This couture collection is a tribute to subculture dresscodes as important influences of my fashion vocabulary. I chose four permanentcomponents of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s last two decades of collections andapplied them on my design aesthetic in order to create a bridge betweenBalenciaga’s signature elegance and silhouette and my own personal style.

These four omnipresent codes were 3/4 length sleeves, afocus on profile of silhouette and cocoon shapes, extravagant and at timeseccentric headwear and fabric innovation.

Everyday wardrobe garments are lined in silk scuba satin tosupport their comfortable cocoon-like shapes. Jackets that seem be worn tiedaround hips are engineered into the trousers and become one garment.

 T-shirt prints are oil hand-painted drawings, a flannel shirt is interpreted in a silk tuffet age embroidery, a faux fur coat is made of synthetic hair that is shaped and hand-dyed and takes approximately 2.5 months to make, a maxi goth dress is made in knitwear embroidery with black upcycled glass beads.

Variety of garments and accessories are upcycled andreconstructed into bustier and draped body-conscious twisted gowns and anall-you-can-wear bell-shaped ball dress. A white column dress is made of meltedand upcycled plastic bags and molded onto a body. Another dress is made of oneentire piece of black leather without any cut edges – no darts, no seams, heldwith a giant safety pin.

A bustier column of aluminum foil crunches and melds aroundthe body. Another bustier dress is made of faux fur, but it uses traditionalfur patternmaking as tiny strips are cut and sewn together in a herringbonearrangement, mimicking a centuries-old tradition of reusing scraps and taking7.5 weeks to produce. A molded and seamless second skin dress of deep blackflocked leather becomes a wearable jewelry display, and it is worn with anoriginal archival Cristóbal Balenciaga necklace from 1960.

The finale piece is an ephemeral black nylon dress that onlyexists for the duration of one event. It is made of 47 meters of fabric andassembled by the couture atelier team in a choreographed process directlyaround the body of the person and is destined to be only worn once.