Artisinal Fabrics

Audrey Louise Reynolds uses "only natural and organic ingredients like bark and squid ink" to create artisinal fabrics, reports Katie Benner in the New York Times (12/23/10). For a silk dress, Audrey Louise used "five types of gray dye, including one made from recycled rubber tires that she dip-dyed, splattered and over-dyed to create deep waves of color." Yes, she lives in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and her artisinal innovations "have earned her a loyal following" from a number "avant-garde designers."

Pamela Love, "a Gothic jewelry designer," needed "a series of dresses" to showcase her baubles during New York Fashion Week. Her request was for black dresses that made it look like the models were "being consumed by fire." Audrey Louise "achieved a swirl of purples, grays and burnt orange by hand-pressing dyes directly into the silk, soaking them in dyes made from rust and creating chemical reactions with powdered minerals. She also used wood-burning tools to melt and burn pieces of fabric and even buried them in dirt to make them look aged and distressed." (image)

Pamela says the effect was "more than flat color … She created texture and patterns that can never be recreated." Audrey Louise describes her approach as "very collaborative," saying, "It could be as simple as someone saying they prefer a single ingredient, like weeping-willow bark. Or it could be as elaborate as a whole story line that they want to evoke." (video) She started "experimenting with dyes and paints in high school, and customized clothing, skate decks and shoes for friends." Today, Audrey Louise creates "100 to 200 pieces a month," and is "branching out into costume design for movies, and, for the home, textiles and hand-dyed wallpapers."