By Jacqueline Gomez

PART I: THE CREATOR

What’s your idea of futuristic fashion? For Atlanta-based designer Mairig Fesshaye the future of fashion isn’t just about creating entirely unique garments, but facilitating a “transformative” experience for her buyer. Fesshaye, who describes herself as a “multi-disciplinary artist,” utilizes her sculpture background to create her trademark, texture-driven designs. Her brand, EUKONO, which translates to “infinite possibilities” in her native language, Tigrigna, couldn’t be more fitting. From juxtaposed silhouettes to mind-bending narratives, Fesshaye stays true to her brand, illustrating the endless avenues of fashion. It’s hard to imagine the 27 year old learned to sew only four years ago, after enrolling in Atlanta’s SCAD campus. “My time at SCAD gave me the ability to translate my background in 3-D manipulation into wearable art,” she says.

After its 2017 debut, Fesshaye’s second capsule, CELLULAR, sparked some interest from the European fashion circuit. Suddenly, Fesshaye found herself immersed in Amsterdam’s coveted couture scene, which seemingly overnight would inspire her next four staple installments or capsules.

PART II: THE PROCESS

For Fesshaye, EUKONO is more than just a brand, it’s a constantly evolving embodiment of humankind. The brand’s avant-garde motif, combined with Fesshaye’s textile manipulation, creates artistic, yet wearable garments. Though each of the capsules vary in size and style, SYSTEMS consistently keeps one centralized theme: process. Fesshaye specifically uses human evolution to demonstrate each piece’s effect on the next. Though the intersection of existence and fashion seems incomprehensible to some, EUKONO combines the two to create single-standing garments that also tell a greater story. Take her sophomore capsule, CELLULAR, for instance. The capsule was inspired by the four stages of mitosis: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase— the earliest stages of human development. Fesshaye recognizes the significance of process in both fashion and life, saying, “The process is so crucial to me as a designer, but also as a person. The time I spend conceptualizing an idea also allows me to explore the deepest parts of my mind.”

While systematic process is nothing new to Fesshaye, a creative drought in Amsterdam brought a foreign approach to developing her next capsules.

Fesshaye describes the moment as an epiphany, saying, “I felt that my program in Amsterdam was holding me back. I was constantly thinking of my next move, but I couldn’t fully commit because of my program. Then one night, I decided I was ready to leave and focus on my brand. I called my friend Branden Collins, who’s also an interdisciplinary artist, in the middle of the night from Amsterdam and told him my idea.”

After brainstorming with Collins, a former Adult Swim creative director,the designer booked the next flight out to Los Angeles and began conceptualizing the four latest capsules of her SYSTEMS collection.

Usually, when a designer is assembling an upcoming collection, they create the garments then pair them with the models, but staying true to her innovative streak, Fesshaye did the complete opposite. She says, “Once I landed in L.A., I went straight to Branden’s and we started creating. The story came first, then I started scouting models. It was really important that I chose the models before creating their garments; they’re the muse. Once I assigned each model to their narrative, it took me about a month to construct the garments.”

PART III: THE CAPSULES

EUKONO’s third installment of SYSTEMS includes four capsules, each acting as an effect of the one before. Both Fesshaye and Collins work together to demonstrate the beginning of humanity through a symbolic journey exploring the creation and complexities of the human consciousness. The collection starts with the capsule, CHAOS, followed by VIRILITY, ARCHIVE and its finale, METAMORPHOS.

CHAOS:

CHAOS represents the creation of humankind by using two androgynous entities to represent Adam and Eve. Inspired by the chaos theory, the capsule embodies the order of the universe with disorder acting as its catalyst.

“Before the beginning of time, two deities foreshadow what’s to come. Unwittingly, it’s their curiosity that unleashes the tide of all existence. They don’t know it yet, but they are about to create the next civilization,” the designer explains.

VIRILITY:

A product of CHAOS, VIRILITY tells the story of its offspring discovering its ability to create life. Encapsulated in a beautiful, but isolated world around her, the entity represents Fesshaye’s take on womanhood.

“She holds this amazing power, but isolation sparks a sense of existentialism that a lot of women today feel,” she says, “We’re capable of so much, but our environment creates self-doubt within us.”

ARCHIVE:

The third capsule, ARCHIVE, represents how our memories and experiences as humans affect our personal growth. ARCHIVE fast forwards to the brink of human extinction, the entities are desperately collecting remnants of humanity, all fragments of a history forgotten. Fesshaye examines the importance memories carry into our daily lives, saying, “The whole collection explores what it means to be human. One of our greatest capabilities, and potential downfalls as humans, is our ability to to archive these past experiences and apply them to present day.”

Trapped in a human emporium, the entities break free from their past to reach their full potential.

METAMORPHOS:

Contrary to her collection’s aesthetic, SYSTEMS’ concluding chapter is filled with bright, metallic garments symbolizing a free, elevated entity. As humans, we are fixated on our purpose, place, and experiences in the world; breaking free from our societal expectations is demonstrated through Fesshaye’s spin on metamorphosis. METAMORPHOS is a symbolic take on leaving behind our inhibitions to achieve personal growth.

PART IV: THE FUTURE OF FASHION

It’s no surprise that a collection this intricate has already caught the eye of couture connoisseurs months before its reveal. On top of being selected as a panelist for Miami’s Art Basel, Fesshaye is also in talks with fashion curators around the world. So what’s next for the textural trailblazer?

“I’m planning on moving to L.A. later next year,” she says, “I’ve been in contact with the curator of the Hammer Museum and they want to have an exhibition featuring this latest launch.”

 Fesshaye is keeping busy with finalizing this project, but she has high hopes for this upcoming year.

“I’m excited to see the reactions from these capsules,” she says. “I think its storytelling and sustainable components reflect the future of the fashion industry.”