendees ( Kaia Gerber and Iris Law to name just a few) pose in front of an assortment of statement blue roses, hydrangeas, delphiniums, pampas grass, asparagus fern and gyp as they entered the Fenty lair.

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super interesting and unique clothing and home decor https://instagram.com/apocstore?igshid=qed5iipreus2

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fashion photography with flowers https://instagram.com/undernewmgmt?igshid=v4py6on2xdjg

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fashion photography with flowers - my interpretation is promoting body positivity and comparing women to these beautiful flowers https://instagram.com/undernewmgmt?igshid=v4py6on2xdjg

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floral designs photographed against concrete etc. https://instagram.com/undernewmgmt?igshid=v4py6on2xdjg

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floral designs photographed against concrete etc. https://instagram.com/undernewmgmt?igshid=v4py6on2xdjg

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floral designs photographed against concrete etc. https://instagram.com/undernewmgmt?igshid=v4py6on2xdjg

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floral designs photographed against concrete etc. https://instagram.com/undernewmgmt?igshid=v4py6on2xdjg

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Floristry has changed a lot in the last few years. What was once the preserve of suburban gardens, memorials and Radio 4 programming has since flowered as a legitimate part of the modern creative universe, drawing from every imaginable discipline and aesthetic. At the heart of that transformation has been Harriet Parry.

"Floristry has become this huge, very complex world," says the south Londoner. "You have a lot of fashion kids who have moved into the world of floristry... loads of very hip, very creative, and often very young people [are] starting to make things with flowers."

"I still see myself as a florist, it's a really lovely craft - a wholesome and friendly thing to be. But I think that because of the way I present and construct my work; the references I use, the way I tell stories... I am able to push things within the craft and the medium."

Harriet graduated from Leeds Beckett University in 2007, where she concentrated on performance and video, as well as watercolour. During her time there, she found that there were always two sides of her personality that she was trying to reconcile in her art. "There's this delicate, very English watercolour painting style... but at art school I'd also make these mad videos in which I'd inhabit these idealised, over-the-top characters."

Today, it is the interaction between the two that helps create the unique energy in her work: the world she inhabits is a colourful, far-reaching one which reflects her character perfectly. The broad sweep of things that Harriet does - from location work in film and fashion, to commissioned studio-based projects and personal work - is all tied together with a playful lightness of touch. "It really is this very fluid art practice. When I first set out using flowers, I don't think the industry was as geared towards seeing them as another form of art."

The 34-year-old's love of working with flowers began after university, when she started working as a visual merchandiser - first for a property developer, and then for a fashion brand. While the work was challenging, it lent itself to the creative approach she'd honed during her time at Leeds: she was often tasked with doing fake flower arrangements for show homes, during which she'd have to adopt the personas of "stereotypical characters" from specific demographics. It's an approach she compares to method acting today. "I'd have to become these people and make an interpretation and create something that would resonate with them," she remembers.

In 2009, though, Harriet upped and moved to London, where she began getting commissions as a freelance illustrator. At the same time, she started working as a traditional florist at a local studio in order to help pay the bills. Her art and design background, paired with the previous experience she had working with flowers, meant that she got to grips with things quickly - there was a lot of learning on the job, which suited her.

It soon became clear that, with floristry, she was onto something. So in 2012, she decided to go full-time and made the jump to self-employment. From the beginning, her individuality was clear to see: Harriet uses flowers across various artistic disciplines, blending art, fashion and film with her designs. This multi-textured approach has since seen her work appear at workshops, exhibitions and weddings, as well as in films and magazine editorials.

But it was her Flower Interpretations series that really began turning heads. The ongoing project - in which Harriet reimagines history's iconic artworks, scenes and images as floral arrangements - started organically, evolving out of her tendency to see the flowers in everything. "Every time I go to an exhibition, I buy a postcard," she says. "These postcards are put up on my kitchen cupboards, so every day I think about the shapes, textures, patterns [in them] and see the elements as flowers. It just seemed natural to start this series."

The first instalment saw Harriet reworking one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's famous bouquet motifs, followed by her take on Pablo Picasso's . Since then, she has gone on to reinterpret works in a variety of different spheres. One of her favourite pieces was a floral take on a portrait of the singer-songwriter Woman with Hat (Olga) Milk Teeth Douglas Dare, by the artist Furmaan Ahmed. Harriet's version went on to be included as an exclusive artwork in Dare's album - it also became a limited cover for his EP and appeared in the video for his single 'Silly Games'.

Another highlight saw her working in collaboration with the artist Kapwani Kiwanga on her ongoing piece Flowers for Africa , which appeared as part of A Time for New Dreams, an exhibition curated by Grace Wales Bonner at The Serpentine Sackler Gallery. "I was asked to recreate arrangements from a series of historical images shared with me by Kiwanga. Each image is related to a historical event or ceremony, related to the independence of an African country. The flower arrangements reactivated a certain moment in time but were left to wilt over the course of the exhibition. This was a comment on the fading memory of the historical moments and the fragility of sovereignty."

As an artist, the main challenge for Harriet was always how to exhibit this kind of work digitally. She needed a platform where she could bring the different strands of her creativity together in one place, allowing people to understand the scope of what she does, as well as a space that exhibits the ever-changing nature of her commissions. "The sharing what I love online Squarespace platform was really vital in enabling me to get my story out there," she says. "Creating is what grounds me, gives me purpose and, by , it has enabled me to stay connected with others, to bring about new collaborations. It has hopefully enabled me to brighten peoples' days and bring joy to these odd moments."

The odd moments have, of course, increased recently. Lockdown in particular has drastically impacted the availability of materials available to Harriet, pushing her to adapt and evolve the way she makes her art. "I've been forced to revert to making do with stuff that I can forage and find... I have a stock of dried flowers. But I am forced even more to look for the little nuggets of beauty around me - that's been the main process for me lately, and it's been an interesting, fun challenge."

In fact, given the paucity of materials around her, she's found herself reacquainted with aspects of her working process that she'd begun to neglect. "I realise that I had forgotten about the scent of peonies," she explains. 'How they fade with time from pink to white, how they open up in the daylight like ballerinas and then close down and sleep during the night - how their petals fall and scatter when they come to the end."

For this commission, Harriet created a flower interpretation of the 'Temperance' tarot from the Rider-Waite deck by Pamela Coleman-Smith. For her, it's an image that represents the feelings and ideas that have come to the surface during lockdown: ones about her life, work and creativity. These might change over time as her work and life progress. But in a way, given her approach to creativity, that feels fitting.

"This [work] symbolises for me a sense of balance, patience and the idea of leaning into a new situation, accepting and adapting with it with love, kindness and resistance," she says. "It is about connectivity, re-evaluation of what is important to us collectively and individually."

"It also speaks to me about connecting with yourself and nature, of remembering that life is fluid and ever-changing and trusting in yourself. It has reminded me to take some time to reflect and step back. It has encouraged me to keep creating during this strange uncertain time."
Are you ready to share your vision with the world? Start building today: use the code HUCKMAG for a discount on a new Squarespace website. Read more stories from our series on Creative Resilience, in partnership with Squarespace. Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

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Meet the artist leading floristry's youthful takeover

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Floristry has changed a lot in the last few years. What was once the preserve of suburban gardens, memorials and Radio 4 programming has since flowered as a legitimate part of the modern creative universe, drawing from every imaginable discipline and aesthetic. At the heart of that transformation has been Harriet Parry.

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https://instagram.com/flowerinterpretations?igshid=gnps0q4r3ab3

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creates floristry work inspired by paintings https://instagram.com/harrietparryflowers?igshid=4c4s9zxkbjww

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i really like that they use fruit and other food in the shots http://www.apbiodesigns.com/portfolio

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http://www.apbiodesigns.com/portfolio

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http://www.apbiodesigns.com/portfolio

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A Japanese artists who specialises in colour and flowers

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A Japanese artists who specialises in colour and flowers

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"The world before floral foam" - environmental issues

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Like other forms of art, floristry exists in a state of constant flux, changing from one moment to the next. Sometimes those changes are cultural or aesthetic, and sometimes, they are driven by technological innovation. An example of the latter is the creation of floral foam. Now ubiquitous, you probably know it as OASIS®. Its creation by Vernon Lewis Smithers in 1954 was a milestone for floristry, and in the decades since, it has revolutionised the art.

