MOTHER
Marie Siekmann
Integriertes Design MA
bei Prof. Ursula Zillig,
Prof. Kai Lehmann,
Prof. Dorothea Mink
The collection MOTHER is an unprejudiced study of gender stereotypes in a petit bourgeois environment.
It’s basically an absurd dream of the family-owned metal turning workshop I grew up with. Located on the edge of the polycentric and largest urban area in Germany: the Ruhr District, known for its mining- and metal industry. The workwear, my mum's office attire and pop culture of the 2000s influenced the approach to this collection. The collection prospered out of the symbioses of irrational and rational, abstract and applied, organic and mechanical, occult and arch catholic, gentle and austere, female and male. And it is an attempt to approach the delicate appropriation-discourse in a considerate manner.
System
The patterns of the clothes are developed with an abstract design-system using tarot cards. Worn clothes are the basis of this structure. The clothes were my family's hand-me-downs as well as vintage pieces from flea markets or eBay. The clothes were documented and archived, then the patterns were traced and changed according to numbers on the tarot cards. The changed patterns were manufactured in used and recontextualized textiles and materials influenced by the petit bourgeois and industrial environment - for example truck tarpaulin, tire tubes, table cloth or curtains.
Sustainability
With the design system the clothes begin with a story and also get fed with context along the way. The pieces are treated like characters and there is a focus on the personal connection - the finished garment can be introduced like a human being. The sustainability goes hand in hand with the appreciation of clothes and materials that are not used (in their former purpose) anymore.
The metal accessories were produced with the help of my father, in his workshop, which he runs in the third generation now. As material we chose nickel-free stainless steel for the smaller, and light aluminium for the bigger pieces. Steel and aluminium are extremely durable and long-lasting materials ideally suited for circle economy.
↗ https://www.instagram.com/marie.siekmann
Credits
Video: Veranika Khatskevich
Photos: Ricardo Nunes, Falk Helmbold, Lennart Hespenheide
H&M Video & Photos: Melf Ingwersen
Video Sound: Chang Park
Video Performance: Alex Beriault
Models: Melf Ingwesen, Milan Wiese, Mona Sheikh, Roberta Haasner, Hyunjin Lee, Luca Voß, Kaya Kuzsak, Julia Meyer, Clarissa Geyer
3D Image Ring: Daniel Pantaleo
Graphic Design: otterhellmann, Lennart Hespenheide, Marie Siekmann
