“L’HABIT VERT” FOR NINA CHILDRESS
Photo Credit : Edouard Brane / Académie des beaux-arts
For the installation of painter Nina Childress at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, the collective ABOUT A WORKER was invited to design her ceremonial uniform, traditionally known in French as L’Habit Vert.
L’Habit Vert is the formal academic attire worn by members of the Institut de France. This tailor-made garment is usually crafted by French designers or artisans and features black fabric adorned with green and gold embroidered olive branches, symbols of honor and distinction.
A Feminist Collaboration
Aware that only 16 out of 61 current members of the Académie des Beaux-Arts are women, Nina Childress and ABOUT A WORKER initiated a meaningful collaboration with participants from the historic feminist non-profit La Maison des Femmes de Paris.
Founded in the 1980s, La Maison des Femmes de Paris has been a vital support network for women facing social hardship or recovering from abuse, empowering them to regain autonomy and reenter professional life through tailored programs focused on healing and self-expression.
Let us explore the creative journey these women undertook alongside ABOUT A WORKER.
STEP 1: THE PAPER COLLAGES
The workshop took place at ABOUT A WORKER’s studio in Paris. Each participant individually imagined olive leaves using colored paper inspired by Nina Childress’s custom palette developed for the project. The olives—white by day and glowing green in the dark—pay tribute to Childress’s signature painting style and reference white olives as symbols of harmony in Ancient Greek culture.
STEP 2: THE TAILORING
L’Habit Vert was designed and made-to-measure by ABOUT A WORKER’s pattern maker team, working between Paris and Roubaix for Nina Childress. Nina envisioned a feminine outfit as comfortable as a tracksuit, blending elegance with ease.
STEP 3: THE EMBROIDERY
Women from La Maison des Femmes de Paris reimagined their individual collages collectively, creating a group design directly on a jacket prototype. This collective artwork was then translated into embroidery by Potencier, a mechanical embroidery house founded in 1883 in northern France.
STEP 4: THE OUTCOME
The final jacket was produced using phosphorescent thread, allowing the olive motifs to glow green on fabric provided by TDV Industries.
Photo Credit : ABOVE Edouard Brane / Académie des beaux-arts BELOW Michael Huard / Say Who
THE CEREMONY
On June 25, 2025, Nina Childress was officially inducted into the Académie des Beaux-Arts, a historic moment as one of the first women to join the institution’s painting section. The ceremony, held beneath the dome of the Institut de France, saw her installation by fellow academician Catherine Meurisse, a member of the engraving and drawing section.
In a powerful act of feminist reimagining, Childress transformed the traditional L’Habit Vert into a deeply personal statement, reflecting her artistic and social commitments.
Adding further significance, artist Jean-Luc Verna presented Childress with a ceremonial sword he designed especially for her. Conceived as a "magical wand," this sword symbolizes a contemporary feminist emblem, challenging traditional gendered symbols of power and authority.
Nina Childress’s induction, alongside the reimagining of L’Habit Vert, underscores her unwavering dedication to redefining artistic and institutional spaces through a feminist lens. Her work continues to inspire and pave the way for future generations of women artists.