Bjork’s got nothing on this dress, designed with real swan feathers

From dresses made of horse hair, swan feathers and red roses, Enzina Marrari creates garments that bridge fashion design and sculptural art. Video produced by Slavik Boyechko and Travis Gilmour, Alaska Public Media

Enzina Marrari designs dresses and garments using natural materials. Inspired by her chosen home of Alaska, she creates with wood and flowers, even feathers and horse hair.

“My work is definitely experimental,” Marrari said. “I really love the idea of wearable fashion design or avant-guard fashion design that can be worn by a person, but they’re not intended to be worn every day.”

While the designer wants her clothing to be surprising and out of the ordinary, she also chooses her models in a way that is atypical of the industry at large. In fact, Marrari uses their personalities as inspiration for her work.

“I’m not sure if the model comes first or the idea. It’s pretty important to me to know who I’m working with and to make a connection with whom I’m working with,” she said. “I really feel that in the fashion industry, models are hangers for the clothing. The model is supposed to be hidden and shapeless so that the clothing speaks for itself and I don’t believe in that philosophy.”

Local Beat is a weekly series on Art Beat that features arts and culture stories from PBS member stations around the nation.