SECOND SKIN with Michaela Stark, in discussion with Ami Hughes
TALENT Michaela Stark
INTERVIEW Ami Hughes
London-based lingerie designer, Michaela Stark, places the feminine form at the center of her practice. This time, it’s her own body, and the entirety of collection is an ode to herself; exploring her form through distortion and abstraction.
Apart from the obvious, how come you called it Second Skin?
I mean, as I mentioned in the video, Second Skin was a collection that was made for me, and by me. At the risk of sounding super lame, I would even go as far as to say that the collection was like a little love letter to myself. Not only was each piece of lingerie made to fit my body like a glove (i.e. like a second skin, ha), but they were also just really made from the heart.
I took the time to really consider what kind of lingerie I wish I owned, what makes me feel excited and sexy and like a fantasy character. I thought about all the tiny little details, and how they work together to tell a story about who I am, and who I aspire to be. And I feel like the pieces in the collection really reflect that.
So, I called this collection Second Skin because each piece feels, to me, like an extension of myself.
Second Skin was a collection made just for you – how do you feel about other people wearing the pieces from this collection?
Except under very exceptional circumstances, I would have to say that no, they can’t! Sorry, hahaha. This collection was made for me, and that’s it. That’s like the entire concept. Each piece was designed for my body, and inspired by my own relationship with my body. It just wouldn’t work on someone else.
It’s actually really rare that a designer is able to do something like this – you know like dedicate and entire collection to themselves. Designers are taught to create clothes for the consumer, based on the consumer’s wants, needs and desires. Yet, I just spent the last year and a half making 12 individual pieces of Couture lingerie for myself and only myself. It’s very indulgent, and also kind of a statement. It’s like, fuck it, if I am going to spend all my time and money in creating these clothes, I am going to enjoy them.
Lucky for me, I guess, that this project happened to fall into the era of COVID19. When else I would have the time and space to do something like this?!
Now that you have finished this collection, would you consider creating pieces for other people/ taking commissions? (Hoping to get a corset) haha
Absolutely!! I already do this, and am doing it more and more.
I think this was really important for me to begin this process just on myself, as it allowed me to feel quite safe and confident in what I create. It would have been near impossible for me to create clothes like this for other people without doing it to myself first – as I needed to understand the vulnerable position that it puts you in as a model first hand in order for me to be sensitive to that in the future to my customers.
Now I that I have been through that process I am ready to start creating these body morphing pieces for other people. Sooo - personal orders – now is the time to hmu ;) hahahah
You use your body as a mannequin to create garments that then distort your body, I love the dichotomy of this, can you tell us about the first day you began this process or the first time it really started to feel special for you?
I couldn’t tell you the first time I started doing it. It wasn’t like I just woke up one day and was like ‘you know what, in the name of body-positivity, today I am going to bind my flesh so tightly that my body and my fat is going to look all distorted’. Haha. It really wasn’t so simple to get to this stage.
I have actually been playing with these concepts in my garments for a while now. Even in university, I used to design lingerie that played with very similar concepts of finding beauty in the “grotesque body”. But instead of doing it to myself, I used to create clothes for sample sized models, and add then ‘fat’, ‘saggy’ or ‘hairy’ bits through the fabrication and embellishment. It’s funny to look back on that now. In fashion school, you are kind of taught that samples should be made for a smaller size, and then later you adapt them for bigger sizes in the ‘realisation’ process. And so I had this mentality that, even if I wanted to explore concepts of body positivity, I still had to do that with models that really didn’t reflect my own body shape, because that’s just how it works in fashion.
I think this being the ‘rule’ is extremely demoralising for a lot of people. I’ve seen it first hand in fashion houses, time and time again, of like healthy girls who are literally designing the clothes and still feeling like they could never even wear them because the clothes are so tiny and designed only for a petite figure. It’s such a feeling of low self worth - as you cannot even enjoy the clothes that you have literally designed. In the fashion industry, plus-size girls (or basically girls with any shape) are seen as a problem, and are considered a lot harder to work with. Because we aren’t taught how, it can be a very daunting task to dress a plus-size girl – even for professional designers and stylists. I think that is sooo sad.
