27-year-old Artūrs Skurstenis from the Art Academy of Latvia designs an outfit that understands the human body as a carrier of memory. Scars, wrinkles, and color changes are not seen as flaws, but as inscriptions of identity. This idea gives rise to the concept of a “second skin”—a protective shell that simultaneously conceals and reveals, appearing soft and vulnerable yet expressing strength.
Formally, Artūrs Skurstenis unites two opposing poles: a voluminous, ruffled dress with flowing movement and textured knit material whose anatomical lines are digitally translated into patterns. The tension between the digital and the physical creates a theatrical exaggeration, in which exaggeration becomes emotional truth.
Organic asymmetries, shifts, and deliberate irregularities transform the body into a narrative surface.
Materiality is at the heart of the design. Skurstenis combines silk taffeta, crêpe de Chine, chiffon, and digitally knitted inserts. Hand-dyeing, silk painting, and airbrushing create soft color gradients—from delicate bruise tones to scar-like lines—that translate the idea of healing and transformation of the skin. This emphasizes the transitions between softness and structure, technology and craftsmanship, synthetic and organic.
The digital process is an integral part of the design. In CLO3D, Skurstenis models the silhouette, proportion, and layering, testing transparency and density before transferring the results to pattern making and draping. Adobe Substance 3D is used to refine the fabric textures. The digital simulation serves not only for visualization but also as a conceptual tool that sets the emotional tone.
In the physical implementation, the digitally developed volumes are precisely reduced. Layers and ruffles meet knitwear to connect areas that breathe and stretch. The result is a hybrid couture piece that reacts like skin: it retains traces, changes its appearance in the light, and tells a story of transformation, vulnerability, and resilience.
