The project explores how the concept of childhood and society’s perception of children has changed. I was inspired by my personal memories and love for the world of childhood. I aimed to show childhood not as a time period, but as a way of feeling, understanding and living life. It was important to convey tactile images, smells, sensations — the bodily memory that makes memories come alive. Through personal experience, I reinterpreted the theme as an inner navigator that shapes us and stays with us. The project combines history, the personal and the sensual to talk about childhood as a force, not just a memory.
Childhood as a phenomenon has undergone many transformations throughout history. Over time, the boundary between childhood and adulthood has become more blurred and, much in the way of technological progress, new phenomena have emerged: ‘kidalt’, ‘kidalting’ and ‘kidscore’. The ‘new adult’ culture is imbued with irony and self-awareness resulting in fashion which often includes paradoxical combinations.
For the collection I chose fabrics that are bright, decorated, shiny and ruffled with a splash of sequins which are used to refer to the crazy, multicolored, disorganized and disordered world that children create. The materials that I have chosen are connected with my own memories. Wool, cashmere, felt, fur are all part of my childhood world. My mum’s woolen prickly coat, her soft jumpers, and prickly heavy plaid that kept me warm on cold summer nights. The fur is a tribute to all the animals I was surrounded by as a child: big dogs, the cows grazing in the meadows near our summer house and the elephants I saw on our frequent trips to southeast Asia — I was never afraid of them hugging and stroking them. They all gave me a strong sense of safety and connection with nature so I tried to convey these tactile sensations through the choice of fabrics in my collection.
Opposing childhood’s materiality I use grey suit fabrics as well as tailoring as an embodiment of the world of rules, discipline and control which are associated with adulthood. I challenge regulations creating fun and distorted silhouettes. The collection is an effort to demonstrate that childhood isn’t a life stage, it’s a state, which is all about fun and experiment, offering us non-orthodox and creative approach, which we can keep with us and use no matter how old we are.
«… Я снова маленький: солнце яркое, мама опять сильнее всех в мире Я снова боюсь собак и оставаться один в квартире А деревья такие большие, незнакомые плохие слова Поиграем в прятки? Мне, как раньше, по пояс трава… "
© Дмитрий Мозжухин
