Faustine Steinmetz challenged our perceptions of the everyday for her SS16 collection.

The Familiar in the Unfamiliar

For her SS16 collection, Faustine Steinmetz played with quotidian, everyday pieces to create fresh and interesting garments: she worked with denim to form jean jackets in both recognisable and distorted shapes, but also reimagined sportswear staples like tracksuits and polo shirts. It’s all styled with neutral Air Max sneakers and shot in a simple, paired back way – all the better to witness Steinmetz’s textile alchemy.

Warping the Weft

Citing both Salvador Dali and American conceptual artist Jospeh Kosuth as inspirations, Steinmetz was clearly interested in art which mutates and transfigures familiar objects into the strange and uncanny. These influences are clear in her own collection through her stretching and melding of recognisable cuts and fabrics; a long sleeve, ankle-length dress, for example, fades into revealing transparency in the middle before re-substantiating itself past the knee, while a jersey sweatshirt breaks into three-dimensional tufts that provide hair-like texture in the piece.

Eco Warrior

You realise the all-encompassing nature of Steinmetz’s concept of re-formation when you find out that she worked with Spanish denim mill, Royo. Together, they have been able to create new pleated and shredded denim by recycling old jeans: this sustainable sourcing and innovative up-cycling seems like a refreshingly tangible manifestation of a designer’s thematic backbone – all too often a brand’s conceptual blurb seems entirely remote from the clothes themselves. Faustine even designed a vegan handbag range, so you know she’s the real deal.

Words: Benji Walters