Apopheniac is a ready-to-wear collection inspired by the psychology phenomenon, “apophenia”, which describes the human tendency to find meaningful connections between unrelated things.

This is commonly seen in the form of “pareidolia”, the usually visual perception of meaningful patterns in otherwise meaningless stimuli. Think seeing an animal in the clouds, or a face in your wall outlet. This collection specifically dives into the illusion of faces. Some faces obvious, some are subtle. But they’re there and they’re everywhere.

The facial motifs used throughout take visual inspiration from the handcrafted face jugs made by enslaved African potters in the 19th century; another version of this all-knowing face we’ve seen repeated throughout history, and in the art of unrelated indigenous cultures across the world. We’ve seen this face since humans could first create art. So maybe it shows that we’re all connected after all.

This collection utilizes a variety of traditional hand craft techniques and is made completely from upcycled materials or deadstock fabric:

Look 1: 100% Andes wool crocheted sweater with 3D felted eyelashes. Face jeans crafted from 100% recycled denim, re-dyed/hand-painted

Look 2: Quilted face coat, turmeric dyed, with crochet pockets and embroidered sleeping eyes. 100% Merino wool flare pants, designed on Shima Seiki. Deadstock cotton hand-dyed turtleneck.

Look 3: Face in profile wide-sleeve top made from recycled bedsheets. Quilted deadstock cotton wrap skirt.