Thank you to Ever After Hours for sponsoring their beautiful studio space for First Bloom.
Oscar Wilde said, “A work of art is useless as a flower is useless. A flower blossoms for its own joy. We gain a moment of joy looking at it.” First Bloom brings together two talented designers who have created garments with a floral motif, worn by dancers en pointe. A celebration of the finite—perhaps the purest form of art? What has more truth than something that blooms knowing it will quickly perish?
feat. Maison Maya Ali—S/S 26, Cosmic Love
Cosmic Love is a collection born from my published poetry book of the same name — a universe built for the hopeless romantics, the melancholics, the idealists and visionaries. It is a poetry of devotion: everlasting, indescribable, and infinite...Embroidered scripture, celestial motifs, sculptural florals, and poetry stitched into fabric speak to the divine feminine cosmic energy that pulses through every seam. It is the recognition that self-love is what allows us to expand this divine love into the world, bringing peace and harmony into this life of suffering.
Blooming, however short, is strength, though. As Camus said, “Art is a revolt against everything fleeting and unfinished in the world.” And the lesson one finds in beauty is not one of selfishness, but rather one of hard brotherhood.
feat. Laura Natter Designs—S/S 26, Whispers in The Woods
This collection pays an homage to my younger self, who was fascinated by fairies and dreamed of being a fashion designer. Inspired by nature, silky fabrics mimic delicate wings and petals, while velvety suede evokes mossy forests. Inverted pintucks create dramatic silhouettes, accented by tambour beading for sparkle. A pastel palette of pink, ivory, green and purple brings the magic to life.
A dancer’s movement blooms as briefly as a flower does. And yet, it is always worth doing, celebrating, and documenting.
Pieces from Laura Natter Designs and Maison Maya Ali are available to browse on r3p3rt0ry.com.
Thank you to the most wonderful team:
Art Direction + Photography: Tomato @t__om___ato
Dancers: Eve Peyton @eveballet, Koey Tsang @koey__tsang
Designers: Maison Maya Ali @maisonmayali, Laura Natter Designs @laura.natter.designs
HMUA: Harriet Sales @harrietmakingfaces, Huyen My Trinh @mybiesa
PA: Robert Bui, Ying Ge @yingzge
Studio: Ever After Hours @everafterhourss
Repertory’s first editorial is inspired by the work of Leonhart Fuchs, who published De historia stirpium, a botanical reference guide, in 1542. Documenting over 500 plants, over a hundred of which had never been previously published, Fuchs set a standard of botanical illustration that survives to this day. Fuchs was the first of his time to insist on illustrating from live references, and it is estimated that many of the plants were cultivated in his own garden. Thus, it is no surprise that the process of creating De historia was a labour of 31 years.
A reference then and another now: Repertory aims to serve as library of independent designers.
Sources
Botanical.art. "Leonhart Fuchs Botanical Art: The Book That Made Illustration a Science." Botanical.art, 21 Sept. 2025, botanical.art/leonhart-fuchs-botanical-art/.
Camus, Albert. "Create Dangerously." Resistance, Rebellion, and Death, translated by Justin O'Brien, Vintage Books, 1988.
University of Glasgow Library. "Leonhart Fuchs: De Historia Stirpium." University of Glasgow Special Collections, Oct. 2002, www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/month/oct2002.html.
Wilde, Oscar. The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde. Henry Holt, 2000.
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