Static Skin

Static Skin as a collection explores the physical sensations of intense anxiety. It examines the bodily experience of dread, panic, restlessness, and the feeling of being trapped within one’s own body. Focusing on the uneasy relationship anxiety can create between a person and their physical self, when the body begins to feel unfamiliar, even hostile. This manifests in sensations like “skin crawling,” where the discomfort becomes so overwhelming that it evokes a desire to escape one’s own body.

This collection also draws inspiration from 1970s-1980s body horror films, where protagonists frequently lose control over their bodies through grotesque mutation and transformation. This loss of bodily autonomy parallels the disorienting physical experience of anxiety.

These ideas are expressed through both material choice and garment construction. Latex is used to mimic the surface of human skin, suggesting the exterior of the body while simultaneously evoking what might lie beneath if that surface were opened. Pleating and pulling techniques distort the “skin,” creating the impression that the wearer is attempting to push or tear their way out of it. Clear vinyl is pressed tightly against the body, compressing and distorting the flesh beneath it to expose vulnerability and discomfort. Leather introduces another layer of meaning: once the skin of a living creature, it is now worn, stretched, and constrained by another body. Through these materials and manipulations, Static Skin visualizes anxiety as a physical force, one that traps, distorts, and alienates the body from itself.