The Nettle Dress is a really striking documentary that fully immerses the audience in one man’s journey to grapple with his grief and loss of both his father and wife by making a dress out of stinging nettles.
“Body immersion in the sting” is how Allan Brown described his first encounter with stinging nettles. It’s probably how most of us in the UK recall learning exactly how a stinging nettle got its name! Yet, the sting of grief is something altogether different. In this beautifully almost lyrical documentary film, we follow Allan on his 7 year journey of creating the nettle dress. The dress is what endures as the pain subsides. That is what I felt was the abiding message of this documentary.
Not only does this documentary deal with grief but in watching Allan work one is reminded of sustainability and survival in fashion/textile terms.
If you have an hour and want to be completely transported then check out this documentary.
The Nettle Dress is on limited cinema release across the UK from Friday 15 September.
