An ode to the buttcrack with AVAVAV

Designer Beate Karlsson’s AW22 collection for AVAVAV is all about breaking down taboos.

The buttcrack — made famous by builders, made embarrassing by jeans that don’t quite fit, and made sexy by fashion designers through the years. And now, Beate Karlsson’s latest collection for the clothing brand AVAVAV is delving deep into both the buttcrack and the taboos around showing off our bodies. 

Even after the days of Alexander McQueen’s ‘Bumster Pants’ in the early Nineties, showing off our buttcracks and body hair has still lingered in the space of fashion faux pas and all-out body confidence. McQueen was one of the first designers to break down the taboo around showing off a little skin and/or pubic hair, but the fight against what we perceive to be acceptable is still ongoing. 

Beate Karlsson’s AW22 collection for AVAVAV is all about the ‘Renaissance of the Buttcrack’ and allowing the world to see the body parts we would usually cover up. From showing off our side bum cheeks to tops that accentuate breasts, the collection is a love letter to reimagining what society deems acceptable.

“I usually focus on big avant-garde silhouettes, but this time I wanted to challenge myself and make something different and slightly ‘uncomfortable’. It ended up being a lot of fun, trying to reinvent the idea of sexiness and nudity,” Karlsson told HUNGER about the collection.  

Check out the collection below and find out what Beate Karlsson had to say about finding beauty in our bums…

What was your inspiration behind your AW22 collection, ‘Neo-Nude’? 

I wanted to shed light on the simplicity of exposing female breasts since there are still, in most contexts, historically imprinted stigmas around this, even in 2022. I also enjoyed the idea of reinventing the butt-crack as a fashion statement, mostly because there’s something funny about how similar cracks and cleavage are. With this in mind, I thought that exposure of the crack could be used to “democratise” cleavage – since only half of the population has breasts while everyone has a butt.

Now we are living in the period of the “buttcrack renaissance”, what do you expect to see from how we dress, and how we think about exposing parts of our bodies? 

I think we are in an interesting time where women are rediscovering nudity on our own terms. It’s much more fun to be nude when you do it for yourself and not for the “society”, so I expect a lot of new interesting new nude vibes.

Your collection toys with the taboos around exposing certain body parts – how did you turn what many of us would usually consider to be ugly or embarrassing, like a builder’s bum, into something beautiful? 

I’m glad you think it’s beautiful, it makes me happy to hear. Some people love it, some people hate it, I guess that’s natural when you’re digging in the unknown. To me, presentation and attitude play a big part. Most things can be beautiful depending on how you do this.

Do you think what we wear still has the power to break down taboos and the more conservative ways of thinking? 

Yes, certainly. Perhaps the most efficient way of doing this is to “normalise” the taboos and not just make an avant-garde one-off piece.

What can you say about the intersection of fashion and taboos?

I often think that the most interesting design lies in this intersection; in the balance between the uncomfortable and the commercial fashion. 

What do you think it means to be sexy nowadays?

I think the sexiest thing in the world is being comfortable in yourself, owning what and who you are, without being arrogant, lol.

What would you say is “heteronormative sexiness” in fashion? 

It’s in everything. The silhouettes, the styles, the colours and so on. One of my biggest missions is to normalise hetero guys wearing dresses. They’re missing out.

How does your collection distort that? 

I hope it distorts it somewhat through exposing crack, nips and fat. Through guys wearing dresses and so on, but again it’s all relative.

In what ways is your new collection rooted in body confidence? 

I think body confidence is an interaction between the garment and the wearer. We used models that felt 100% comfortable wearing the pieces.

How can we learn to be more confident in ourselves through the clothes that push us to show more off? 

To be honest I think it has a lot to do with learning to respect yourself and your body. When you do this, it’s much easier to feel comfortable in exploring new ways of dressing. 

Where do you say the trajectory of what you create going in the future after this AW22 collection? 

Right now, I’m excited about distorting body proportions and playing with designs that are built to fit an otherworldly human body.

What other areas of the body would you be looking to expose / play around with?

I want to explore and develop the spine. I have scoliosis myself and I’d like to find an interesting concept around this.

Do you think taboos will always exist in fashion, or will more designers play a part in deconstructing them? 

I definitely think that designers play a role in deconstructing the taboos, but I think the bigger challenge lies in the common man.

 

Stay up-to-date with all of AVAVAV’s latest collections via their website.

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Courtesy of AVAVAV