Kasia Kucharska has never been particularly interested in replicating reality. With her ninth collection, the designer instead constructed an alternative reality—one in which familiar objects can no longer be trusted. Denim is no longer denim. Knitwear is no longer knitwear. Even a trench coat becomes a carefully staged illusion. Through countless layers of biodegradable latex, applied by hand in nuanced shades and textures, Kucharska simulated garments we think we know—only to then expose them as something entirely different.
“I wanted to explore this illusion more closely,” Kucharska explained backstage. “On the surface, things appear a certain way, but behind that façade, they are something else.” This idea unfolded in a carefully curated collection of just over a dozen looks balanced between stability and collapse. Some seemed almost impossibly perfect: a fitted denim set, a simple white T-shirt—garments that appear completely familiar. Their counterparts, on the other hand, slowly dissolved and seemed to melt away from the body. The glitch was never obvious. It unfolded gradually, almost imperceptibly, until the illusion could no longer hold.
The effect is reminiscent of the visual logic of Pop Art. Like a Roy Lichtenstein painting viewed from a distance, Kucharska’s latex creates optical impressions rather than literal surfaces. Stonewashed denim, chunky-knit sweaters, soft fur, and weathered trench coats are all simulated through color, shadow, and carefully layered textures. The garments imitate not so much the materials themselves as the memory of them—our expectation of how these materials should look.
The collection also marks a deliberate refocusing of Kucharska’s work. Having previously expanded her range to include shirting fabrics and cotton, she has now chosen to reduce her collection entirely to what her audience expects from her: latex. The result is a smaller, more concentrated collection that appears less scattered and is more self-assured in its identity. This focus also extended to the production process. After years of developing machine-assisted methods that enabled more efficient reproduction of the material, Kucharska has returned to crafting each piece by hand together with her team in her Berlin studio. Each garment is individually cast, transforming the collection into a series of unique objects rather than endlessly reproducible products. It is a fitting decision for a designer whose work constantly questions authenticity: the garments may imitate something familiar, but each one exists as a one-of-a-kind piece.
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