“Thinking according to gender leaves little space to play and create” – Pep Trapiello
When we came across Pep Trapiello’s AW17 campaign, we were instantly hooked. Beautifully androgynous models are dressed in extraordinary ensembles with clean-cut, glamorous silhouettes that disregard all notions of gender. Trapiello decided very early on in his career that he wouldn’t conform to the restrictions imposed by gender-specific clothing. “Thinking according to gender leaves little space to play and create”, he explains. “Clothing has to be used as a tool to express individuality instead of gender.”
While gender is not an important factor in Trapiello’s work, environmental concerns are all the more important to him – yet another reason to fall in love with his designs. Pep Trapiello takes a stance against fast fashion, which he sees as a threat not only to the environment, but to self-expression through clothing, too. “I am proud to say that I do fashion high and fair”, he declares, consequently, all of the fabrics used for his collections either come from secondhand marketplaces or are 100% biodegradable, and the entire production chain for his clothing is rooted in Berlin.
“I found other sides to Berlin that gave me inspiration: the parts of the city that are less rough and more decadent” – Pep Trapiello
Trapiello moved here after he finished his fashion design studies in Madrid. Unlike most newcomers to the German capital, he didn’t feel a connection to the sombre, fetish-inspired aesthetic of the city. “I tried to fit in, but soon I realised that it wasn’t really me”, he tells. “I found other sides to Berlin that gave me inspiration and made my influences much richer: the parts of the city that are less rough and more decadent, where the past decades are still shining and a night out feels like being in back in 1981.” Thanks to these visual impacts and his obsession with ’60s-80s sci-fi films, he designs pieces that deviate from the all-black, Berghain-friendly clothing that is so abundant in the Berlin fashion scene. With his genuine approach to design and his luxuriously minimalistic clothes, Pep Trapiello has found a way to stick out from the masses.
Scroll through the images below for even more looks from Pep Trapiello’s AW17 lookbook:
