PETER SZCZEPANIAK
CREATIVE BIO:
Starting his fashion career straight out of high school at 18 Years old, Peter Szczepaniak is a Sydney based creative with a deep passion for creativity, innovation, and storytelling through his art. Originally born in Western Australia, and spending most of his adolescence in both the Middle East, and in Southeast Asia, Peter has a deep understanding of the importance of varying expressions of art and culture, greatly impacting his creative outlook. Peter draws on his understanding of individual expression by creating androgynous yet chaotic designs, reflecting his own individuality. Specializing in texture manipulation, such as dyeing, handsewing, and distressing, as the unique differences in each piece, is where he feels true art and expression lies.
DESIGN STATEMENT
As the name suggests A - Frayed, is a personal retrospective aiming to touch on self healing and acceptance, through the enhancing of distressing and torn fibres, through archetypes such as workwear, leisure, and couture. The collection features a variety of distressing, largely on denim, reflecting the wear and tear of time. However, pairing this with delicate hand embroidery on top of previously machine embroidered wool suiting, creates a unique contrast between damaged materials being elevated, alongside tainted elegance. Using it as an allegory for personal traumas, demonstrating how the most important moments may distress or upset us, and other moments bring us deep joy, regardless, these moments shape our personal character, demonstrating the beauty of the human experience. Using largely japanese inspired clothing as an ode to their cultural repair techniques such as Sashiko, Kintsugi, and boro, all used to extend the use of worn items, while also making them more valuable and unique to each individual.
