Scrolling through Katerina Shukshina’s Instagram is like stepping into a world where fashion and nature collide in the most unexpected, poetic ways. Her creations—crafted from fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other natural elements—don’t just dress the body. They tell stories, recall childhood memories, and challenge the way we think about what clothing can be.
Katerina’s creative spark comes from her childhood in a quiet Russian village surrounded by forests and fields. This close connection to nature shaped how she sees the world and fuels her artistic vision. “Nature is the greatest artist,” she explains. From making whistles out of acacia pods to imagining leaves as currency in childhood games, her earliest play was a form of creative experimentation that still informs her work today.
Without formal training in art or design, Katerina followed a different path. She studied history and spent seven years teaching before embracing her artistic instincts full time. Her approach is intuitive and spontaneous—no sketches, no second-guessing. As soon as an idea strikes, she works quickly, aware that natural materials have their own fleeting life cycles. A cabbage jacket might come together in hours, photographed before the leaves wilt and then fed to chickens, a reminder of nature’s impermanence and generosity.
Her inspirations come in textures, shapes, and colors, sometimes sparked by everyday things near her home. The soft fluff of marsh reeds, the symmetrical patterns on butterfly wings, or algae that look like wool yarn all find their way into her designs. This playful “association game” allows her to reinterpret natural materials into wearable art, often blending fashion with environmental mindfulness.
She employs whatever tools are at hand—thread, glue, tape—to realize her vision, rarely sketching, instead lettingintuition guide her hands in the moment. Her creative flow is accompanied by music and the outdoors, where the sun and bird songs provide the perfect backdrop for turning nature into fashion.
Looking ahead, Katerina sees her passion growing beyond a hobby. She envisions her work moving off the screen and into real life, exploring collaborations and expanding her artistic reach.
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