Adaptress

Like a true New Yorker, the pigeon adapts.

Captured on the city’s steps in a rush of wings, the moment becomes Adaptress.

Nicky Conti posing on the stairs of the James Farley Building, imitating the flight of pigeons while wearing the Adaptress couture look with feather details and flowing organza
Close-up of Nicky Conti wearing feathers in her hair and on her face as part of the Adaptress look, with a pigeon motif visible on the garment

Because in New York,

survival is an art,

and sometimes it

comes with feathers.

Nicky Conti wearing the Adaptress look on the James Farley Building stairs, looking upward as pigeons fly nearby, with a structured corset and printed organza overlay
Nicky Conti in the Adaptress look walking on the James A Farley Post Office stairs as pigeons move around her, featuring a boned corset and organza layer printed with a flock of birds
Nicky Conti wearing the Adaptress couture look on the stairs of the James A Farley Building in New York City, moving as pigeons fly past, with a structured corset and printed organza overlay
Feathers collected from the street laid out to dry after cleaning, prepared for embroidery in the Adaptress garment

From street-found feathers to a living form, this is how Adaptress took shape.

Nicky Conti at a fitting in Estelle Chatorrier’s atelier, with a laptop open displaying the original pigeon photograph used for the Adaptress design
Sarah Esmoingt embroidering real feathers onto a printed pigeon image on cotton canvas for the Adaptress garment
Nicky Conti during a fitting with Estelle Chatorrier and Sarah Esmoingt, creating the corset construction of the Adaptress garment