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volume 3:

SWALLOW LEVIATHAN

2022-2023




The Swallow Leviathan collection started from the myth of the sea monster “Leviathan,” whose myriad of historical and mythological references include a female sea creature that swallows the souls of the damned, Thomas Hobbes’s political theory advocating for a social contract by the rule of an absolute sovereign, and a term regarding giant whales. I was also greatly inspired by the song “Leviathan” by Flavien Berger
I interpret the human form into a past-human form, through the silhouettes and materials of threelooks. Traditional garment-making techniques such as needle felting, couture corsetry, and pattern making are paired with experimental practices of laser-cutting, latex hardware and details, and flipping the needle-felted wool inside-out to highlight the fuzziness rather than the traditional needle-felted texture. 

Through these chapters, I divulge into a hyperbole of the life cycle of the human psyche: birth, life, and death/rebirth, through the metaphor of “swallowing the leviathan,” the leviathan being the great, ambiguous evil.







The first look/chapter, Expulsion  of Guts, symbolizes the vulnerability of birth and coming into existence, one fantasized through the literal externalization of the human spirit coming into the physical world. The cotton bobbinet push-up Bustino Robe features needle-felted wool, a front zip, and latex straps. This is paired with the low-rise, drop-crotch trousers made with up-cycled leather and wool that has been laser-cut with the shape of human-intestines. It has a cotton-bobbinet trouser lining on the inside for comfort and wearability.















The second look/chapter, The Illusion of Freedom, symbolizes the life struggle of power and control in which we are vulnerable to the elements of life and struggle for autonomy over our path and body. It features a copper-patina steel rod suctioned between a rubber latex strapless dress.


















The third look/chapter, Metal-Morphosis, symbolizes the transcendence of the human form in death/ transformation. It features a steel DRESS with a welded gusset wave, leather side lacing, and human hair. There is a separate lining for this made from deadstock leather with the same patterning technique for the front piece.



































































































































































































































































































EDITORIAL CAMPAIGN
Director, Designer, Model: Errin Shin
Photographer: Louis F Cota
Stylist: Marianna Nouss
Production Assistants: Greta Moschata, Emilio Poire





LOOKBOOK
Director, Designer, Photographer: Errin Shin
Model: Katherine Hu
II. I. BIRTH “the expulsion of guts” (VULNERABILITY) LIFE/STRUGGLE “the illusion of freedom” (POWER AND CONTROL) III. DEATH/TRANSFORMATION “the transcendence of the human form” (METAL-MORPHOSIS)
Running on Cargo