OASIS®'s appeal is no mystery: it's unbelievably absorbent, and increases its weight when soaked by a factor of forty. It can keep flowers hydrated for as much as four days (without additional water), is easy to transport, holds flowers tightly in place, and is incredibly easy to use. However, there is one drawback to floral foam: it is non-biodegradable. In our environmentally-conscious world, where David Attenborough's Blue Planet has captivated young and old alike, and every year sees the record for 'hottest year in recorded history' broken, this has become a major concern.

Like all people working in the industry, we feel it's important to voice our opinion on the matter. We will, of course, continue to instruct our students in the use of floral foam (to not do so would be an educational disservice, given its usefulness to professional florists). We will also use it ourselves as and when appropriate. However, we remain committed to the use of more environmentally friendly alternatives if-and-when they become viable. More immediately, we are also highly trained in the historical alternatives to floral foam. We use these techniques ourselves, and we teach them to our students.

Mrs. Barbara Clarke, an invaluable source of knowledge regarding the history of floristry, and former employee of Constance Spry, highlights the use of chicken wire as an alternative base for flowers:

In my Winkfield days, all students had to arrange in wire. It made people push flowers well into the wire and make sure all stems were under water. Look at the flowers and follow natural shapes. Encouraging you to develop an eye when picking or choosing your flowers. In exams, marks were deducted if flowers were not under the water line.
-Barbara Clarke

Chicken wire is a particularly effective medium with which to create structures for flower arranging, due to the netted effect of its design. It's not known exactly when chicken wire became used in floristry, but the first wire netting machine was built in 1844. Our independent research on the subject suggests that chicken wire had probably made its way into the world of flowers by the 19 th Century, and it features prominently in written accounts of the art by the early 20 th Century.

The particular structure of chicken wire, and the manipulations necessary to use it for flower arranging (which involve various folds and shaping) mean that it was unsuitable for very small arrangements. As a result, it was most prominently featured in vases during the first half of the 20 th Century. Today, we have learnt to apply it to smaller items, such as bridal bouquets, and we also use it in the construction of large displays like arches, staircases, and walls. For this reason, it is self-evident that chicken wire is, and has always been, an incredibly useful medium to use for weddings.

In the past, smaller arrangements, like bridal bouquets and baskets, would usually be wired - and as soon as we think about wiring, we need to introduce moss. Moss was a natural precursor to floral foam. Soaked in water and mounted to a shape, moss was widely regarded as a base in itself or - in larger displays - it could be attached to a metal structure (like a wreath, cross or chaplet). Individual flowers were then mounted and secured into the moss pad.

Mrs. Clarke assures us that in Constance Spry's time, moss was only used in synagogues and for funerals. Its eventual replacement with floral foam comes down to convenience: using moss as a base is time consuming, and requires considerable skill in wiring. However, with the increasing prominence of 'green' floristry, working with moss is coming back into vogue - at least for arrangements that do not need to last longer than a few days. It is also true that combining moss pads with underlying chicken wire structures offers a new route to creating big arrangements for florists who want to avoid the time and effort of complex wirework.

Another alternative to floral foam known to Constance Spry is kenzan. A kenzan is a heavy lead plate surmounted with brass needles, to which flower stems can be affixed. Also known as a "flower frog," the kenzan is a staple tool in ikebana, the Japanese style of flower arranging. Translated literally, kenzan means "sword mountain" - a reflection of its unique, spikey, appearance.

Kenzan are still used widely in floristry - and considering the fact that ikebana began in the 15 th Century, it may be one of the oldest floristry techniques on the planet. Kenzan has many qualities that make it an essential consideration for florists looking for a base: it naturally opens the stems of flowers, allowing them to take in more water and last longer, it is reusable, and relatively easy to clean and repair, and it is refreshingly low cost. The only downside to this tool is security of the arrangement during transport - for this reason kenzan is best used in a dedicated location, where movement of the arrangement will not be an issue.

There are a number of other alternatives to floral foam - the most viable of which is simply the use of green foliage. In the days since Constance Spry, we have been taught to ensure that there is no foliage beneath the water line because this creates the perfect environment for bacteria to grow and leads to a shorter lifespan. However, for one-day arrangements, or longer periods where the water can be regularly changed, there's no reason not to consider green foliage as a potential base. As a result, this method is still in use today, particularly with bending willows, where it has undoubtedly become part of the traditional design.

