The reasons to pick this story up again for the blog are standing in our headquarters in Butzbach at the moment – namely, several sculptures from the exhibition. Since we have information on the pieces displayed for visitors and employees of Butzbach alike, and thought it a shame not to share this with our on-line community as well, we would like to introduce some of the pieces in a small series.

For today, I’ve chosen one of my personal favorites, the Philodendron, and thought about what makes this sculpture so fascinating to me.
The military posture of the mannequin and dark green color of the dress can’t be it – neither can the plant as such. All of these, taken separately, are just not my thing. I think it’s simply Miguel Androver’s brilliant idea of taking the plant as an inspiration for such a dress. The philodendron, with its huge, impressively edged leaves and robust branches. A dress meant to protect its wearer from the elements. The choice of materials and tailoring superbly implemented. Two layers of merino-wool, each differing in shades of green and brown, form the leaves which sheath the poplar wood mannequin. Hand embroidered borders decorate the edges of the leaves and curves of the branches. The piece is lined with organic silk, died from plant extracts and batiked. And in New York, the artwork received an additional component – it stood planted in a box filled with earth.

This sculpture calls to me. Every time I walk by it I simply must reach out and touch the dress or the wood, and marvel at the workmanship … I believe that I’m not the only one so drawn to this piece, although here at headquarters there is much discussion about likes and dislikes. And there are some here who simply cannot see art at all in this sort of work. But if art – in whatever form that may be – draws us into discussion or provocation, it has already fulfilled one of its intentions. By the way: we still have a bit to learn about provocation, as there are others who are far ahead of us. Matthias Schenk, from Schloss Freudenberg, for instance.

Last year the Miguel Adrover for hessnatur exhibition at New York Fashion Week captured the attention of the fashion world as it focused on the the beauty of organic fabrics in unique and exquisite designs.

This year, hessnatur kicked off Fashion Week with a tee shirt that can change the world.  Designed by fashion icon and hessnatur creative director, Miguel Adrover, “The World in Your Hand” tee was introduced at the Whole Foods Market Tribeca and is on sale at 130 Whole Foods Markets around the U.S.  Proceeds from the sale of the tee will benefit the hessnatur Scholarship Program at the Grameen Shikkha Project in Bangladesh, a program that helps eradicate poverty through education.

Take a look at the video interviews of Wolf, Luedge, CEO of hessnatur and Miguel Adrover.