Discarded horsehair from the King’s private residence has been turned into a sustainable dress.
Fashion design duo and climate activists Vin + Omi created the unique black garment by incorporating nettles and horsehair sourced directly from the King’s Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.
Their dress will go on display at the National Museum of Scotland next month in the Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition, which aims to present more sustainable solutions in fashion.
But the award-winning eco-designers told The Telegraph that the King is so effective at recycling they initially had limited options to work with.
“It’s tricky with him because he’s very very good at recycling, so there wasn’t much initially,” said Vin, who like his partner Omi, goes by a single name.
“We had to really look at what he doesn’t do - we looked at the nettles and we looked at horsehair - things that were thrown away - we’ve even taken willow.”
Emblazoned with the word “resist”, the streetwear-inspired look defies the expectations of the classic little black dress, its creators say.
It is the latest clothing item of more than two dozen that Vin + Omi have made using materials sourced from the King’s estate, in a partnership with the monarch that began four years ago.
In 2019, they showcased their Sting collection at the Savoy Hotel in London, which included the collaborative nettle fabric that they made from the then Prince of Wales’s estate.
Omi said: “The King was very supportive and he granted us more access around the gardens and the materials and it was a great learning process with us and the gardeners at Highgrove on both sides.”
He added that throughout the years of their collaboration, the monarch has suggested and sent various materials from his many estates that he thinks could potentially be turned into textiles.
“He was sending us bog cotton from the Castle of Mey in Scotland,” Omi said, adding: “It felt a bit like we were magicians, we could turn anything into anything.
“It’s great - he’s so knowledgeable when it comes to the environment and plants, particularly his garden which he’s so involved in.”
Vin quipped that they “drew the line” when the head gardener at Sandringham asked if they could do anything with all the goose faeces on the lawn. “There is a limit to this collaboration,” he laughed.
British-born Vin began working with Omi, who was born in Singapore and worked for Christian Dior under John Galliano, in 2004.
Throughout their two-decade partnership, sustainability has been their fundamental guiding principle and they describe themselves as an ideology as well as a fashion label.
The pair have dressed celebrities such as Michelle Obama and Kate Moss and even took to producing over 8,000 eco face masks for the NHS during the pandemic.
Last year, pieces from their sustainable fashion collections were housed in the permanent collection of London’s prestigious V&A museum.
Omi said their approach to the collaboration they have with the King is “holistic”, based on shared values and a shared lifelong commitment to the protection of the natural world.
“We have no other motive except for creating this awareness for the environment and we’re not selling anything, we’re not commercialising the King’s properties,” he added.
Vin said they had thought Charles would “move on” once he ascended the throne last year, saying they thought he would not “really want us traipsing around his gardens” anymore.
However, to their delight, he has urged them to expand their search for waste materials to his other properties around the country.
“He was really happy for us to go to Sandringham, so that sort of started off and we may look at Windsor as well and we may develop his other estates,” Vin told The Telegraph.
“It’s a real collaboration that works and I think he’s open to us really pushing the boundaries of what you can do with waste management in estates.
“Anything that they throw away now the gardener will ask us if we want it,” Vin added.
Georgina Ripley, principal curator of modern and contemporary design at National Museums Scotland, said: “We are delighted to have commissioned this striking piece for the national collection and we look forward to revealing it to visitors in Beyond the Little Black Dress.
“Fashion is one of the most energy-consuming, polluting and wasteful of modern industries. In response, contemporary designers are seeking more sustainable solutions, like this nature-led approach from VIN + OMI.
“Their ‘LBD’ challenges us to resist the mainstream and place the environment at the forefront of our fashion choices.”
Beyond The Little Black Dress, which runs from July 1 until October 29, will bring together more than 60 looks from collections and designers around the world.
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June 19, 2023 at 06:01AM
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King Charles's horsehair and nettles used to create 'little black dress' - The Telegraph
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