Another alternative to floral foam, which has fallen out of favour today, is Florapac. Mrs. Clarke remembers: ' In the sixties this was the biggest and easiest medium before Oasis. A white block, very soft and had to be crumbled by hand and soaked in a tub of water before being packed into containers with just a single bit of netting over the top to hold it in place. Wonderful for glass goblets, antique vases, baby baskets, etc. This could be used time and time again. I do not know why it was phased out, but I guess it was something to do with being a health risk as this could be very dusty to break for soaking and certainly made you cough.'

Other solutions which have decreased in popularity include glass domes, paper, test tubes, sand, marvels, straw, clay and plasticine.

It is easy to become nostalgic for the past, partly because we naturally remember what has gone before as a 'golden age' and partly because the past is where our heroes live.

Life before floral foam was quite different. We certainly had to look at the natural shape of every thing used. Most arrangements were softer and flowers did not always have straight stems as today's Dutch flowers have. Nothing looked like what flower club ladies do today.
-Barbara Clarke

However, no one can turn back time. The best approach to the past is to learn from it - not idolise it. Studying the techniques that were used before floral foam became ubiquitous is valuable not just for academic reasons, but because it makes us better florists, and gives us another set of tools with which to innovate the industry. In the words of London Flower School tutor Marzena Joseph: 'Knowing the history of the trade is crucial for those wanting to move forward and try new techniques. Only a tree with strong roots can grow big branches. Only those of us knowing the past can create a totally new and original future.'

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Floral foam is everywhere: what are the alternatives?

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Ever wondered what florists used before floral foam became so popular? We take a voyage into the industry's past to see if there are any alternatives to the medium that offer flower artists a more environmentally friendly base for their arrangements.

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Stephanie Swan

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Meet LFS Scholarship Winner Stephanie Swan

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https://londonflowerschool.com/journal/sleeping-beauty

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"Floristry as self expression"

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As floral designers, we use flowers as a tool for self-expression, but ultimately often find it difficult to view ourselves through our creations. My desire to experiment with this concept led to a recent project in which students at London Flower School translated their inner perceived self onto their portrait through the medium of flowers.

For many years, I have been working on a project called Notamaranto - a contemporary botanical catalogue in which photographer Nikola Lorenzin and I used photography to investigate how natural elements can reshape one's expression and definition in their portrait. We have explored how these natural elements can free the individual from recognized labelling and they can extend their identity through the classification of nature.

Notamaranto, by Federica Carlini and Nikola Lorenzin
As reference for this project at LFS and for my work on Notamaranto, I looked to the work of Karl Blossfeldt for inspiration. His botanical images brought the beauty and majesty of nature, commonly overlooked at first sight, to prominence in the early part of the 20th century. Blossfeldt never considered himself as a photographer or botanist, but rather a sculptor and ultimately a teacher, using photography to encourage others to direct their attention and thoughts to the natural world.

The project at LFS consisted of combining each student's photographic portrait - their external representation of themselves - with an image of their Ikebana arrangement, an expression of their inner self through this Japanese floral art form. The principle of Ikebana itself being that the arrangement reflects the personality of the arranger and their emotions during the creation process.

Ikebana arrangements created by LFS students Hye Won Shin and Barbara Chire
Combining these two elements, we then presented a new visual representation for our final installation. The combined images of portraits and ikebana arrangements were then projected onto a flower wall, the shapes and textures of which contributing to the depth of the project.

My passion to explore concepts of self-expression through floristry is the reason why this project was so important to me. Like Blossfeldt's approach to his art, our floral journey starts with our connection to our material. Using the visual power of natural material such as flowers; their colour, texture, shape and form, results in a true reflection of our self through our creation.

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Floristry as Self-Expression - London Flower School

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As floral designers, we use flowers as a tool for self-expression, but ultimately often find it difficult to view ourselves through our creations. My desire to experiment with this concept led to a recent project in which students at London Flower School translated their inner perceived self onto their portrait through the medium of flowers.

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"Frida Kahlo- a life lived on canvas"

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At LFS, we find inspiration all around us. But one area that has been a constant source to draw from has been the wider world of visual arts, and painting in particular. Among our favourite artists is Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954), whose love of nature and frequent use of flowers and plant material in her work offers a direct and tangible link for students first encountering it in a floristry setting.

Self-taught, Frida's style was unique - part realist, part surrealist, influenced by her indigenous Mexican culture, and infused with potent intellectual themes like nature, love, sex, death and politics.

