VT (for all of my design-obsessed peeps)

imagecourtesyofbenjaminkanarekblog.com Peeps, Nature influences the design of fabrics through pattern, texture, application, and purpose.  How many of us upon running our hands down the slick surface of nylon fabric commonly used in rainwear and sportswear has not remarked upon it uncanny similarity to the feel of large leaves, such as those found on a philodendron, the amaryllis, or an iris. Broad and flat, these smooth leaves facilitate the easy run-off of water as does the London Fog rain-coat during springs rains and summer thunder-storms.  Fashion designers, as well as industrial designers and textile designers have always looked to nature for inspiration with its myriad forms and shapes, leaves and branches, bark and petals, an unlimited color palette and a variety of shapes unmatched both in variety and volume by any synthetic rendering; and based on recent articles in National Geographic, Smithsonian, and other scientific journals, horticultural marvels are still...