Your hand runs through the warm sand as the sea beats its waves in a calming rhythm. Salty smelling air swirls your hair and you feel the sun on your skin. Here, time loses its meaning. You feel free, relaxed and secure - happy.
Freedom and security are the starting points for the inspiration of my work. Being free, without restrictions and constraints but also free to experience things. To feel safe, protected and secure.
I associate these feelings with the sensual experience of nature, the physical and conscious experience of an environment. Water, colors, the sand, the wide but also protective nature. These are memories of sensual experiences that flow into my design process. For example, when my clothes are moved by the wind and touch my skin, feelings arise that I want to capture in my designs.
The seashell becomes a symbol for this feeling. Aesthetically and haptically, its organic and graphic patterns do interest me. It serves as a shell and protection for the creature that lives inside of it. However, my shell is meant to be soft and flexible so that the body can move freely within. The associations from these sensual surfaces and movements are translated into knitting textures (pleats) and loose silhouettes. By knitting with different types of yarn, I created a three-dimensional pleated structure with different transparencies, which make the body appear partially naked. On closer inspection, something like the pattern of a shell, can be more diverse and complex than it seems at first glance.
I want to deal with this enduring motif differently and still capture its timeless beauty. The goal of my work is to create clothes that tenderly embrace the body without constricting it.
credits:
Knitting: Lilian Schmid, Claudia Fausch
