An artist and clothing designer, Alison Kelly, won the “Honoring the Future® Sustainability Award” at the prestigious 2019 Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show in Washington, DC. The national award, which comes with a $500 prize, recognizes an artist whose work educates the public about climate change or inspires or models a sustainable response to climate change. Jane Milosch, Director of the Smithsonian Provenance Research Initiative, judged the entries.
(Left to right) Award winner Alison Kelly, Honoring the Future Director Fran Dubrowski, and Sustainability Award judge Jane Milosch.
Milosch was impressed with the applicants’ elegant alternatives to the one-season focus of fast fashion. “It is heartening to see how these artists take care to create designs with attention to both the sustainability of the process and the beauty of its expression,” she noted. “They make things to last.”
The winning artist creates botanically painted textiles, working exclusively with non-toxic fabrics and using only plants and flowers in the dye process.
Alison Kelly, Botanically painted kimono. ©2019 Flora Obscura.nyc. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Kelly explains: “I combine ancient natural dye techniques with eco-printing: an organic process of laying flora directly onto cloth. [When the cloth is steamed], a magical transformation takes place – the literal imprints of flora transfer permanently onto cloth, creating luxe organic attire painted with botanicals.”
Kelly, who divides her time between Cape Cod and Brooklyn, grows the botanicals and dyes the fabric on the Cape, then pieces and sews the garments in her Brooklyn studio. She aims for design that encourages innovation: “I hope my technique will inspire others to think more green when it comes to fashion.”
Alison Kelly, Botanically painted kimono. ©2019 Flora Obscura.nyc. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“The Sustainability Award showcases art that captures our attention and makes us think about addressing climate change through daily lifestyle decisions,” observes Fran Dubrowski, Director of Honoring the Future, the award sponsor. “Kelly’s art invites us to reexamine what we value – to reflect upon a time when humans lived more harmoniously with nature and to restore more of that harmony to contemporary culture,” Dubrowski adds.
The Sustainability Award is the result of a partnership between Honoring the Future and the Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show. The Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show is an annual curated show of unique wearable art. Proceeds from the show generate funds for grants to support education, outreach and research at the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and galleries, nine research facilities, 20 libraries, and the National Zoo. The 2019 show, held October 3-6 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C, featured the work of 70 acclaimed clothing, jewelry and accessories designers, all of whom were invited to apply for the Sustainability Award. (See https://smithsoniancraft2wear.org)
