AVAVAV celebrates the cleavage with a sexy twist

A 90s nostalgia that looks to the future, investigates and innovates that of Beate Carlsson to the creative direction of the brand AVAVAV. Starting from the low waist, the AW22 Neo-Nude collection takes the concept and evolves it into a focus of concept that sees as the protagonist the neckline on the back of the jeans, which does not leave much to the imagination, to expose parts of the body historically covered and stigmatized. In a provocative and extremely entertaining action, AVAVAV continues to deconstruct garments as they are commonly known by applying a filter that is based on tactility and dysmorphia, focuses on alien worlds and encounter of opposite sensations. We asked Beate to tell us a bit about her creative process to better understand the brand that has previousle gained a lot of success with the Bloody Finger shoes and the Finger and Claw boots.

Tell us something about you and the path that led you towards the creative direction of the brand, what are your big 3 values in developing your designs?

Dysmorphia has grown to be a big part of my aesthetic, essentially because I think it’s a good tool for reaching “otherness” in shape and form. I’ve tried to bring this into Avavav through creating an in-house space where we’re able to explore new ideas. I value time, the energy of the people around me and our community of supporters.

Being environmentally friendly is now a prerogative in the fashion system but many times it can be only performative, what's AVAVAV's concept of sustainability? How are your materials sourced?

Sustainability is often painted in bright colors through social and alternative media’s lenses as quick and easy to accomplish. In reality, being eco-friendly is a privilege not everyone can afford. You also realize that the industry is very systemized to not be sustainable. Knowledge is key. Though a lot of new material is being introduced to the public spotlight now, most of them aren’t as eco-friendly as we’d want them to be. For example, vegan leather is mainly plastic which isn’t great. However, I think every brand that makes an effort to be green makes a crucial contribute to the future landscape of fashion and we should honor that. We can’t be sustainable in every aspect, but we’re doing the best. As of right now for Avavav that includes sourcing and producing locally and using deadstock and recycled material wherever we can.  

Your material creations and the aesthetic representation of footwear make us wonder about your relationship with the 5 senses, and in particular with tactility. How do they influence your creative process and what are your main references in design?

I love merging different worlds and marrying them into something, hopefully new. I’m trying to move away from the norms that we are imprinted with. Tactility often play an important role when trying to distort an original concept of something. For example, if I were to make a pair of basic sneakers, it could be interesting to make them in a material that looks like flesh or human skin to tweak our associations.

Looking at the Neo-Nude collection the evolution of the low-waist trend is immediate. What's your relationship with 90s fashion?

With our latest collection Neo-Nude I wanted to dive into the early 2000s fashion but make pieces that belong in 2022. I wanted to use the low cut trend but exaggerate it to focus on actual cleavage but for the butt. I also wanted to use the exposure of nudity that flourished during the 2000s but instead of covering up the repeatedly stigmatized areas of the body I wanted to shed light on them. 

The collection includes pieces that celebrates female nips, buttcracks and fetish elements.What does it mean to be a provocative brand in the Bel Paese of fashion houses? Does Italian fashion influence your style?

We are getting a lot of support from people loving that we are different, but there’s also a lot of challenges that we face for being a small independent and provocative brand. It’s difficult to fight your way into the market because it is structured in a way that doesn’t always endorse difference. 

After the renaissance of the Buttcrack, what other fashion taboo would you be interested in tackling?

Right now I’m excited about distorting body proportions and play with designs that are built to fit an otherworldly human body.