“Human Leather”

The human touch, skin, hair, body, and movement, these are the anatomic parts of Kelvin Morales’ latest collection. Derived from his curiosity of the human flesh, Kelvin created a highly-tailored collection that muses upon the concept of the human body. “What if the human skin can be used as material for clothing without the judgemental social hiss on cannibalism? What would it look like in the modern day? How would it feel?” the designer ponders.

Kelvin Morales’ queries invite us to venture into his ever-inquisitive mind, as he interprets his inspiration into digestible tidbits of garments and accessories stylishly shown in his latest lookbook. Tattoo inspired embroideries, colorised human hair, sheer fabrics, and nifty bespoke details seen on scarves, tops, and pants, imbue the conceptual and tactile qualities of human skin that redefine its unorthodoxy as fashion. The play on materiality, tailoring, and humour further elevated the sleek contemporary clothes that the designer is known for. As he puts it “Clothes should be an extension of one’s self and with this collection I took that literally. I interpreted skin as clothes and translated it into clothing that mimic that concept. This contextualises the human body and the function of fashion in a different way, dismantling the stereotyping of race and beauty.