Nature to wear

Wear a vegetal element to feel in tune with nature.This is the idea of ​​three female designers who express their creativity in this way.

A new concept of empathetic design is making its way which places the body in close relationship with nature, which abandons stereotypes and traditional materials for an innovative and more intimate vision of what is truly precious.Starting from the creative experiences of three designers – Bernadette Scalcione, Angela Rosati And Angela Lopez – who have chosen to work on the dimension of the small scale, the unique piece or in any case always customizable.

Botanical printing and ecoprinting

Leather, cloth, paper and terracotta are the main materials used by Bernadette Scalcione, a young designer who creates and produces personal accessories with the brand in Matera YellowKurkuma.Entirely handcrafted objects, hand-made, which were exhibited in Matera in the 2021 edition of the Fucina Madre exhibition.

The fabric is embellished with natural dye, thanks to the use of local plants and dyeing plant extracts, and with the stampa botany or Andcovering, a constantly experimenting technique with which leaves, flowers and other elements of vegetal origin, with the help of minerals and tannins, transfer energy, shape and pigment, giving original and unique imprints to fabrics, paper or other supports.

The fabric recycling of furnishings and that of ecoprint fabrics are combined in the creation of crazy patchwork to give shape to the creation of bags, backpacks, pencil cases, hats and small furnishing accessories.For Bernadette, the ecoprint is a ritual of gratitude towards life and nature:“The hands and body move like in a dance, the mind optimizes the various processing phases and the heart is the pulsating, passionate and emotional orchestra that finds shape and inspiration in nature through the creation of my artistic creations…”.

Timeless images to capture the essence of nature

Architect and photographer, Angela Rosati works in Basilicata and often translates his photographic research on nature into three-dimensional objects, fashion accessories and installations.Since 1998 he has been leading a complex project which involves the construction of a contemporary herbarium on the spontaneous flora of the Mediterranean from which to draw for his creative works.Through the photographic image, Rosati tries to capture a feeling, an emotion, to capture the spirit of the place.In transferring some images to other supports to create functional accessories, he then carries out an operation visual abstraction of the subject.The design of scarf is a clear example of this.

It reports, with different creative compositions, the flowers of the herbarium: Allium scorodoprasum L. (Roman garlic), flowers of Allium roseum L. (rosy garlic), Vicia sativa L. (sweet vetch), buds of Spartium junceum L. (scented broom), Veronica persica Poir (eyes of the Madonna).Worn by Lucanian wooden Madonnas, precious sculptures from the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, very widespread in Lucanian churches, scarves become archaic and contemporary images at the same time.

“A series of self-portraits created in 2003, Body shape, talks about my close relationship with nature.I have a very strong relationship with nature and I feel part of it, sometimes I say that I would like to be a flower to be reborn every time, or a tree to root myself in the earth and be crossed by the wind".For craft and design exhibition Mother forge in July 2021 he created the participatory art installation For once:inside the house, which represents our fragility, a silver lunaria necklace whose fruits, due to their shape and shine, are propitiatory to the favors of the moon;due to their delicacy they evoke attention and care.People were invited to write their thoughts on a piece of paper and leave it in the house.The thoughts subsequently became the subject of a story.

Fiorissi, wear nature

The project Fiorissi wearable nature, literally "accessories for wearing nature", by the Colombian-Milan designer Angela Lopez it is made up of a series of organic structures in which flowers and leaves intertwine to become accessories to wear on the wrist or neck.“As a designer I am interested in the idea of ​​customizable ornaments that stimulate not only sight, but also touch and smell with the texture and scent of fresh flowers, also experiencing its brief existence, like the life of a butterfly”.

Fiorissi takes up the ancient traditions ofwear nature on special occasions:crowns to honor the gods in ancient Greece, body decorations of pagan rites in Eastern Europe, which have survived to our times in weddings and summer solstice celebrations, beautiful corsage used in the Victorian era.The accessories are offered in different colors - black, grey-green and white - combined with strictly seasonal flowers.

Fiorissi's structures are made of sintered nylon Pa12, a recyclable material, light and resistant, with 3D printing technology.It is thus possible to produce small series quickly and efficiently with almost zero waste, also using less energy due to the reduced need for shipping.“As a further development I am experimenting with the idea of ​​wearing living organic structures, integrating plants into the structure of the accessories, and also with new materials of plant origin available for 3D printing.Thus small, delicious plants will grow and live with us for a long time, cultivated in the micro cavities of bracelets, pendants, necklaces and will be able to accompany us in our urban days".