"I am my own muse, the subject I know best."
-Frida Kahlo

Frida's love of the natural world, and her use of flowers to address some of these themes are evident in much of her art. Magnolias, for example, a 1945 piece inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe, sees the addition of a pear cactus flower - a sensitive and short-lived, though beautiful, blossom that symbolized the intertwined themes of life and death.

Her interest in flowers was not always so weighty - in the same picture, an open calla lily is hiding. The significance? It was her husband Diego's favourite flower, and as such featured in many of her paintings.

"I paint flowers so they will not die."
-Frida Kahlo

Frida's life off-canvas saw her immersed in nature and indigenous Mexican culture, and she cultivated her garden at the Blue House in Coyoacan, Mexico City, turning it into a tiny floral paradise. It is no surprise, then, that these elements run through her art like veins in marble.

"When it comes to colours and their symbolism, it is impossible not to remember Frida's mastery in creating harmony with high contrasting colours and vibrant patterns."
-Marcelo Deguchi

Perhaps the clearest example of the confluence of these elements in Frida's art comes in the painting Self portrait along the boarder line between Mexico and the United States. Here, we see Frida express her longing for her native Mexican culture and its agricultural society, associated with nature, flowers, and the earth. Her caricature of America as a capitalist dystopia, and the small Mexican flag in her hand, leave viewers with no doubt as to where her loyalties lie.

Marcelo Deguchi, in-house photographer for LFS, explains how we try to engage creatively with Frida's work in-class: 'When creating these images during the Floristry Career Course, we didn't want to simulate a version of Frida's work using floristry and photography, but in fact to push students to use their own imagination and artistic eye to interpret colours from another perspective without being constrained by rules of composition or a limited colour palette.'

It is a testament to Frida's talent that her pieces remain as fresh and vibrant today as they were in her own lifetime. At the root of her genius lay an ability to take tragedy - which was only ever a step away - and force it to live in the shadow of love, meaning, and creativity. This alchemy was one which typified the life she lived in the world, but also the life she lived on the canvas. Capturing a sense of that authenticity is a worthy task for anyone in the creative arts.

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Frida Kahlo - a life lived on the canvas | LFS Journal

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Visual arts are a constant source of inspiration for us at LFS. Among our favourite artists is Frida Kahlo, whose love of nature, and use of flowers and plant material offers a direct and tangible link for students setting out on their floral journey. Read more about Frida's life and work here.

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Alice Andrews- http://www.aliceandrewsstudio.com/new-gallery-4/wl25z5ukbo861wzj4whw1a07piu8x6

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Alice Andrews is a set designer and with this shoot, she has used fruit, flowers, fabric, plastic, and shoes. I get the impression that it's kind of documentary style as i image the story behind this to be maybe the aftermath of a domestic fight. http://www.aliceandrewsstudio.com/make-magazine/vkolkeqhuc0a3s82284k44ta8m9yla

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I want to look at cyber/  surreal futurism in art + photography from being inspired by the game "Cyberpunk 2077". This artist, Blake Kathryn, worked with Fendi - "Designs crafted for a campaign re-imagining Fendi’s SS19 Baguette & Peekaboo bags. Fendi sent select photos from their collection, seeking to appeal to a creatively inclined audience through conceptually open interpretations. Muses were born, inspired by the collection’s ornamental detailing and textures. In addition to several minimal designs that supported the accompanying bag designs in a surreal fashion." http://www.blakekathryn.com/work#/fendi-muses

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Flower photography (Open field)- Jimmy Marble http://www.jimmymarble.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/OPEN-FIELD-2145-600x900.jpg

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flower photography(Open Field)- Jimmy Marble http://www.jimmymarble.com/2018/09/open-field/open-field-2127/

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• My name is Isobel and i’m a pisces and an aspiring fashion photographer or photography set designer. (haven’t decided yet lol)

• My two biggest inspirations would be the photographer Willem Verbeck who specialises in documentary and landscape film photography, and set designer Alice Andrews who uses floristry in some of her work.

