Photography of Katherine Miranda, by Melissa Lully, Broken Mirror Beauty 

A Rose from Concrete, Pt. V: Fire and Ice

“Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To know that for destruction ice

Is also great 

And would suffice.”

“Fire and Ice,” Robert Frost

Photography of Katherine Miranda, Runway 7: NYFW, 9/24

In Frost’s famous poem, he contemplates the end of the world with fire and ice. Fire is linked to the emotion of desire and ice with hate. It was originally inspired from a passage in Dante’s Inferno. The worst offenders of hell (the traitors) are frozen in the ninth and lowest circle: “a lake so bound with ice, / It did not look like water, but like a glass…right clear / I saw, where sinners are preserved in ice.”

The sustainability discussion mirrors his poem. Endless destruction from wildfires. Melting glaciers and passing climate tipping points. Greed and corruption, political hatred, fighting. Change now or the end of the world is near. 

I’ll save it for scientists.  

I imagined a thunderstorm starting a wildfire when I added this dress in our collection.

Our print is made from photography of a wildfire erupting in a forest. A high-low dress silhouette felt similar to flames floating through air. It also gives it a Marilyn Monroe vibe from the Seven Year Itch.

Photography of Cydney Seaton, By Jennifer Lully

Symbolizing the fire inside, drive, passion, determination. Wildfires are also a constant threat living on the West Coast. I’ve experienced many in California and Washington. They’re just as terrifying as hurricanes, if not more because they intensify so quickly and come without warning. 

Just ask my friends in Los Angeles. 

“Jennifer, the only thing left standing was a Chase bank.”

Photography of Jiaqi Chen, by Melissa Lully, Broken Mirror Beauty 

“Some say in ice.” 

The glaciers are melting rapidly. 

Scientists say that glacial melt is reaching key tipping points, especially for the massive ice sheets like in Greenland and West Antarctica. Glaciers melting means massive sea level rise, with a tipping point near 1.5°C or 2°C. We are already committed to additional ice loss at our current 1.2°C.  

Photography of Jiaqi Chen, by Runway 7, NYFW: 9/24

Glaciers look and act like mirrors. They reflect light back into the atmosphere, instead of absorbing the heat. As glaciers melt, our oceans will absorb more heat creating a self-perpetuating cycle and more melt. 

Our glacier gown stands for climate action.

Melting glaciers are like broken mirrors. They’re breaking and falling apart in the ocean. We can choose to put the pieces back together prettier than we found them. 

Hello eco fashion!

Lessons from ice: make each moment count! 

Photography of Jesibelle Rivera, by Lynne's Photography at the Hard Rock Cafe

That's why our glacier gown is our signature, final "storm" piece before our red rose velvet and rainbow gowns.

We incorporated Glacier nature photography inspired by our recent trip to Alaska. The bodice is the top of a glacier, while the dress has floating ice chunks at sea. It flows from a slit at the knee with a long mermaid train behind it. 

We also created a mini glacier dress with floating ice chunks. Also perfect for summer, so we can support glaciers year-round!  

Friendly reminder that children inherit this planet. Let's all be kind to it! 

Photography of Katherine Schmidt, by Lynne's Photography at the Hard Rock Cafe