On Mondays we bring you all things green at the Shopping and Fashion blog. Today, we introduce you to a Boston-based designer, Ryan Novelline, an artist with a, well, novel idea.
Do you remember Little Golden Books?
I can recall the sharp and brilliant illustrations, the feel of their soft, cardboard covers, and the welcome diminutive size, perfect for our little hands to grip.
Ryan Novelline has created an eco-friendly and whimsical gown, made entirely from pages of discarded Golden Book storybooks.
The 22,000 square-inch skirt uses sheets of lively illustrations culled from Golden Books’ classic line of kids’ books and is sewn together with a brilliant gold metallic thread.
Adventure abounds on every inch of this unusual design as favorite fabled characters hop, skip, and jump about the skirt.
You’ll find Dumbo, midflight, the trusty Timothy Q in tow, Pooh Bear with a perennial paw inserted into a pot of sweet honey, and my personal favorite, the lovable loser, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang in a perpetual dance of friendship.
The salvaged books supply nearly everything the designer needed to fashion this masterpiece. The familiar and easily-identifiable golden spines of the beloved Golden Books are used by Novelline to craft the bodice.
Ready-to-wear this fanciful frock is not, however this dress is quite imaginative, certainly resourceful, and a fairytale dress indeed!
I’d love to know what recycled items you have used and what you have reimagined them as?
