It took 40 hours of hand sewing, but artist Amanda Meyer finally had a dress she could wear. While it’s impressive enough to create a garment by hand, Meyer did something much more challenging—she fashioned fabric from real preserved leaves and stitched it together, forming a mini dress.
The Madrid-based fine arts student crafted her meticulous creation from a patchwork of orange, red, and yellow leaves, with a touch of green to accent the color palette. Preserving the leaves gave the dress a leather-like appearance, with the natural texture adding visual interest to the surface design. In some areas, Meyer cut the leaves into squares and arranged them in a checkerboard-like pattern. Other areas leave the leaf shapes intact. They are sprinkled throughout the dress, breaking up the rigid shapes with their organic beauty.
“I wanted to see if it was possible to create a fully organic garment without using the usual materials such as cotton or linen,” Meyer tells My Modern Met. “As a young person deeply committed to the environment, my practice focuses on using only recycled and natural resources. I specialize in textile art, creating sculptures and sculpt-like garments.”
The dress, which took 40 hours of hand sewing, is wearable but not intended for wear. “I wanted to capture the fragility of the leaves by sewing them together without any backing fabric. The result was a very beautiful but delicate garment. Many people have asked me if I intend to preserve it. The answer is no, I want to see how it passes the test of time. Clothes aren’t meant to last forever.”
Scroll down to see the dress in all its incredible detail. Then, follow Amanda Meyer on Instagram to see what she’s creating next.
Artist Amanda Meyer spent 40 hours hand-sewing a dress out of preserved leaves.
The Madrid-based fine arts student crafted her meticulous creation from a patchwork of orange, red, and yellow leaves, with a touch of green to accent the color palette.
Preserving the leaves gave the dress a leather-like appearance, with the natural texture adding visual interest to the surface design.
In some areas, Meyer cut the leaves into squares and arranged them in a checkerboard-like pattern.
Other areas leave the leaf shapes intact. They are sprinkled throughout the dress, breaking up the rigid shapes with their organic beauty.
Get a peek into how Meyer preserved the leaves and constructed the dress:
Amanda Meyer: Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Amanda Meyer.
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