The Nettle Dress

UK, 2023. Director Dylan Howitt. 68min.

Textile artist Allan Brown finds a way through grief by locally foraging for nettle, processing the fibres, hand-spinning and weaving them, and then cutting and sewing the coarse fabric into a dress. This seven-year project, poignantly documented through Dylan Howitt’s lens, enables Brown to find solace in the changing seasons, to slow down his mind through the repetitive and embodied nature of craftsmanship, and to ‘change something ugly and painful into something beautiful and protective.’ A labour of love, The Nettle Dress reminds us that a return to slow methods of production and reconnection to nature can be healing for both the planet and humans alike. 

Past screenings

Grounded: Fashion’s Entanglements with Nature – London
Wednesday 21 May 2025, 18:15 | Genesis Cinema
With post-screening discussion between Allan Brown and a panel of teenagers, discussing the values of making and mindfulness.  

Grounded: Fashion’s Entanglements with Nature – UK Tour
Saturday 18 October 2025, 19:00 | Garnethill Multicultural Centre, Glasgow

Grounded: Fashion’s Entanglements with Nature – UK Tour
TBC, 19:00 | Eden Court, Inverness