The Lichen Hat
A project in collaboration with Maleza Hatmakers
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Photography by Dario Cervellin, Giulia Ferraris
The Lichen Hat is a collaborative project that weaves together traditional hat-making and lichen-based natural dyeing to craft a capsule collection of one-of-a-kind, eco-conscious hats. Made from artisanal wool and upcycled plant fiber fabrics, each piece reflects a deep respect for nature, heritage, and slow craftsmanship.
At its core, this project is a response to the urgency of rethinking fashion. It embraces sustainability not just as a practice, but as a value — promoting a mindful, culturally rooted alternative to mass production. Through the combination of botanical research, natural dye techniques, and time-honored hat-making skills, The Lichen Hat celebrates the quiet power of handmade objects.
This journey, from fieldwork and color extraction to form and texture, is both artistic exploration and cultural storytelling. Each hat carries traces of the land, the hands, and the time that shaped it. Inspired by a shared passion for sustainability and craftsmanship, the project reimagines traditional techniques, experiments with innovative lichen dyes, and challenges the expectations of contemporary fashion.
More than just a collection, The Lichen Hat is a statement - a call to honor craft, preserve cultural knowledge, and reconnect with the natural world. Through an exhibition, a chromatic atlas, and a short documentary, the project seeks to inspire a shift toward more conscious textile production, where creativity meets care, and every piece tells a deeper story.
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As the colour curator, I led the natural dyeing process, drawing from several weeks of botanical study in the high-altitude landscapes of Northeast Italy. With the support of local experts, I responsibly foraged lichens and explored their hidden dye potential, building a rich archive of colours - eventually transformed into a unique palette of textiles that made their way into the hands of the hatmakers.
At the end of my research, I created the Lichen Color Atlas as a testament to this enriching journey into lichen dyes.
This harmonium-shaped archive contains over 15 pages of lichen-dyed swatches on various fibers, made between last August and January. It traces every step, from early experiments to final tests, documenting both successes and failures along the way.
While it doesn’t claim to offer definitive answers, the atlas stands as a detailed record of my ongoing exploration as a natural dyer. It’s a humble snapshot of where I am now - a beginner, still learning - and a foundation for future discoveries in this endlessly fascinating craft.
This project is part of the WORTH Partnership Project, funded by the European Union, which aims to foster innovation and sustainability through collaboration among creative partners across Europe.
Check Maleza’s page to discover the one-of-a-kind headpieces ︎︎︎