Nodira Studio: Fashion to Showcase Human-Plant & Coral Life Connection
Hailed as one of Central St. Martins’ best 2024 graduates, Nodira Studio creates couture pieces inspired by plant and coral forms that allow its wearers to sway and move the same way that they do. The often large-sized pieces will become the centre of attention at any event, reminding viewers of the direct connection that exists between humanity with plant and coral life. These pieces call for the conservation and preservation of the breathtaking life-forms that today are suffering quietly from rampant loss of habitat and biodiversity as a byproduct to human life. This is why pieces by Nodira Studio are relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Life on Land and Life Below Water.
Nodira Studio’s latest collection, The Garden of Venus, which was presented at the Central Saint Martins 2024 BA Graduation Show, is made with sheer fabric and corset boning. This allows its wearers to have a piece that is equal parts sturdy and malleable. Nodira Studio has shaped each dress to specifically resemble flowers such as orchids and lilies, with their flowing petals that position its wearers in the flower’s style. On the other hand, certain Nodira Studio pieces also resemble different corals, such as anemones and flowerpot corals.
These pieces highlight the quiet yet vibrant lives of plants and corals alike. Sadly, in 2024, corals are undergoing a global coral bleaching event, a coral mass extinction event of global proportions. This is the fourth of its kind to have happened in recorded history, and its impact can now be felt in at least 62 countries worldwide. To illustrate the severity of this phenomenon, within the past year alone, 99.7 percent of tropical Atlantic reefs have died due to climate change-induced heat-related stress.
The world’s plant life is also currently undergoing similar circumstances. The Guardian cited a report by the Royal Botanical Gardens that states that today, almost 40 percent of the world’s plant species are at risk of extinction. However, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List has only assessed data from 350,000 known species, meaning a large number of the planet’s plant life may just go extinct without ever being studied, preserved or conserved in any shape or form.
What both plant life and coral life have in common is the quiet suffering they are currently undergoing despite the insurmountable roles they play for the environment. Both plants and corals sustain so much of life, both above land and below water, by being a part of the food chain, a home for so many organisms, and even mineral and oxygen providers. This is where Nodira Studio’s designs come in to give a voice to the voiceless and contribute to stopping their impending mass and global extinction.
Find out more about pieces by Nodira Studio and their other initiatives by checking their Instagram on @nodirastudio.