In the world of fashion, it is often said that the second collection is the greatest challenge the moment when an artist must prove that the success of their debut was no accident. For Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran, the creative minds behind Matières Fécales, this was both a challenge and an invitation to artistic transformation. After an enthusiastically received debut, the pair decided to reveal a softer side, stepping into a new chapter of their creative journey.
“This is not the result of a single moment we have worked on this for ten years. For us, this is not today’s triumph, but a natural moment of maturation,” Bhaskaran said backstage, revealing they already have plans for four more collections. This is a conscious construction of a narrative, where each clothing line becomes part of a larger artistic project.
In the upcoming season, the duo sheds the weight of their previous aesthetic and introduces a new tone. “People often see us as creators who are raw, gothic, even unsettling. We wanted to overturn that image and present something subtle, intimate a beauty born in imperfection,” Dalton explains.
The collection’s muse opened the show in a spectacular pink satin corseted suit shaped like an hourglass. Her creation harmonized perfectly with a cascade of roses flowing down a marble fireplace the centerpiece of the show at Place Vendôme. Some flowers were wilting, serving as a symbolic accent a metaphor for the fleeting nature of beauty, its delicacy, and impermanence.
The entire collection was a study of contrasts. A corset in a Degas inspired tulle gown was slightly too tight, lending the look an authentic, raw edge. Tweed skirts appeared as though they had undergone a transformation intentionally “ground” and deconstructed. In other designs, subtlety was expressed through layers: a barely visible tulle overlaying an ivory bomber jacket, long panels of a sheer tuxedo shirt, or a pink satin slip paired with an intricate headpiece by Stephen Jones one of several hats that became an artistic signature of the collection.
Matières Fécales also experimented with street style. Oversized jeans and T-shirts bearing self-portraits of the French queer artist Pierre Molinier introduced elements of everyday, rebellious fashion to the runway. Christian Louboutin’s fetishistic footwear added drama at times so intense that some models had to steady themselves by clutching the set.
Bhaskaran emphasized this was intentional. “We want to reclaim a space that is the essence of exclusivity. In places like Place Vendôme which have their own unwritten definition of beauty we are not always welcome. But we want to transform those obstacles into something extraordinary, into an aesthetic manifesto,” he said.
In a fashion world where diversity increasingly seems to be a luxury, Matières Fécales’ collection is a powerful statement. It is a reminder that fashion should not be a tool for conformity but a means of expressing individuality. As the saying goes: why adapt, when you can create your own language of beauty?
Photos courtesy of MATIÈRES FÉCALES
No comments:
Post a Comment