Fashion exhibition using plant waste from King’s garden to go on display
The collection of 26 garments and accessories is part of an ongoing collaboration between designer duo Vin + Omi and Charles.
A range of unique outfits created with plant waste taken from the King’s gardens are set to go on display at Sandringham House.
The collection of 26 garments and accessories is part of an ongoing collaboration between designer duo Vin + Omi and Charles after they bonded over their shared passion for sustainability when they met in 2018.
The exhibition, titled Royal Garden Waste To Fashion’s Future, will be held from March 23 to October 11 in the Ballroom at Sandringham in Norfolk.
The plant was later used to create an elegant maxi dress, which is described as a world-first.
Other outfits have been created from plant materials from the royal gardens at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and the Queen Mother’s Scottish estate, the Castle of Mey in Caithness.
The following year, the designers created a process to turn the nettles they had gathered into a versatile textile.
The material was later made into dresses and outfits for their London fashion show Sting, which was held at the Savoy Hotel.
In the exhibition, the nettle material has been used a number of times, including for a coil dress which is laid on a base of recycled groundsheet and dyed with fallen rose petals.
Other plant materials incorporated into their garments are cow parsley, willow, hydrangea and, from the Mey Estate, bog cotton.
The designers Vin + Omi said: “This ongoing collaboration works so well because the King has allowed us to be creatively experimental in approaching new innovative ways for working with his garden’s waste.”
The collaboration has also involved UK and international university students who have taken part in an educational programme supported by the head gardeners from Highgrove and Sandringham.
– Sandringham House and Gardens will open to visitors for the main season from March 23 to October 11.
