Františka Blažková

Originally from Slovakia, Mata Durikovic (MADbyMAD) is a fashion designer currently working with Chanel in Paris, as she enchanted the brand (and the rest of the world) with her use of self-produced edible bioplastic “fabrics”. In an interview with SWARM Mag, she draws aside the curtain on the playful flowery language of her garments, her childhood imaginative extraterrestrial inspiration, how the leftover starch water from boiling potatoes her late grandmother used to water plants with inspired her to invent her signature “Bioplastic Crystal Leather” and more.

“We are now entering a magical age where spells and spirits are becoming a reality.” Dubbed “the brand for the Metaverse”, the duo of creators behind PET LIGER, Constantinos Panayiotou and Calibrate, crafts and exhibits 3D art and virtual footwear. With inspiration ranging from 90's manga illustrations to UK music scene's grime and garage, they partner with brands such as Gucci and pave the way for digital haute couture.

Elmo Mistiaen, the founder and designer of the Brussels-based brand aidesign.png, transforms outerwear into biomorphic outdoor fashion by using AI-generated concepts that invoke otherworldly puffy designs, drawing (predominantly) on the insect world. SWARM Mag interviewed the artist on his practices.

Due to the recent emergence of a certain popular TV series, many people acquired new fear – mycelium inoculating and spreading through our soft flesh. Martina Kocianova is a Slovak jewellery designer and contemporary artist/maker crafting fairy-tale pieces that are designed as extensions of the body. But don't worry, these 'shrooms are friendly.

“I would really like to see a society where emotional value concurred economic value.” Swedish fashion designer Miranda Borg Blomquist kindly let us in on the building and creative processes behind her wearable sculptural accessory pieces in a little chat with SWARM Mag.

“We are in the middle of our evolutionary process, just as the toads or the squids. Our shape is temporary.” Matteo Gatti is an Italian artist with focus on unsettling objects and drawings teeming with futuristic and (yet) non-existent lifeforms. Indulge in the visuals and interview with Matteo below.

If 'utopia' is the promise of four-day workweek for some thanks to even more intelligent automatisation of labour, why not let AI do the heavy creative lifting? Welcome to the opening article of our inaugural 2023 theme, TOWARDS TERRA. To match the Midjourney-generated illustrations accompanying the article, we've interviewed the talk-of-the-town app ChatGPT regarding its “opinions” on the future of various artforms

Sessions always involve a lot of laughter. I mean, it's ridiculous what I ask people to do.” DLLCOPE, a self-described “gatherer of bodies, brains, skin, and paint to make images and sounds”, is a Canadian-based artist creating raw diorama-inspired compositions of bodies, paint, and DIY props.

As Jack Handey famously wrote in his book Deep Thoughts: “One thing vampire children are taught is, never run with a wooden stake.” But jokes aside, our editorial for the final 2022 theme, FULL OF DESIRE, is here. We searched far and deep for the epitome of passion, quintessence of insatiable hunger, and undying lust. And who embodies everlasting, immortal cravings better than vampires? Have fun browsing, our little children of the night.

Czech lingerie designer Karolína Černá's signature product are “crotchlessky”, or, as the name suggests, custom made-to-order lace crotchless underwear. Unsatisfied with the quality and the lack of non-vulgar and tasteful aesthetics in this particular niche lingerie field, Karolína set out to change the game.

Céline Marie, a German designer with French roots, set out on her artistic journey with one major goal – to empower and embolden. Her idiosyncratic, intricate, and dreamy lingerie brand, HERVÉ, is dedicated to perfection and expressed by intimate detail. In the interview below, Marie offers an insight into the brand's backstory, passion, and motivation.

The dreamy, fantasy-adjacent creations of French fashion designer Valeriane Venance invite the viewer into the parallel world of sage matriarchs, women often shunned throughout history. In an interview for SWARM Mag, Valeriane outlines what does “indépendantes de coeur” translate into for her, her inspiration journey, and how does one “sculpt a garment to perfectly marry someone's needs and desires.”

“Many are happy to open up, more than you’d expect, when treated with dignity.” Treat yourself to an interview with fashion designer Klara Marie Bliss, living and working between Prague and Antwerp, on choosing to pursue corsetry, approaching working with bodies, and the archetypes of feminine lingerie.

“I like to present [the collection] as a retrospective of the belongings of a woman who doesn’t exist.” Fashion designer Gabrielle Huguenot, based in Switzerland, talked to SWARM Mag about her designing processes, childhood influences, and, first and foremost, the mysterious Snake Woman, Gabrielle's long-time imaginary Femme Fatale, for whom she created the newest Artificial Flowers Also Need Water collection.

Czech jeweller and goldsmith Antonie Lecher talks to SWARM Mag about how to put an emphasis on sustainability around precious materials, why is water her inspiring element and explains the roots of the newest Nacre collection reminiscent of structures found on coral reefs.

“Growing up, I had this fascination with courtisanes and (other) powerful women in history. I felt intrigued by the idea of their feminine power behind closed doors.” Meet Roos Boshart of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the founder of the GDDSS Studio, which combines luxurious handcrafted lingerie with conceptual experimental fashion. In an interview with SWARM Mag, Roos shares how she arrived at her current titillating creations, talks owning sensuality, and lays out her visions.

“I want to be an example with my work while showing that reusing and up-cycling old materials can look aesthetically pleasing and desirable.” Finnish fashion designer Linda Kokkonen based in Helsinki, Finland, talked to SWARM Mag about her sustainably sourced collections named after infamous poisonous or indigenous medicinal plants, mourning nature, and the Victorian era.

“I understood the emotions going through when you allow people to possess your body.” Polish fashion designer and artist Alicja Kamaj, now based in Böras, Sweden, talked to SWARM Mag about the themes of body ownership, the constant looming threat of anti-choice laws, and the frontiers of (dis)comfort.

When you grow up around the idea that feeling comfortable in your own skin as a woman is frowned upon and despicable, rebellion is just a thong away. Predominantly lingerie designer Shangrila Jarusiri, the owner of the Maison Shangrila brand, talks to SWARM Mag about Southeast Asian childhood, punk rock and sexual liberation.

Dangling over the chasm of jealousy, basking in the burning flames of scorn, sneering down at love from an intoxicating cloud, there lives Desire. Our third theme of 2022, FULL OF DESIRE, takes flight now – and no one is safe for the next three months.