Six years ago, Nicole Dextras found a bundle of laurel leaves in an alleyway behind her house; and decided to fashion a coat from them.
This one eco garment has led to the creation of the Weedrobes collection -- which includes everything from shoes cut from cabbage leaves to Camellia Countessa -- a flower gown fit for royalty.
Dextras first worked with clothing for her series Iceshifts -- for which she photographed gowns frozen in five-foot blocks of ice, which were then illuminated at night. This project, coupled with a "fascination with Andy Goldsworthy's work with thorns and leaves", led to the idea of creating clothes from plants and flowers.
She told Wired.co.uk: "My materials are chosen by what is in season and what I am allowed to pick. I have used flowers and plants from my garden but also wild and invasive species that grow in unused areas of the city. I have also been known to knock on strangers' doors and ask if I can pick the berries in their tree."
Once she has her materials, Dextras sketches her designs by hand but sometimes uses Photoshop to decide where to photograph them -- often using urban settings to "emphasise the impact of humans on the natural environment".
The artist then sends models wearing her creations out to meet the public where they can engage with passers-by "regarding issues of disposable consumer goods". The garment is then left to decay -- which can take as little as two days after creation. Dextras explains: "The decaying aspect of my art is very much part of the process. My artwork is about having an authentic experience of nature, one where we are not separate from the natural world and one where there is beauty in all of life's cycles. "The modern expectation of humans staying perpetually youthful and fresh is not only unrealistic but the cosmetics and fashion industries are laughing at us all the way to the bank."
Dextras is now considering making Weedrobes for models of all ages -- so if you fancy bringing some flower power to your wardrobe, head to British Columbia and sniff out the new designs.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
