Gal Yakobovitch

CT DAIRY is a capsule collection of biomaterial work\leisure wear coated with an all natural, biodegradable, water resistant rubber made from milk - the natural resource of one of the oldest and troubled industries in Connecticut.

The material and garments were made in collaboration with SHAGGY COOS farm in Easton, Connecticut who have supplied their milk for the creation of the milk rubber. The milk rubber was then used in coating up-cycled cotton t-shirts to create the biodegradable workwear collection made to measure the Shaggy Coos farm family. The white cotton t-shirts were naturally dyed using blueberries, turmeric and indigo through a collaborative workshop I have conducted in my studio in Stamford ,CT.

The accessories for the collection were made from personal vegetable and fruit food waste that were treated with a technique derived from tissue engineering called decellularization meaning washing out the living cell content from the piece of fruit\veg until all that remains is the dead tissue scaffold of the fruit\veg. The scaffold is then naturally dyed with blueberries, turmeric, and indigo and finally immersed in salt solution to form naturally grown crystals. The result resembles a new type of gem made from food waste.

CT DAIRY exemplifies the circularity of both material and concept - just as the material which came from a natural source needs to safely return to nature so do the garments - they were created through a collaboration with the dairy community in Connecticut and ultimately are meant to serve that same community.