As the name suggests, Afterhomework is the extracurricular project of two teenagers, artistic director Pierre Kaczmarek and his girlfriend Elena Mottola, seamstress and stylist of their show, who have yet to finish high school. Kaczmarek said their inspiration comes from “the balance between the real and fashion worlds.” Neither planned on applying to fashion school, afraid it would pigeonhole them.
Their lack of formal training showed in a try-anything approach to shapes in this, their third collection. For example, the skirt made of upside down jackets belonging to Mottola’s grandfather, a shift covered in repurposed cotton squares — used hospital linens cut up and sold to buff cars — or a dress with a smattering of snap closures thrown down the front. Wide trousers with raw edges ruffling down the leg were pitch-perfect, as was the giant ruched sweatshirt.
Collaborations extended the range of items and techniques: 19-year-old leather-goods craftsman Jeremy Kastellani created bags, and artist Camille Pogu embellished T-shirts with resin appliqués.
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Kaczmarek and Mottola’s mix of basics and sportswear-tinged items — jersey dresses, sweatshirts, logo T-shirts with ruching on steroids, antitheft devices as studs, questionable material mixes — flirted with the experimental, without ever being unwearable.