It’s the new dawn of a new year, and in these first few weeks of the 2024 era, GLITCH has been eager and attentive in sniffing out changemakers. Against the backdrop of resolutions, new intentions, and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, January carries with it an intrinsic hint of creative inspiration. GLITCH is continually inspired by the emerging talent we connect with online, and here are some of our notable “Ones To Watch” for this early moment in 2024.
Eden Tan
Eden Tan’s Instagram bio advertises itself as a Waste Management Company – perhaps an odd and unglamorous title for a CSM graduate attempting to break into high fashion. But, his unconventional collections are just that, expertly reworked fabrics, with previous histories and stories, that are draped and pinned into fashion masterpieces. His graduate showcase collection “On Borrowed Fabric”, which was notorious for its tongue-in-cheek sentiment, and saw models file along the runway physically fixed to rolls of uncut fabric in the name of fashion, won him the L’Oreal Professional Young Talent Award. Since then, Eden has been crafting a range of ergonomic body-hugging backpacks crafted from leather motorcycle jackets and seatbelts. This offering shows Tan continuing to play with the relationship between the body and clothes, as he continues to be a maverick designer shaking up our perception of silhouettes and what constitutes an outfit. For GLITCH, amongst a sea of young designers trying to do something new, Tan’s designs certainly stand out for their atypical and visually stimulating nature.
Josef Bekleidung
The designer of Josef Bekleidung is Eric Freisen, a creative focused on upcycling, and reinventing what is already in existence. Focused on small ranges and one-off pieces, his creations are distinctly characterful and narrate stories. Eric works predominantly with denim, cargo and heavy-weight fabrics, which are slashed, ripped, and refused into patchwork aesthetics. Iconic for open seams, rough hems, and deconstructed pieces, his work mirrors the sentimentality of tapestries and collages; there is an emotional beauty in refusing broken pieces back together. The name of Eric’s brand leans into his Christianity and the story of Joseph from Egypt, the story of an ordinary boy who saved an entire tribe through insightful practice. Without being overt, Eric has alluded that his vision for his brand is parabolic to this biblical story of greater impact and greater influence. It is clear Eric sees his brand as being much more than just clothing, and GLITCH is eager to chart his development.
AE Synctx
AE Synctx is an explorative and boundary-pushing design collective, that cites itself as finding inspiration from “irrelevant” elements. Based in Seoul, a burgeoning fashion capital that has already gripped GLITCH’s attention, their punk-like aesthetics and monosyllabic but futuristic brand image are very of-the-moment. Their unisex and functional fashion focuses also align them very concretely with the styling mood of the times. But it is their design philosophy that most interestingly grips GLITCH. Based on the idea of fabricating through haphazard exposure, random sources, and a system of the trials and errors of life, AE Synctx is making a very clear commentary about how they see art. They see art and design as enmeshed as somewhat enmeshed with experience, and under other forces of control. Perhaps this design theory is an acknowledgement of how digital forces are becoming more neatly saddled with the artistic world, or simply a manifestation of the freedom Ae Synctx sees in aesthetics, and the limitless ability to create.
Scorpion Sorbet
Carly Fridhandler, known in the art world as Scorpion Sorbet masterfully weaves the worlds of advertising, fine art and AI to create thought-provoking, ethereal landscapes. Unafraid of evoking feelings of discomfort, this established art director and AI artist delves deep into self-expression through her anatomically boundless visuals. Fridhandler’s Instagram is adorned by galaxies, insects, sea creatures, eyes and teeth, capturing our attention at GLITCH with an unwavering grip. Scorpion Sorbet leans into unpredictability with a surrealist body of work reminiscent of a dreamscape. Fridhandler is an artistically unstoppable force, featured in exhibitions around the world, enriching the pages of publications such as “Red Eye” and “D la Repubblica”, and collaborating with some of the world’s biggest brands like Olay, Cirque du Soleil and Lululemon as a senior creative director. GLITCH can’t wait to see what’s next for this industry innovator.
Written by Hebe Street from GLITCH Magazine