It took me a couple of years after graduation to realise that, though. And then I think it was while I was living in London in like 2017, that I got my own studio and slowly started making these body morphing clothes for myself. Really really slowly, teaching myself about my curves and what feels good or looks good. What is possible with my unique shape, versus the shape on the girls I am used to working with.
And the rest is history. It was very liberating at the time. And it still is.
I have a belly obsession, would you ever consider putting on weight to create even more exaggerated silhouettes?
Hahaha, I would have to say no, absolutely not. There are a couple different reasons why I wouldn’t consider this. Firstly, I don’t think my designs matter how big you are. My lingerie is not so much about size, it’s more about how much squish there is in the body (amongst other things). I have worked with bigger models before and I feel that the silhouettes, while different to mine, aren’t necessarily more exaggerated because their body still has as much ‘squish’ as mine – if not even less!
And secondly, my practice really arose out of me feeling super insecure about my size or certain parts of my body. It has been an instrumental part for me to begin to accept my body for what it is. I don’t think I want to start changing my body for my practice – as that kind of defeats the purpose. I’m finally starting to get to a stage where I feel happy and healthy in my skin, but it’s still quite a delicate subject. I don’t think it’s a good idea to mess with that right now haha.
If you could lead costume design on any film, what kind of film would it be, or would it be a film that has already been released that you wish you had been in charge of costume?
Omggg this is literally such a dream of mine.
I would want it to be something super visually over the top, something where I can really play and have fun with it. I don’t even know what genre I would want it to be; fantasy, sci-fi, period, or just simply extravagant glamour. Maybe all of the above?!
‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘Burlesque’ were like my favourite films growing up, and I always dreamt about designing for a film that that – or something like Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’, or ‘Star Wars: Episode One’ with Natalie Portman. But I wouldn’t want to replace the costume designers in these films! I would a new story / cinematic universe to explore.
Apart from the distorted form it gives you, does the hand sewing itself serve a purpose as a type of meditation for you?
Yess, hand sewing is like my favourite thing to do. I really love the slow, meditative process. It feels like such a delicate and intimate way to give life to my garments, and makes me feel really connected with them.
What else about the process of creating the garments do you enjoy?
Actually the entire process of creating the lingerie, just as garments, is a very meditative process. The lingerie pieces are like real and actually wearable, and are created over a long process of body-play, fittings, draping and flat pattern cutting and with a lottt of delicate hand stitched details.
I take each stage really slowly, and love when I can relish in the process. When I am actually making the clothes, and once the pattern cutting process is finished, I stop thinking so much about the distorted form that they give my body and more about creating a very delicate, beautiful, fluid yet structured garment. I can get so lost in creating the garment that I sometimes forget about my body completely!
I think this is why I really see myself as a Couturier and not just a image maker who simply creates lingerie for an image. The couture is such a huge part of my art and personal process. It’s what I spend most of my time on, and what I truly enjoy doing when I am feeling alone and calm in my studio. I feel like sometimes the ‘Couture’ element gets lost behind the body in my images – all you see is the fat and the silhouette. But, the Couture is probably the part of the practice that I work the hardest on and personally feel the most proud of. I love the process of creating it.
Would you ever consider creating headpieces, somehow incorporating all your luscious hair into the concepts?
Haha, noo I have never really seriously thought about headpieces - but definitely not opposed to the idea! Could be cute for sure.
Same question goes for bags/ shoes, if not please explain why not, would they detract from the point?
Again, yeahh I would. I think accessories could add to my brand!
I think for now, though, I am focussing mainly on creating beautiful lingerie and beautiful images. I would really like to master the art of these practices, and I still feel like I have a hell of a lot to learn. At the moment, I think it’s important to develop my skills and push my own boundaries through lingerie and image making, and allow myself to naturally grow in that way.
In the future, though, and as my brand grows, I definitely want to start thinking about accessories and wearable outerwear too!
What's next?
I guess you’ll have to wait to find out ;) For now, let’s just enjoy my collection and the video I made.