• I hope to be using flowers in my photography work and see myself either being a photographer or set designer

• My favourite quote is “The act of creating something is always more important than the result!!!” which i really take into consideration with my work as i get too caught up into small details

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Avant-garde florist

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Before discovering her unique flair for floristry, Parry worked as an interior stylist. "We threw a lot of fake flowers into our design schemes," she recalls. "That was actually one of the things that sowed the seed." After moving to London, Parry applied for a floral designer role that allowed her to learn on the job before launching her own business, which now includes weddings and events, editorial projects, and brand collaborations. Recent brides can also commission her to paint miniature watercolor portraits of the bouquet they walked down the aisle with. "They make nice gifts for a first wedding anniversary," she explains.

All of that creative output requires an endless wellspring of inspiration, and Parry's imagination can be sparked by just about anything-from a museum exhibit to what's coming down the runway. "I've been looking at a lot of Rodarte, Gucci goes without saying, Shrimps...oh, Molly Goddard, of course," she says. "It's a funny old game. Flowers, interiors, we all take the lead from fashion." Her dream collaboration? A meeting of the minds with David Lynch. His work has "that hint of the unexpected, that touch of the slightly off-kilter," much like her own artistry.

For those ready to go boldly into the floral future, Parry suggests finding a florist that you really click with. "When I do weddings, I tend to work with people that I have a connection with. They sort of leave it up to me a bit, and trust me with my designs," she says. Still, she's always game to tackle an intriguing project description. One of her favorite weddings she's ever worked on started out with a client seeking "an English country feel-but if somebody fell on the flower arrangement it might hurt them." (The end result turned out to be a red rose-centric Salvador Dalí-inspired floral display.) Beyond that, the only rule is that there are no rules, except: "You can't go wrong when there's a feather involved," Parry says.

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This Avant-Garde Florist Turns Wedding Flowers into Works of Art

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Before discovering her unique flair for floristry, Parry worked as an interior stylist. "We threw a lot of fake flowers into our design schemes," she recalls. "That was actually one of the things that sowed the seed."

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"The evolution of flowers in photography"

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by Federica Carlini
Main image: Still life composition, Mirrors and Centaurea cyanus. Arrangement by Nicole Ma, photography by Marcelo Deguchi.
Since the invention of the photographic camera, artists have always had a passionate devotion to flowers. Those who were dedicated to flower compositions could not have done a job worthy of being remembered through time without the skills of those who immortalised their photographs. Therefore, the power of capturing each instant and the ephemerality of the botanical elements have always been interconnected.

My passion for the camera is what brought me closer to the world of flowers and plants: extremely fascinating creatures, the essence of the definition of beauty. What has always fascinated me about photography since I was a child is its ability to enter the intimacy of other people lives, their homes, their gardens, the colours, the lights, the mystery of different stories and situations that I could not experience myself.

Lina Scheynius was the first artist who changed my perception of the world behind the photographic camera. Flowers are often depicted in the intimate space of her home. In her everyday life, she experiments with light and works with flowers, capturing intimate and poetic moments of the world around her. Flowers are pictured as protagonists and often complemented with lines and details of the human body, enhancing beauty even in the most ordinary moments.

Even though I am now more acquainted to floristry than to photography, what I look for has yet not changed. The mystery and emotional 'power of the everything' that I feel through my eyes behind the camera is now experimented through my hands and my compositions. I still want to convey those feelings, this time with a different medium.

What is that magic that draws so many photographers towards flowers? Why are they one the most photographed subjects in the history of photography? It was this fascination about the subject that made me wonder about these connections and to look back into the history of the relationship between flowers and photography.

At this season of the year, the artistic photographer cannot fail to be attracted by the large variety of flowers, many of which are exceedingly suitable, both in shape and colour, to form charming subjects for photography treatment.
-The Photographic News, July 1885

THE STUDY OF THE BLOOM

The flower piece, a pleasing arrangement or cut flowers in a vase, usually in the form of a radial composition, came into its own during the 17th century in the hands of Dutch and Flemish painters. Ever since, the attraction for lush, full blown flowers at the peak of their bloom - with their traditional associations of beauty, vitality and perfection - has continued undiminished.

Within the inception of photography, it likely began in the early 19th century, when scientist Henry Fox Talbot became known both as a pioneer photographer and a champion of plants. As proven by Talbot's experiments documenting flora, photography was a very useful tool for botanists and scientists in the study of plants.

