Special Series

Global Echoes of Resistance: Artists Harnessing Art, Culture, and Ancestry

Charlie Engman

Cursed is where high fashion collides with the uncanny, turning beauty into something haunting and otherworldly. The collection drapes models in ghostly, decayed couture—tattered tulle, exaggerated silhouettes, and fabrics that appear aged by time itself. Colors shift between washed-out pastels and deep, moody shadows, creating an atmosphere that feels suspended between dream and nightmare. Styling choices push the limits of distortion and surrealism, incorporating religious iconography, melted veils, and unsettling proportions. Every detail is meticulously crafted to evoke both awe and discomfort, blurring the line between elegance and eeriness.

The collection’s unsettling aesthetic has sparked both fascination and controversy. Some praise it as a bold reimagining of beauty, embracing imperfection and the macabre. Others argue that it romanticizes suffering, turning decay and trauma into an aesthetic spectacle. But Cursed refuses to conform to traditional standards of glamour. It challenges the expectation that fashion must always be polished and pristine, forcing viewers to confront their own discomfort with imperfection—and, despite that discomfort, making it impossible to look away.

In Conversation:

From EIP #5

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The Politics of Sound with Ana Tijoux

Dressing the Invisible