STARSICA SS19 collection is named “Doctored Evidence: Be True to Yourself’. It is a story inspired by the current realities of life learned through a variety of different experiences. The designer was inspired by a `Cabinet of Curiosities’ concept where a variety of seemingly different objects and experiences are gathered together in a ‘wonder room’.
The conceptual design of the collection begins with a question. “What if, the beautiful memories of the past which allowed me to be who I am today, are actually the outcome of manipulated evidence?” The collection is a journey searching for the truth of memories. The journey involves: digging, recording, categorising and regenerating the hardened and fossilised fragments of our memories.
The inspiration for the collection is based upon a story. The story has a surreal quality as memory fragments collide. We begin with a girl waking up alone in a tropical rain forest. Whilst finding her way, she is led by a strange masked crowd to a cocktail party (glamour). Indulging in the party, she witnesses a scene (singularity) a white alligator entering a TV and at this moment lightning (discontinuity) strikes, teleporting her to a strange exotic library which is littered like a crime scene (disorganisation). There she discovers the evidence of her fragmented past and the starting point of the memory distortion. From this point onwards, the broken memories are reactivated and her reality is restructured into a new reality. Eventually, the story comes to a close (initialisation).
The designer creates the collection from the detailed evidence discovered during the implementation process of this story. Key details from the narrative are reflected in the collection. Significant incidents that inspire the range include: the cocktail party parade in a tropical rainforest, the evidence-storage space of the mysterious and exotic library, the discovered manipulated evidence and the distorted fragments of the memories. Each significant incident is reflected in the collection.
Key SS19 ‘separates’ and ‘dresses’ are divided into multiple layers reflecting the earth’s strata and showing the flow of time. The collection evokes a variety of associations such as Leopard print and chiffon reflecting morning dew on fossilised plants. Stickers on coats and dresses reflect memory fragments of exotic places visited. The rattan dress and jacket has zigzag detail edging as if cut by frenzied scissors. It takes inspiration both from memory fragments and the disconnection of the character’s surrealist journey into the past.
The designer has created a range that is luxurious, glamorous and yet ‘Funky’. A collection that, like good Jazz, is beautiful, reflects all emotions and evokes powerful memories.