Last night I attended the screening of The Nettle Dress, as an informal start to Brighton’s first ever Sustainable Fashion Week (SFW). I had the joy of hosting a Q&A with the film’s Director, Dylan Howitt, and SFW organisers Susie Deadman of Sew Fabulous and Hayley Franco of Brighton Peace & Environment Centre. But since seeing the film, I’ve felt so compelled to write this review, as it truly is a beautiful way to spend 1 hour and 8 minutes of your life!
What is The Nettle Dress About?
The Nettle Dress follows Brightonian textile artist Allan Brown, as he spends seven years tirelessly creating a dress from nettles grown in nearby green spaces. The film came about after Allan hired Director Dylan Howitt to create a how-to video on making nettles into textile fibres, and little did either know, the film would come about over a seven year period, taking a slow approach to both fashion and filmmaking.
My Thoughts on The Nettle Dress
As a sustainable fashion writer and – quite frankly – nerd, I’ve seen a lot of fashion documentaries. Most weave together the social and environmental impact of clothing, with our incessant need to buy buy buy. This film is different. It’s slow, meditative, peaceful. It’s emotional; following Allan as he loses his father and wife over the course of his dressmaking. And it brings a fresh sense of place and sentimentality to fashion.
There is an intimate familiarity we all share with nettles, discovering their sting as children (for me personally, it was chasing a friend’s dog through nettles at a country park. We recovered the dog and put her back on the lead, and I nursed swollen, itchy hands for the rest of the evening). Allan shows a certain sense of bravery and curious appreciation to these stinging plants, and quite without his knowing, it evolves into a similar feeling in his approach to death and mourning. There is a deep love, a curious wondering, and hurt, but hurt that is managed well through the tireless harvesting, drying, threading, and weaving of The Nettle Dress.
My Overall Rating: 10/10
The Nettle Dress is well worth a watch – as an independently produced film, it has seen success in repeated sell out shows, and is now being distributed at cinemas around the UK. It’s a perfect way to spend an hour with yourself, and with anyone you care dearly about.
