BioCouture: Eco Fashion Critique

100% biodegradable couture gown made in response to a recycling challenge at Southgate Mall.

Created with collaborator Anna Campbell for the Southgate Eco Fashion Design competition, taking first place.

The challenge was to create a garment using recycled materials, however we wanted to utilize natural materials and think about the biodegradability and sustainability of fashion. The first step was to collect thousands of schubert cherry leaves in the Edmonton area and preserve them in vats of temperate glycerine and water. After 24 hours the leaves were left to dry. We sewed the structure of the garment using untreated burlap which has a six month deterioration rate. It took approximately 40 hours of manual labour in 10 days to attached all the leaves to the dress. The final stage of the experiment is noting deterioration. The dress was buried in September 2015

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The final stage of the experiment is noting deterioration. The dress was buried in September 2015 and will be dug up September 2016.

The challenge was to create a garment using recycled materials, however we wanted to utilize natural materials and think about the biodegradability and sustainability of fashion.