In the early days of photography, realistic representation of flowers was still exclusive to painters. One of the early artistic expressions of flower photography were greeting cards. At that time, photographers regarded the flower piece to be a subject to show their technical prowess and achievements in photography, including the study of colours, shadows and contrasts.

Botanical Studies, 1870. Pietro Guidi

Beneath the eye of the camera the secrets of the flowers were falling one by one.
-Colette, "Secrets", Prisons and Paradis, 1932

There were two distinctive advantages to the new photographic method. The first, imitation: the act of recording and documenting. The second, replication and diffusion: the possibility of endless reproduction and distribution.

It was clear that photography enabled the human eye to see with realistic detail what no illustration or painting could ever achieve: systems of veinal nerves, lines and tapes, pulses and movements.It is because of the rational and descriptive quality of the medium that painters were relieved of realistic representation for the first time in art history. Nevertheless, we would have to wait until the beginning of the 20th century to see the first artistic experimentations using flowers through the photographic medium.

ESSENCE
It did not take long for photographers to prove that the camera lens vastly extended the human vision. It is within this context that a new world of interpretation emerged during the beginning of the 20th century. The potential of new photographic expressions such as photograms and solarisation were part of the intense experiments led by pre-war developments in avant garde movements - in particular cubism, dada and surrealism.

With these experimentations, flowers were presented and empowered in a way that artists from different movements were able to strike a balance between the beauty of the natural element and its geometrical form.

The artist had to eschew the literal transcription of reality in order to break through the worlds of surface appearance.
-Man Ray

Imogen Cunningham was one of those artists. Her interest was in the flower as a natural being in conjunction with the plant, with the focus on the flower piece as a medium to discover forms and lines as an art of expression. She became well known for her simple, yet precise and formal renditions of her subjects. Likewise, though one century earlier, botanist Karl Blossfeldt had already pioneered the thinking that 'the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural stutter. Nature is an educator about beauty and intrinsic feeling'.

Plantstudie, 1928. Karl Blossfeldt

Since the first representations of flowers in art, they have been incorporated in portraits as symbols of social status, interests, allegiance, religion and traits of personality. The flower could stand for youth, beauty, virginity, innocence and vulnerability. In its inception, photography too embraced these traditional associations, codified in the fashionable language of flowers from the Victorian age. With the experimentation and evolution of photography practices, flower photography started to loosen its connection with the forensic, scientific way of representation, and acquitted a sense of a man-made object, an appropriation of nature by culture. As new layers of meanings were added to those from the Victorian age, the flower once again became an emblem of privilege, refinement and exclusion, like haute couture in fashion magazines: a fetishised cultural artefact, valued for its rarity, design and aristocratic rank.

Left: Calla Lily, 1984. Right: Iris, 1982. Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe is one of the most notable artists of the late 20th century who associated new meanings and symbolism between the flowers and the human body. He finds in flowers a graphic correspondence with the body as symbol of sensuality, taking it as a whole or as a single petal or as a section of a stem. Much like the sexually charged nudes he is known for, Mapplethorpe used flowers as a critique to the audience's 'uptightness'. Instead of innocence and vulnerability, flowers are symbols of an aggressive, sensual presence: eros.

HYBRIDS, THE DIGITAL ERA

During the last decades of the 20th century, flowers employed allegorical and metaphorical means in reflecting more substantial and cultural topics, becoming an official medium of art expression. Artist Joan Fontcuberta was one of the first to experiment with the now so-called photographic flower hybrids or mutations, in which flowers are depicted not as an expression of reality but as the result of transformation. What the flower is might not be what the photographer envisions of it.

Herbarium, 1984. Joan Fontcuberta
Along with the revolution of digital manipulation and the bombardment of flower photography in the days of social media, we still find a wide number of photographers using floristry and photography as a medium to create their own personal narratives or as the epitome of beauty itself.

There is a correlation between the evolutionary paths of photography and floristry: both had to shift their perception within society to be recognised as a medium of self expression. At LFS, we have the privilege to receive constant inspiration from these two worlds. This opens up infinite possibilities and constant expansion, enriching the meaning and the magic of flowers in our everyday lives.

Still life composition with metal. Arrangement by Federica Carlini. Photography by Nicole Ma.

