You may have heard that Pyer Moss dropped a hotly anticipated range of shoes and bags this week. But the leader of the PM accessories design team, Beate Karlsson, has been keeping busy as the creative director of the Florence-based brand Avavav as well…
Karlsson’s work—which mixes vibrant colors with surreal silhouettes—has been embraced by fashion adventurers like Doja Cat.
See Doja’s look and more after the jump!
The newly-minted Grammy winner sported a pair of claw-shaped boots and outsized earrings by Avavav at the MTV Video Music Awards last year:
But Karlsson initially caught the attention of the style set with a wearable silicon bum she made, inspired by the famous derrière of Kim Kardashian:
Since introducing the attention-commanding behind during New York Fashion Week in 2020, Karlsson has continued to explore the potential of both form and fabrication, even re-using textiles from luxury brands in her off-beat goods.
Most recently, Avavav released new pieces—including a bulbous puffer and hip-stretching ensemble dubbed the “Extended Renaissance look”—into the metaverse.
Karlsson told Hypebae about the launch: “The greatest part about the metaverse is that there is no use for comfort or dress codes. It’s a dream for a designer.”
But if your preferred venue for causing a scene is IRL versus NFT, consider Avavav’s goblinesque boots. It’s Mr. Toad-meets-Tom Ford allure, especially if worn with Avavav’s body-clinging separates.
And while we’re on the topic of giving grotesque glamour, let’s take a moment to reflect on Julia Fox’s haunting halterneck dress at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in March.
The shocking leather ensemble was made by Copenhagen-based brand Han Kjøbenhavn and artist Naomi Gilon.
Gilon’s body of work is emblematic of her contribution to the dress: A skeletal hand extended from the dress’s neckline.
Disturbing digits crop up often in Gilon’s creations, such as this creepy ceramic handbag.
What are creatives trying to tell us through such eerie output? And are we drawn to these chilling, non-conformist creations as a resistant reaction to hegemony (both existing and threatened)?
Remember that Dada and Surrealist art sprang forth at a bleak AF time, so these dark fantasies are more of the moment than we perhaps realize.
OMG, why not wear it? is our column for fashion lovers who are up for anything. It is an inspiration point, a place for dreaming, and a discussion of beauty, weirdness, and thought-provoking design moments as forms of connection. Written by Odessa Paloma Parker (@odessapaloma)
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