THE TRIMÄPEE DESIGN DUO, MARIO-LUCA CARLUCCI AND PETER STRATEAS, EXPLORE THE DICHOTOMY BETWEEN MAN AND MACHINE TO PRODUCE THEIR LATEST COLLECTION, ‘RITUAL REDEMPTION’. THE NEW COLLECTION PUSHES BOUNDARIES OF THE ABSURD CONFIRMING TRIMÄPEE AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST AVANT- GARDE LABELS OF THE MODERN ERA.

Australia needs labels like Trimäpee. Trimäpee add a splash of the absurd, in a country that is otherwise far too reserved in all matters of dress. The design duo from Trimäpee started their creative collabora- tion in sculpture and soon focused their exploration of sculpture to fit the human form. The result was the launch of their conceptual menswear label, Trimäpee, in 2006. In just four years, Trimäpee has burgeoned into producing both men’s and women’s ready-to-wear collections. They have two flagship stores, offering clothing, accessories, handmade shoes, bags and eyewear. The key to their success has been following their artistic vision and challeng- ing the status-quo.

The new collection, ‘Ritual Redemption’, ex- plores the battle of machine vs. man, torn between one body and one soul. The partic- ular ritual Trimäpee has used to articulate the collection is the Japanese suicide ritual ‘Seppukku’. Structured and robust designs heighten the sense of this mechanical task (the physical act), while soft and hand wo- ven pieces oppose the severe, depicting the human emotions (the emotions behind the act itself). There is a focus on structure and form with stiff samurai silhouettes. Metal- lic accessories serve as amour to protect the human form and a dark palette forces the wearer to focus on the design detail and tailoring.

Mario-Luca carLucci speaks to Heather Cairns about triMäpee’s design aesthetic and the new collection.

What draws you to design with a bold and rebellious aesthetic? When designing a collection, being ‘bold’ and ’rebellious’ is never our agenda. We make clothes to suit our vision, based on the theme each season, and as a result, bold garments are created. We continue to push personal boundaries each season. You are your biggest critic – so natural progres- sion and evolution is inevitable, and striving to be better will result in more obscure and bolder collections to come.

Where have you drawn your inspiration from for ‘Ritual Redemption’? We drew inspiration from two subjects housed under the one title; the rigidness of a ritual, and the emotion behind the ritual itself. Inspired by the Japanese suicide rit- ual ‘Seppukku’, we explored the theme of these two opposing notions in the same act – mechanical vs. human.

Your menswear designs push boundaries for men’s fashion. What is your vision on men’s fashion? Men’s fashion is exciting. It’s a fast growing market, and nowadays men (in Australia) are becoming more fashion forward and just as willing as women are. This makes designing a men’s collection even more sat- isfying, knowing that your vision will actu- ally be lived out, opposed to shelved and rejected like past seasons. Australia is still a very small market on a global scale, yet we are taking the right steps through me- dia and other avenues to educate ‘the Aus- tralian male’, that appreciating design and dressing the way you feel is acceptable.

Which elements of design do you dually apply to your men’s and women’s fashion? Structured forms, tailored silhouettes, tex- ture and appliqués – pretty much all ele- ments of design. The collections are always androgynous apart from few pieces. There is no different design mind when designing for either sex.

What do you want your designs to inspire in the wearer? We want to inspire individuality and creativ- ity. Each Trimäpee garment has many ways of being worn – and each person wears the garment differently. We aspire to the gar- ments being an extension of yourself; your personality and your style. Fashion is not just a commodity, fashion is a lifestyle. If we can evoke that feeling in someone, then we are doing our jobs right.

Your signature palette is black and moody. Why do you work in the confines of this palette? Colour for us is a secondary thought. Our collections are based on structure and sil- houettes, and texture and pattern. Our aim is to draw people in and invite them to in- spect and appreciate the finer details. A dark and moody colour palette has never been confining.

What challenges do you have as designers who make avant-garde clothing in a com- mercialised Australian market? The biggest challenge is population. Our product is aimed at a particular niche mar- ket, which is small on a global level, how- ever even smaller here in Australia. The challenge for many designers is finding a balance between what we love, and what sells – without compromising the label and our vision. Australia has been pigeonholed as a ‘surf’ cultured country, which is great on one-hand, yet detrimental on the other. Australia has so much more to offer, but the tragedy is that most independent Australian labels can’t survive in their own market, be- fore they even have the chance to export or try their luck overseas.

What does the future hold for Trimäpee? Trimäpee is planning to extend wholesale to more overseas markets, as well as hope- fully opening up more retail creative spaces in Australia. Our collection has already ex- tended to handbags, accessories and shoes – next we are looking at a full metal jewel- lery range as well as eyewear.

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