For the new SS23 collection, “Dimension Breaker,” designer AnnaYang was inspired by fractal art in British Director Nic Stacey’s documentary, “The Secret Life of Chaos,” which explains the theory of chaos and the study of chaotic dynamic systems behavior. This theory can be compared to the universe’s origin for the ancient Greek philosophers. Chaos does not imply disorder; chaos implies order, and chaos can occur in an ordered process.
Chaos theory reveals the essential laws of life and the workings of the universe.
“When modern science replaced religion as a new faith, the mystery of our nature was revealed, and his sacred order was inevitably dissembled. Essentially fractal art is designed to create a visual illusion in the space, throughout the disintegration and the reconstruction of that same space and its structure: a little change is constantly amplified from simple rules, and at the end, with a constant repetition on a little scale, an extraordinarily magnificent model is achieved. Many things in nature follow this scheme and this simple equivalence with auto-feed nature for me is surprising,” states the designer.
An example of fractal art is the 3D wave sleeve that this season has been rebranded withnew applications.The signature symbol of the brand, known as a “Walking soft sculpture” is conceived to obtain a chaotic and organized aesthetic for a fractal style.Metallic chains on a halter dress were hand-stitched to reinterpret a “fractal motif,” emphasizing the unique 3-D details. A cut-waist dress was embroidered digitally for a psychedelic effect, resembling entering a cosmic vortex.
For the SS23 season, ANNAKIKI began a special collection embellished with Swarovski® crystals, to lighten up some pieces. The bottoming shirt and black hoodie top, key pieces of the collection, were adorned with Swarovski crystals to resemble an elegant “black hole.” The silk cape creates a romantic look with thousands of crystals all over that also reflect the iconic star symbol of the brand, seen throughout the collection as embroidery, in prints, embossed in cuts, and as repetitive motifs.
Circular buckles and studs add a futuristic punk touch, while the mix of materials and typical details of the brand transform the clothes unexpectedly. Further-on the special treatment applied to denim breaks the traditional monotony; tops, trousers, and bra tops are characterized continuously by the theme of fractal art.
ANNAKIKI’s futuristic-retro DNA consists of irregular skinny designed bras, shorts and skirts in waxed leather, metal multi-pocket pochettes, and belts with double hole buckles, avant-garde pieces for a retro-chic wardrobe that recreates the 90s girls look.
Completing the futuristic look, ANNAKIKI x SCRY footwear is a new collaboration with a pioneering footwear laboratory that shares the same philosophy of surrealism and futurism. “Eternal” is the name of the shoe born from this collaboration and its uniqueness is in the production, which utilizes a HALS high-speed printing technology based on SCRY “Digital Embryo” framework.
ANNAKIKI continued down its futuristic path into the digital world by creating fivenew NFT looks characterized by silver irregularly shaped mechs, with a visually striking effect, injecting strong stylistic tension into virtual time and space. The dresses, interpreted by digital people, are enlarged and highlighted with the brand’s iconic four-mangoes as a mark of identity, and the skirts are either in three-dimensional squares or waves, continuing the brand’s creative thinking of three-dimensional tailoring.
Photographer: Stefon Benson