Kale, marigolds, daffodils, red onion, muscadine juice. Spy the ingredients for the first time and you might think you’ve stumbled onto a wood elf’s grocery list. But woodsy though the parts may be—foraged, in fact, in local gardens—they combine not so much with magic as with technique, craft and creativity, the true ingredients behind the hand-dyed, hand-illustrated textiles of “The Harvest,” the first capsule clothing collection by the Baton Rouge brand Saint Evergreen.

“I really wanted to focus on what it means to create thoughtful garments, emphasizing natural dyes and fabrics that will last for years,” says Elizabeth Dazzio, the brand’s 23-year-old creator who studied graphic design and textiles at LSU. “The ‘evergreen’ part of the name comes from that idea of remaining constant through the seasons and retaining freshness, so I wanted the clothes that I make to be reminiscent of that.”

As anyone who has ever spent a single summer in Louisiana can attest: freshness is next to godliness. Or at the very least, it rules over the airy wefts of soft linen, cotton and silk Dazzio sources from New Orleans. Polyester fast-fashion just doesn’t appreciate a good dip in the daffodil, it turns out. But so much the better. A clothing line designed with authentic nature in mind requires an equally authentic inspiration, which is exactly what Dazzio instills into each pull of the thread.

“I grew up in St. Francisville and went to LSU, and I was inspired to sew by watching my grandmother, who was an amazing seamstress,” says Dazzio. “It’s important to me that people know where Saint Evergreen comes from—that it tells a story of the South and its land and the people who live there.”

Still, being a one-woman show isn’t easy, with Dazzio’s limited leisure hours transformed day by day into the next swatch, the next design. In the next few months, she hopes to drop her next capsule collection—the first available for purchase—alongside a new website to showcase the heart behind the hard work. 

“I want these clothes to help people realize their individuality, like curating your own art gallery,” says Dazzio. “But most importantly, I want them to bring people joy.”

For updates on the brand, follow along on Instagram @saint.evergreen.