the dress from botticelli's famous 'birth of venus' is brought to life by nik bentel

what happens if you cross botticelli’s ‘birth of venus’ with new york-based artist and designer nik bentel? the botticelli dress, of course! with the help of art historians and dressmakers, bentel has meticulously recreated the cream colored dress and pink robe that appear in the 15th century masterpiece. the items feature hand stitched flowers and a limited number of them will be available to purchase. 

the original ‘birth of venus’ by sandro botticelli, with the hora of spring highlighted in her dress

botticelli’s famous painting centers on the newly-born goddess venus arriving at the shore in a giant scallop shell. to the right of the composition, there’s another female figure that’s waiting to meet venus with a cloak ready to drape over her. this figure is believed to be the hora of spring due to the floral decoration on her flowing dress. the hora are the greek minor goddesses of the seasons and the attendants of venus.

the inspiration and the recreation

following material studies of the painting and lessons from art historians and painters, bentel set out to recreate the dress as accurately as possible: from the blue cornflowers on the dress to the daisies on the robe. made from 30% linen and 70% cotton, the botticelli dress comes in two pieces and features around 50 embroidered flowers. the accompanying blanket is knitted in cashmere wool and made using gold-tinted thread, and it’s also hand stitched with white and red daisies. only 100 dresses and 100 blankets are being produced. to find out more visit nik bentel’s website here, where the limited edition run will go live on june 21, 2021, at 10am EST.

the botticelli dress and blanket

‘when botticelli finished the famous painting in 1486, he accidentally became a fashion designer when he painted in the dress,’  says nik bentel about the project.

the dress comes in two pieces

the embroidered blue cornflowers on the dress

the blanket is knitted using cashmere wool and made using gold-tinted thread

the blanket is embroidered with white and red daisies

there are approximately 50 hand stitched flowers on each dress

the blanket measures 80 by 90 inches

project info:

name: the botticelli dress
designer: nik bentel

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom