Magnetosphere Prospecting and Monitoring Program, or MPMP, is an experimental fashion label that knows no bounds. Founded by Katrin Reinfurt in 2011, MPMP can be described as a multidisciplinary project, diving into the realms of fashion and art and combining the visions with philosophy, experimentation, and experiences drawn from a narrative idea that takes place on an imaginary journey.
Here, Reinfurt talks exclusively to Sleek about the new collection, why she moved the project across the world to China, and what are the influences behind the brand MPMP.
Sleek: The new collection is called “Air” – what is this title meant to invoke? Katrin Reinfurt: As with all of the collections for MPMP, they are about nature and science. We are having the strong belief, that only science and nature can show us the way to the future. We went through different stages, such as Rock, Sea, Forest and the Abyss. The previous collection, “Abyss”, was very dramatic, dark and heavy, and now we are in the Air. For me, the Air represents silence, lightness and carelessness, and I think you can see that in the images; very peaceful and a little bit like heaven on earth.
In previous collections you have taken to using unconventional fabrics and textiles. How do you come across them in the first place?
Firstly, I always have a clear idea of what I want, as the collections lay very close to the concept behind it. I really enjoy experimenting with materials and try to find new ways to improve them. For example, in the winter collection we used a very expensive fabric that had a reflective layer in gold, which gave the illusion of a solid gold raincoat. For our summer collection we are working with a kind of spacesuit tyvec fabric with special silver coating. Another example of this experimentation is the glow in the dark prints and designs that have been used in the collections. These were actually made for us by a company that normally produces the glow in the dark industrial signs for motorways and street signs. I’m sure they thought we were crazy!
But actually that is one of the great things about being here in China, we have the possibility to work with small workshops and do our own DIY fabrics with a high-tech approach. We also have the added bonus of being able to use the huge underground market scene that is available here. We search for what we want and then enhance it.
Many of the items you create have print or photographic imagery on them. Where do these images come from?
We work with two different resources for the images. The first one is that we take the pictures ourselves, the second way is we work with photographers, such as Matthieu Belin, who created the look-book imagery for this collection that was shot in Mongolia. In all of the collections, we only use images that feature dramatic landscapes.
What made you decide to move to China and bring MPMP there?
I came to China partly to escape the craziness of life (laughs). But really, I came to China because the MPMP project is a global idea. It is not based on any specific point or place. Personally I think the point of exile can be very good for developing an independent, conceptual art project, so not being connected to any kind of European trend and mainstream dominated fashion scene was the only way to make MPMP what it is today. I had some strong aesthetical ideas in my mind, which I felt were impossible to realise in Europe at the moment.
Being here, we have the great opportunity to create and design whilst using the unimaginable resources that are available here in China. On one hand we are in a place that is the largest mass production country on Earth, but then on the other hand, we challenge ourselves by making everything in the collection by hand, whilst absolutely avoiding going down the organic/crafty path. Having a super contemporary and modern aesthetic needs a fresh, clean, futuristic and simple execution when it comes to the final look. By focusing on new ways of workmanship, finish and a love to the item and the quality, the end result takes shape as unique piece; a special edition.
Do you think of relocating somewhere else for the next stage of the MPMP project? That’s what is great about the operation, or project if you like, of MPMP. Yes, I am the initiator of it, but we work with people all over the World and not only people in the fashion industry. It’s becoming the idea of an creative collective, or could even be seen as an art movement because of the artists from various mediums involved. We have already collaborated with musicians, video artists, philosophers, writers, architects, fine artists, photographers and a lot of other people – we really are becoming a group of people that makes MPMP a global group.
What is next in store for MPMP?
At the moment we are looking forward to present the “Instant Heaven Installation” in October at the Beijing Design Week, with a lot of new products developed around the topic of the Silent Air. For the future, we are continuing the virtual journey to the Magnetic Mountain (a mountain on the border of Asia and Europe called the Magnitogorsk), and continuing to move on and to develop our ideas. The new stage of the journey is still not certain, but we are planning on going from “rotations” (using rotoreliefs as symbols for “Air”) towards using vibrations. The elements which will be included are crystals and glass, which are symbolising love.