PART 3/3 | DESIGNER BLOG

Meadham Kirchhoff

How Meadham Kirchhoff has been insprired by Riot Grrrl culture in three sections.

Zines

MK and riot girl culture go hand in hand. Eleanor Hardwick once photographed the duo's studio for Rookie Mag (online mag for girls/wide variety of subject matter/cool freebies/also and caught every detail that contributed to the influence and final designs of their S/S 15 collection. There were posters of Courtney Love (circa Live Through This album) plastered on the walls amongst print outs of toy dolls, old western-European fashions and paper doll chains that contrast with the more contemporary culture, images of Arvida Bystrom, feminist artworks, hello kitty memorabilia and blasé comments found from internet generation teens that surrounded the pattern cutting table. Before reading any interviews you gathered that from their sugary pink, studio inspo the pair are very concerned with rejecting the media industry and appropriated female beauty and it is aparent that both (maybe Ed more than Benj) are interested in riot girl culture and feminism. Eleanor Hardwock is also a regular contributor for Rookie Mag so it wasn't long before Meadham and Rookie's creator, Tavi Gevinson worked together on a zine for Garage Magazine, the designers also created a pull out paper crown for the paperback yearbook one.  Those that saw MK's S/S 15 collection sat down to a photocopied, hand-scrawled, collaged fanzine with the same title as the collection, 'Reject Everything'. Inside the short publication are lists of the the duo's love and hates and slurs all in acid colours, v. punk, it was a nod to the 70s and the 90s, an acknowledgment/appreciation of Viv Westy's garms and a change from the usual PR printed shtick.

Runway show

The backdrop for S/S 15 was a collection of revamped junk, painted sickly sweet tones, trees and red glittery tampons - designed by Tony Hornecker- and S/S 13 the runway was adorned with balloon arcs, tinsel and streamers that a band of Courtney Love's raged through (as well as through Topshop flagship store, out of a cake!!!) and the models with pastel tones smeared into their blonde bouffant do's, A/W 14 was like the set of a more sparkly version of Blind Date and A/W 12 an interplanetary disco with models throwing glitter in the air. Why wouldn't you wanna be a part of that? or encourage their sales and keep them going :-(

Model Casting

MK took to social media to tell all of the open casting call happening down in their studio on Haggerston rd. No typical model looks were required and it was open to both guys n gals. All hail these two nonconformist, anti-corporate creatives!