Elements of Nature || Mutations follows up the first virtual chapter. It is a collection of physical wearable sculptures augmented with digital layers. This iteration is rooted in a specific region—the Tyrolean Alps—and dedicated to the plants that serve as indicators of climate change.

Mutations || The context: Long-term monitoring of high-elevation Alpine ecosystems performed by a group of scientists, published in 2022 in eco.mont (Vol. 14), reveals how centimeter-scale differences in life conditions make the terrestrial alpine world a living laboratory for studying temperature effects on life. A five-year synthesis identifies Gnaphalium supinum, Polytrichastrum sexangulare, Salix herbacea, Soldanella pusilla, and Helictotrichon versicolor as the most promising indicators of climatic warming. These species show clear elevation preferences along transects and are widely distributed.

Mutations || Physical Substance: This calculated list of Alpine indicator species serves as the starting point and inspiration for the collection. The forms, massing, materials, and designs are generated from 3D scans, key features, and L-systems of these plants. The sculptures are designed to be potentially linked with ecosystem parameters, evolving alongside the incoming data harvested by scientists. The series is printed with natural, potentially biodegradable materials. Each physical sculpture is accompanied by a digital layer.

Mutations || Digital Substance: Every physical sculpture is complemented by a digital counterpart—a showreel, a real-time visualization, or an updated representation of the ecological data that shaped it. An NFC tag embedded into each piece opens a link to a website when touched to any device. The site can host contextual ecological data and showcase the dataset used to generate the form, becoming a real-time interface. The geometry of each sculpture can change in response to shifting contextual parameters. The technology and workflow developed for these prototypes open the possibility for sculptures—or small-scale architectural objects embedded in the environment—to be linked with their ecosystems, participate in them, and serve as interfaces.

Elements of Nature || Mutations || Collaboration
Elements of Nature by RIGHT DIRECTION x ἐphemera ONE is a hybrid fashion-art installation that blends nature, design, and on-demand technology into a modular smart retail prototype. Premiered at Digital Fashion Week NYC & London 2025, the work fuses natural textures, 3D-printed accessories, garments, and AR storytelling into a system designed for scalable retail. Bringing together art, science, technology, and craft, the installation invites touch, emotion, and reflection.

— Credits —

ἐphemera ONE
Project Concept & Artistic Direction: Daria Smakhtina
Digital & Physical Accessories, Textures & Print: Daria Smakhtina


Video Creation & Edition: Daria Smakhtina


Sound Design & Technical Support: Vadim Smakhtin

RIGHT DIRECTION
Fashion Collection Concept & Direction: Jelizaveta Hagleitner

Fashion Collection Design: Beatričė Ceizarienė
Digital clothes Clo production: Xenia Kigaeva


ELEMENTS OF NATURE ||| INTERFACING
The ongoing third phase explores how wearables can become a tangible link to remote ecosystems through integrated digital and physical interfaces. It also focuses on materiality and fabrication, testing sustainable, biodegradable materials. This research aims toward scaling up—creating "wearables" not only for the human body but also for natural and built environments, transforming architecture itself into a responsive, ecological interface.