A fashion label called Fecal Matter is having a moment.
Matières Fécales — literally French for “fecal matter” — has gone from an intentionally provocative outsider project to dressing some of the world’s biggest celebrities, including Zendaya, Lady Gaga, Demi Moore and Kylie Jenner.
And yes, the name is intentional.
Canadian designers Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran founded the label after meeting as fashion students in Montreal. Frustrated with an industry they viewed as wasteful, exclusionary and obsessed with consumption, the pair wanted a name that reflected their criticism of it.
They landed on Matières Fécales — not the more familiar French “merde,” or “caca,” but the considerably more clinical term for fecal matter.
The designers initially became known for an intentionally unsettling aesthetic that included shaved eyebrows, extreme makeup, alien-like silhouettes and their infamous “skin heels,” footwear designed to appear as though a human foot had been stretched into a high heel.
Now, Fecal Matter has gone decidedly mainstream.
Zendaya recently wore an enormous white winged creation from the label to the premiere of “The Odyssey,” styled by longtime collaborator Law Roach. Lady Gaga wore the designers to the Grammys, while Demi Moore appeared in Matières Fécales at Cannes.
Kylie Jenner has even worn the brand in a Dunkin’ campaign.
The label’s growing popularity presents a certain irony for a project founded partly as a critique of fashion’s excesses: Matières Fécales is now luxury fashion itself.
Pieces from the label can sell for hundreds or even more than $1,000 through luxury retailers, while the designers have moved from selling early creations online to appearing on some of fashion’s most prominent stages.
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And perhaps that’s also the point.
Fashion has a long history of turning provocation, rebellion and even criticism of the industry itself into something desirable — and expensive. Matières Fécales set out to confront a fashion industry they believed was full of excess and waste.
So, the fashion industry responded by making Fecal Matter chic.
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