Matcho Suba’s fall collection, Bushfire, is, he claims, his most “directional and complete” to date: “Fabrics such as fur, leather, taxidermy and lace were used to create a textual roller-coaster of emotion.” Inspired by an incline for researching bush-fires in his home country, Australia, the Slovakia-born, Central Saint Martins-educated designer sat down with Wonderland to pick through it.
Why did you decide to leave Slovakia for the UK when you were just 19?
I felt like Slovakia was way too small for myself and way too small to express myself as a designer and as a person. Also, oportunitues to study fashion design are very minimal. My dream was to study at Central Saint Martins. So I was just following my dreams and instincts. My English was non-existent, and moving to the UK was the best place to get better at it.
What ideas have you explored for Bushfire?
After I arrived to Australia, I started discovering lots of articles and press releases about the ever-threatening bushfires and local fires in Australia. Reading about people stories and their losses, made me to create this
collection. After doing research of all the past fires and disasters, I kept discovering images of burnt animals, even humans, which played a massive role in shaping my collection. All the prints and main shape structures are taken from the images I found. This collection is my little tribute to people who lost someone or something in those fires. It’s my perspective; how I felt about it and how I saw it through my clothes and creative vision.
Explain what you mean by “an exploration of an individual’s burnt soul” when you’ve described it in the past?
[I was referring to] all the stories from people after bushfires. I felt like they lost a part of themselves in it; part of them just burnt away, with their loved ones, memories or just materialistic things they lost. People always protect them with an outside mask, but through their eyes, you can see the distraught inside of them. It was about the eyes and facial expressions I been noticing after watching countless documentaries and interviews with survivors.
Take me through how you feel your creative process has evolved in recent years.
I have grown a lot as a designer, and it’s a never-ending process. At the beginning, I loved to shock people with erotic prints and controversial and sexual shapes, these days I’m thinking more about the consumer and her needs. Also moving countries and moving to Australia – I had to start observing potential new clients and woman – Australian woman. Also working for Gareth Pugh while in London changed and shaped me as a designer dramatically. I think more about consumer needs, rather then pleasure and please myself. I’m more about the business with lots of creativity. I still look to shock, but in much a calmer way.
What are your plans for the summer?
Work on my new AW13/14 collection – very excited! Launching my label and planning a blog trip to Europe to get inspirations and materials for my upcoming collection.
Matcho Suba
Words: Jack Mills