How King Charles Helped an Eco-Fashion Brand Source Runway Look for Museum Display (Exclusive)

Vin + Omi used horsehair clippings from Highgrove Estate to create a dress that will soon be honored at the National Museum of Scotland

King Charles is getting rid of his garden waste in sustainable style.

The King, 74, has been recycling with sustainable fashion label Vin + Omi and their latest creation comes with a strong feminist message. Made from about 2.6 lbs. of discarded royal horsehair and 4.4 lbs. of nettles, both sourced from King Charles and Queen Camilla's Highgrove Estate, the dress emblazoned with the word "Resist" down the front is considered by the brand's two designers to be their most significant work to date.

“In the 16th and 17th century, horsehair was used in corsetry for women and it was very constrictive,” Omi exclusively tells PEOPLE from his workshop in Norfolk. “We wanted to turn that idea on its head. Women now have powerful jobs, they run countries and we wanted to break that notion of restriction.”

The dress, which was featured in the Vin + Omi 2019 catwalk show, is about to shine again at The National Museum of Scotland as part of the new "Beyond the Little Black Dress" exhibit, opening July 1. The display aims to deconstruct the iconic garment and look at its cultural references over the last century. When the exhibit comes to a close, the special dress will be moved to the museum's permanent collection.

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“The collaboration with King Charles is so holistic, he allows us to explore his gardens and he never says, ‘Vin and Omi, you can’t make a dress that looks like that!’ It has always been very respectful, mutually,” says the Singapore-born designer. “He brings a lot of great suggestions!”

One of Charles’ ideas was to harvest over 3,000 nettles from Highgrove in 2019 and offered for his personal gardeners to help with the massive task. The result was a “light and airy” 10-piece collection, three looks of which now permanently reside at the iconic Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The designers (who go by their first names) co-founded the label in 2004 after working with ocean waste plastic, turning it into a fabric to benefit local communities. The team happened to meet then-Prince Charles at a fashion event in 2018 where they struck up a conversation around their work. The royal offered to help, and the rest is history. Vin and Omi now have the King's gardeners on speed dial, and even regularly receive personal letters of encouragement from the sovreign.

“We spend a lot of time in his compost heap! It’s really fun and I like to think he’s amused when he hears that we’ve been round again, rummaging through his rubbish!” the designer tells PEOPLE.

In addition to foraged nettles and horsehair clippings from the royal residences, the designers have used hydrangea heads, willow, wood chippings and bog cotton to create entire outfits. Earlier this year, they created his-and-hers brooches for the King and Queen, 75, using unwanted plastic plant pots and opal shell cut-offs from the guitar production.

“We joke with him about taking his waste and making something from it and then giving it back to him and whether he likes it or not... tough! We always have a good laugh with him. He’s super quick and funny and he happens to be the King of England, too. It’s very humbling seeing someone in his position still interested about a plant growing in the garden.”

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As for their latest collaboration, which will be unveiled in September, Omi says to expect the unexpected.

“We are developing something really unique at Sandringham – our first collaboration with the King! He is a very busy man and just so nice that he wants to continue, we are having so much fun!”

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