Herbarium
Category: Apparel
Competitions: Fashion Competition 2025
“Nature is already, in its forms and tendencies, describing its own design” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay, Nature. As someone who has a deep interest in plants, the natural world, and human identity, this quote is inherent to my philosophy as a designer, artist, and person. Herbarium is a project that focuses on the growth of seeds, and incorporation of plants onto bioplastics. Initially inspired by the herbariums of American poet Emily Dickinson, Herbarium is symbolic of the innate relation between nature, and human identity, and aims to show a future in fashion based in biodegradable materials. Ultimately, Herbarium is a project that provides Nature with an outlet to create its own design. My process when creating my garments for “Herbarium” was rooted in constant experimentation, and research. Hydroponics, the science of growing plants in a liquid base, was the basis for most of my experimentation. I experimented with creating different variations of bioplastics, measuring the thickness, elasticity, and growth rate of each variation. After determining the best variation of bioplastic, I proceeded to make my garments. All of my garments in this collection are shift dresses that I draped, made patterns for, and then used to create acrylic molds of each panel. I then poured the bioplastic solution into the molds, and let the solution dry. To grow plants onto the panels, I applied the seeds after I poured the solution into the molds, and then covered the molds with acrylic sheets to create a “greenhouse” effect. Once the solutions dried, I peeled each panel off, and sewed them together to make the garment.
