When Fashion and Nature Collide – Living Coral

Published by 3C Style

Scientific journalist, author and fashion blogger from Montreal - Journaliste scientifique, auteure et blogueuse mode de Montréal View all posts by 3C Style

Lisa’s insightful and telling “Land, Sea, Earth” design is the primary inspiration to the April edition of When Fashion and Nature Collide. As you know, environmental concerns are a core tenant of our team philosophy and products. This month, we focus specifically on a particular part of our precious marine life, and we expand our reach with related yet original design inspirations.

Pantone’s color of the year – Living Coral – is a fitting tribute to this beautiful and necessary part of our world. It is also a reminder of just how fragile that part of our world is. The coral reef needs our protection. It is home to a full 25% of all marine life (2 million species), but experts believe that it has decreased by 20% under its original total area and it will decrease by 20% in the next 20 years.

Our tribute to the coral reef is the central theme of our April issue. We were quite moved with Pantone’s initiative and thought to offer our little bit of support to the cause. The majority of my outfits this month retain a coral theme with our fallback favorites of critters and flowers.

We absolutely love the overlap between the marine theme of the month and our ongoing inspirations, so there you go!

Note: In case you’ve not seen these capsules before, the When Fashion and Nature Collide project is a monthly collaboration with two of my WP friends: Lisa of Lismore Paper and Darren of The Arty Plantsman. Artwork Copyright ©Fashioned by Nature.

The third Wednesday of each month you can see outfits styled by me, and art from Lisa, that were inspired by Darren’s flower and critter pictures and sometimes other photographers who collaborate with the team. With the spirit of protecting nature I pull together my outfits with clothing already available in my wardrobe. When purchases are to be made, these come from vintage shops and thrift stores or from socio-eco-friendly brands.

Enjoy the issue!

Under the Sea

Is it just me?  9 times out of 10 I fall asleep while taking a hot bath. Soaking until my fingers get pruny has no consequence. I just wake up suddenly when the water gets too cold. However, the water fluctuation temperatures of the sea are impacting the marine environment. For example, high temperature induces stony corals to lose their algae and “bleach”. Corals are also sensitive to pollution and sediments as it prevents the sun from coming in, which is essential for the algae to produce food via photosynthesis. Algae grow inside of the corals for its protected environment. In return, the algae produce oxygen, supply the coral with food and remove wastes. Without enough sunlight the algae can’t produce food and therefor can’t survive nor do the corals since they depend on the algae to live.

This unique relationship should reminds us that what we do matters on an individual and a collective scale. So embrace the cause, protect nature and the marine life, and wear proudly the Living Coral hue, a nurturing and energizing colour found in nature.

A Peculiar yet Stunning Flower

I took inspiration from one of the most peculiar flowers I have ever seen – Protea cynonoides – to create this outfit and decor for the shoot. I hope to imitate the symmetrical, boisterous charm of the plant in my styling while retaining the natural subtlety that occurs when nature so perfectly matches color and texture.

This flower looks like it could belong beneath the sea. Its vivifying colours encourage joyful pursuits and at the same time invite to reach out for humanizing and heartening activities. Sounds right for this girl.

Is this a Jellyfish? Nope. It’s a…

A beautiful inspiration that we are proud to bring to you this month is a flower bulb that looks like a jellyfish (with a Latin name that is longer than my arm). Try to say it 10 times very fast. Good luck. Thankfully, it is not as complicated to create a trendy Spring look. This season, go for any of these standouts for a memorable and modern look: fishnet, frills, embellishment such as fringes and embroidery, feathered sandals, belt bag and of course earth tones. See my post What to Wear for Spring 2019, HERE.

About the coral and seashell jewelry. You should never purchase shells and corals as souvenirs nor go for this fashion trend because these wonders from the sea are not collected from beaches. They are harvested from the ocean and then sold at markets and souvenir stands to tourists. Furthermore, as National Geographic explains in an article about seashell trade, shell processing is a cruel process too. It’s more okay to take home the coral and shells that washed up on shore but you should think twice before picking those spiral shells, large or small. They are actually critter shelters.

The Leaf Cutter Ants & Calanthe

As we talk about how essential the coral reef is, we can’t forget just how important the ants are to the environment surrounding it as well! Ants are important for maintaining healthy soils. They aerate the soil, provide organic nutrients, moisture, oxygen, etc. Ants also serve as food for many animals.

Fun fact. Did you know that ants never cross a chalk line? Draw a chalk line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march and see for yourself. Ants are repelled by the calcium carbonate contained in the chalk, which is made from ground and compressed marine animal shells. You can also keep ants at bay with spearmint, whole cloves and dried coffee grounds. On the other hand, flour, sugar and paprika attract ants.

A colourful and lightweight Jumpsuit 

Darren has done a great looking (if I do say so myself) zucchini flower drawing that features in one of our new designs. It inspired me an outfit. Relinquish all your preconceptions about the orange jumpsuit as this casual and easy to style piece may become your summer best friend. Wear it with tan sandals or white sneakers for a look that is made for creating stylish artwork.

Here are a few of our latest designs…

Last month, I took the liberty of making a few doodles that my partners took to the next level. Darren created the “Spicy Salsa” dancing chillies out of one of my notebook creations, and Lisa is bringing you three incredible artworks with the “Pop of Coral” design and two amazing barcode designs. Plus, there is her beautiful “Land, Sea, Earth” design that we are planning to use on many of the items in our shop. Because we feared our April Issue may be too long for a blog post, we decided to show you only some of them for now and to present the others on Earth Day, that’s Monday 22nd.

You can discover and own every new designs ahead of the curve through our shop at fashionedbynature.threadless.com. Find all of the designs that we have mentioned here above and all of the featured designs that we showcased in previous iterations of our When Fashion And Nature Collide publication. We will see you there!

Photography of 3C Style by Marie-Claude Viola –– Flowers and Critters Photography & Courgette Bloom drawing by Darren Sleep, The Arty Plantsman –– Artwork by Lisa Lawrence, Lismore Paper –– Stylist: Dominique Nancy, 3C Style –– Photo collages by 3C Style & Lismore Paper –– All the dresses are from ERA Vintage Wear

Don’t forget to visit LismorePaper and The Arty Plantsman to get an overall view of our monthly collaboration.

Next edition of When Fashion and Nature Collide: May 15th 

Let’s stay connected: Bloglovin – Instagram @3cstyle_fashion

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