BBC presenter wears Art + Design nettle dress on the air

BBC TV presenter Kylie Pentelow wore a nette fibre dress live on air after Art + Design research into alternative textile fibres caught her attention. Fashion Design graduate Jen Jarvis created the dress, using yarn from nettle fibres grown in Leicestershire for the University’s STING (Sustainable Technology in Nettle Growing) research project.

Jen and Kylie met at Graduate Fashion Week last summer, which featured Jen's collection on the catwalk.

Kylie said: “It's great being the first to wear the dress.  I was so surprised when I saw the finished article.  It really is impressive.  And the good news is, it doesn't sting. It's lovely and warm to wear.”
 
Jen, who has designed for Felder Felder and Elizabeth Lau, said: “It’s been a really exciting project. It’s not easy to work with an unusual textile like nettle fibre but it’s brilliant to see the finished garment looking great on Kylie. I hope it inspires designers to be imaginative with the textiles they’re prepared to use and farmers to consider sustainable crops with alternative uses.”

STING researcher Dr Matthew Horne, based in Art + Design’s TEAM (Textiles Engineering and Materials) group, is delighted with the dress and said: “This is a great design and it’s just one example of the innovation that’s possible with unconventional crops.”

The dress will be also be showcased in London when Dr Horne discusses the role of emerging fibres in sustainable clothing at Defra’s launch of a Sustainable Clothing Action Plan on Friday 20 February 2009, at the Royal Geographical Society.

To view the BBC news videos, please visit: Clothing made from nettles (Part I) and Nettle dress 'does not sting' (Part II)

Photo credits: BBC and Jim Boulton