Bodeen Stewart

“In keeping with Resene’s ‘Colors of Your World’ theme for this year, I have taken my inspiration from the native bush that envelops my hometown – Greymouth. Renowned for its rugged coastline and dense rainforest, winters are defined by periods of weeks and months of heavy rainfall that would be crippling if they weren’t so mundane. My family, along with many others on the Coast, would don their wet weather gear and venture into the bush to escape the winter claustrophobia – finding a natural carved sanctuary in the densely packed trees with their lush canopy providing some shelter from the rain. Nestled in the damp bracken and the underbrush, mushrooms would thrive, dutifully aiding decomposition and providing more nutrients for our native flora to flourish. We would eagerly gather around those that were particularly striking and shriek with gleeful disgust at any that took on strange, bulbous alien forms. It is this peculiar organic, unfamiliar beauty that I felt made them the perfect muse for my Resene project.

I was almost immediately reminded of oyster mushrooms and their cascading textural pink beauty when I received my colour – Resene Coconut Ice. As my design process progressed, I realised that what occurs beneath the surface of the mushroom is perhaps an even bigger inspiration, and their work toward environmental prosperity seemed a fortuitous metaphor for current efforts in sustainable fashion to minimise environmental impact.

Mycelium refers to the roof system beneath the visible mushroom and is essential for facilitating decomposition and transportation of nutrients around the forest to aid regeneration. With environmental pollution at the forefront of global issues, mycelium’s ability to remove toxins from soil and in turn advance reforestation is a natural wonder. Recent studies have even found some mycelium species are able to feed on plastic. Mycelium textures have recently been introduced as a biodegradable alternative to some synthetic fibres. These mushroom tropes of renewal and recycling resonate with fashion’s sustainability effort, and I really wanted to celebrate that.

In making my garment, it was integral to honour the natural beauty of the silk which offers such beautiful drape and lustre but bring in some of the textural intrigue of the mushrooms. To pay homage to mycelium and the plight of sustainable fashion my garment is zero waste with fabric remnants worked into the bodice to emulate the organic irregularity of mushrooms. I strove to harness their roughness, their earthy charisma and translate that to my garment to revere Resene Coconut Ice in its most natural form.”

This garment was made with zero waste – all parts of the fabric were integrated into the final design.

Resene Whitecliffe Colour of Fashion clothing - 2022

Photography by Jonathan Kraettli

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