Elements of Nature: Chapter || 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.

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

Chapter || Mutations—Physical Substance
This list of Alpine indicator species serves as the collection's starting point. Forms, materials, and designs are generated from 3D scans and L-systems of these plants. The sculptures are designed to be linked with ecosystem parameters, evolving alongside data harvested by scientists. Printed with natural, biodegradable materials, each piece is accompanied by a digital layer.

Chapter || Mutations—Digital Substance
Every physical sculpture has a digital counterpart—a showreel, real-time visualization, or updated representation of the ecological data that shaped it. An embedded NFC tag opens a website hosting contextual data and the generative dataset, creating a real-time interface. The geometry can change with shifting parameters, opening possibilities for sculptures or small-scale architectural objects to become embedded ecological interfaces.

Chapter || Mutations—Collaboration
Elements of Nature by RIGHT DIRECTION x ἐphemera ONE is a hybrid fashion-art installation blending nature, design, and on-demand technology into a modular retail prototype. Premiered at Digital Fashion Week NYC & London 2025, it fuses natural textures, 3D-printed accessories, garments, and AR storytelling, inviting 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: Chapter ||| Interfacing
The ongoing third phase explores how wearables can become tangible links to remote ecosystems through integrated digital-physical interfaces. Focusing on materiality and fabrication, it tests sustainable, biodegradable materials. This research aims to scale up—creating "wearables" not only for the human body but also for natural and built environments, transforming architecture into a responsive, ecological interface.