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Formidable Fungi: Part 1

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Flora Photographica: The Evolution of Flowers in Photography - London Flower School

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by Federica Carlini Main image: Still life composition, Mirrors and Centaurea cyanus. Arrangement by Nicole Ma, photography by Marcelo Deguchi. Since the invention of the photographic camera, artists have always had a passionate devotion to flowers. Those who were dedicated to flower compositions could not have done a job worthy of being remembered through time without the skills of those who immortalised their photographs.

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this journal covers "the relationship of (white) women’s embodiment to the lens of gendered advertising."

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"The Body + the Lens: Shrink, Wax, Purge, Bleach" was a creative practice research project that investigated the relationship of (white) women's embodiment to the lens of gendered advertising. To focus the research, a recently mainstreamed group of female cosmetic rituals were chosen - body-contour wear (SPANX), Brazilian waxing, salt-water cleansing, and fake tanning. The intent of the research was to interrogate the relationship between these body-correcting practices and the idealized image of the "Glossy Magazine Girl" - i.e. preternaturally thin, hairless, and unblemished by shades darker than pink - which now appear with more frequency in women's everyday life, and have reconfigured the social construction of female gender. The (artistic-research) response to the subject matter was a series of video and photographic works in the genre of self-portraiture. These works attempted to critique the new norms of embodiment emerging through these practices through the researcher's parodic undergoing of the cosmetic rituals themselves. This "carnal" methodology, following from the methodology of Louis Wacquant, is one that embodies the researcher in the social practices being researched, i.e. body-correcting practices. This method produced research results - embodied and affective - not available to purely observational research, which should interest the artistic research community and feminism generally. The images and videos de-fetishize and denaturalize the embodied product of the cosmetic rituals. My studio-led research reveals the intractable, comic "failures" in the face of the demands placed on the everyday performance of women's gender. By doing so, it turns these failures to affirmation, as well as critique of the gender norm these practices construct.

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The Body + The Lens: Shrink, Wax, Purge, Bleach.

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"The Body + the Lens: Shrink, Wax, Purge, Bleach" was a creative practice research project that investigated the relationship of (white) women's embodiment to the lens of gendered advertising. To focus the research, a recently mainstreamed group of female cosmetic rituals were chosen - body-contour wear (SPANX), Brazilian waxing, salt-water cleansing, and fake tanning.

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a Portuguese article about a photographers use of flowers and floral prints for a summer collection.

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A Rodarte lançou sua nova coleção ready-to-wear para o verão de 2021 e como sempre apostou no romantismo, com estampas delicadas, predominância de vestidos, comprimento midi e muitas flores, inclusive flores cenográficas cobrindo a cabeça das modelos. As cabeças das modelos enfeitas de flores me lembraram de Fermina Daza com suas camélias, e Florentino Ariza a chamando de Deusa Coroada, no livro, que virou filme, "O Amor Nos Tempos Do Cólera", se você não viu, recomendo muito, tanto o filme quanto o livro.

Deixando de lado "O Amor Nos Tempos Do Cólera", vamos mergulhar fundo nesta coleção Rodarte que é pura delicadeza e feminilidade, culminando com uma noiva em tons rosados que mais parece uma nuvem de algodão doce.

Fotos de Daria Kobayashi Ritch para Vogue Paris

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O romantismo da Rodarte para o verão de 2021

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A Rodarte lançou sua nova coleção ready-to-wear para o verão de 2021 e como sempre apostou no romantismo, com estampas delicadas, predominância de vestidos, comprimento midi e muitas flores, inclusive flores cenográficas cobrindo a cabeça das modelos.

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flowers in fashion photography (Jimmy Marble)- http://www.jimmymarble.com/2019/05/sister-cities-2/

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flowers in fashion photography (Jimmy Marble)- http://www.jimmymarble.com/2019/01/marc-jacob-daisy/

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Floral still life - https://www.instagram.com/p/By3L5ADBvZx/

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unique floral still life- https://www.elledecor.com/it/lifestyle/a26251457/composizioni-floreali-moderne-doan-ly-ap-bio/

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Floral photography - https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/the-queer-black-zine-taking-on-hollywood

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Alice Andrews (photography set designer)- http://www.aliceandrewsstuhttp://www.aliceandrewsstudio.com/kojey/6i4xaoo12jgeruyr9j2fkmiqysr6ib

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Floral photography set -
http://www.mrandmrsunique.co.uk/indie-wedding-fair-2019/

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floristry design

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floristry set design

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floral photography