6_3_22 / Upcycled
NOTES ON KITSCH
Rave Review cuts through clichés to paste together tablecloth dresses, terry towel coats, and tartan wool blanket kilt skirts, flirting with the fine line between kitsch and cool and establishing an aesthetic all their own.
PHOTOGRAPHY_ PHILIP MESSMAN
STYLING_ ZARA ZACHRISSON
HAIR_ ERIKA SVEDJEVIK
MAKEUP_ IGANCIO ALONSO
MODELS_ MAJA / SARA
/ AMELIE / SARA / TIDA
all fashion courtesy_ Rave Review
TEXT_ STEFANIE RAVELLI
Since their first collection in 2017, Rave Review duo Livia Schück and Josephine Bergqvist have cut and pasted their way through tablecloth dresses, terry towel coats, and tartan wool blanket kilt skirts to create an aesthetic all their own. They deftly turn discarded home textiles into one-of-a-kind high-end pieces and — as with their NFT recycled crytopanties, or their contribution to the Gucci Film Festival JORD, LUFT, ELD, VATTEN [Swedish for the four elements: fire, air, soil, water] — they unravel kitsch into a New Thought / New Age reality. Recently awarded Designer of the Year at Swedish Elle awards 2022, the duo’s notion of cutting and patching different materials and patterns together creates a certain rhythm and form on the body and because of the materials they use, their designs also have a sort of built-in nostalgia.
“The Rave cuts are informed by us having limited amounts of fabric,” Livia Schück says, “this restriction inspires us even when we use deadstock fabric where we aren’t as limited. We approach the fabric in the same way because those patterns and round shapes have become characteristic of us. The upcycled materials that we use, like old ditsy flower sheets, 90s vibe towels, colorful curtains, or checkered tablecloths are very recognizable and nostalgic and create an emotional bond to our customers.”
“In the beginning, we wanted to find new home textiles every season to work with,” says Josephine Bergqvist. “We don’t do it in that way anymore. Making a garment of towels or bed sheets with lots of different prints, it gets crazy and perhaps less wearable than a jacket made out of a blanket with tartan print. There is something classic about that. We always strive to create stand out pieces but at the same time they need to be wearable.”
In their Spring/Summer 2022 collection “affirmation text” is applied on tartan kilts, striped shirting and tablecloths capturing Rave Review’s never-ending obsession for kitsch-meets-cool. Wide-leg striped, strapped cargo pants with a JNCO-like fullness and the shortest of flies, inspired by the Fornarina jeans of the designers’ teenage years, speak to trends we’ve seen this season in Rave Review’s unique voice.
“We wanted something “off” and we’ve worked more with contradictions this season. ‘Affirmations’ were captured, scanned into existing home textiles and made new. We want to create a classic luxury brand even if we don’t work with classic luxury fabrics”, says Josephine.
“This is our strength, that we only use those very unusual materials and repurpose them. Ultimately transforming something that’s been regarded “trashy” into a luxurious garment,” says Livia.
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