London-based designer Harikrishnan has blown up thanks to a student presentation highlighted by inflated latex trousers. Spawning endless memes, the collection was presented as part of his London College of Fashion senior thesis during London Fashion Week.
In addition to the balloon trousers, the collection also included hand-carved and strung wooden bead tops and shorts made in collaboration with the artisans of Channapatna, India.
The MC Hammer-esque trousers are made up of 30 individual latex panels cinched at the waist and ankle and inflated with an air machine. Trousers were paired with cropped tailored jackets and beaded tops.
Titled, “Let’s Put Him in a Vase,” the collection is an examination of proportion, an idea put in motion by his pug. In an exchange with Dezeen, he explained, “I got the idea when I was playing with my dog and I started thinking about how exaggerated objects must look from such a low angle.”
“The thought of him seeing me as a giant figure or not seeing my head at all was intriguing, so I decided to reimagine the people around me through the game of distortion, detached from the stereotypical, pre-determined notions of the human perspective.”
Check out images of the collection below.