Eindhoven-based designer Agnes van Dijk makes dresses from organic materials. Her dress made of savoy cabbage leaves was nominated for the Green Concept Awards. “Peels and leaves are not waste, but raw material”, she said.
“This is a precursor to the dress that was nominated”, Agnes van Dijk says of a dress made of savoy leaves. “There’s a zipper in the back, because pulling it over your head is not good for this material. These are all things you have to think about”. The awards are for products or concepts that are sustainable and innovative.
Sustainable
“Some people might see tangerine peels as waste”, Van Dijk says. “But I prefer to see it as a raw material”. Sustainability is important to Agnes. She doesn’t do fast fashion. The dress underneath the savoy artwork is also a second-hand product. To make the dresses last as long as possible, she mummifies the organic fabrics. “I tried all kinds of things”, she says. “At first I only processed it externally, but I noticed that the quality deteriorated after a few years anyway”. Now all the fabrics are processed before being transformed into dresses.
Fashion
Early on, she learned how to make clothes. Eventually that developed into art. “I’ve always had a fascination with nature. The beauty and the ingenuity”, she explains. “And as an artist, you’re more concerned with what’s around you anyway”. That combination led to the unusual dresses. They are all wearable, but form is the most important thing. “I think about material first, and then the dress”, she said.
The winner of the Green Concept Award will be announced in early 2023.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
