At Cult Mia, one of our core values is scouting brands from all over the world with a commitment to quality, a respect for their craft, and an aesthetic that can’t be ignored. We pride ourselves in being a brand that keeps sustainable and ethical practices at the forefront of our brand, which is why we chose to highlight one of the gem’s of London Fashion Week, Mata Durikovic, and her ‘Pink Matrix’ collection. With sustainability and an aesthetic that refuses to be ignored, Mata Durikovic shows how sustainability is more than just a buzzword; but can be bold, beautiful, and out of this world.
Mata Durikovic, an LVMH Green Tail Award nominee and winner of Media Award by ITS: Platform Contest in 2022, recently debuted her collection ‘Pink Matrix’ at London Fashion Week and we got some of the inside scoop around the inspiration for the collection and how she uses sustainability to power her collection.
Durikovic’s sustainable practices began while watching her grandmother save the starch water from potatoes and use them to rewater plants. Her grandmother also repurpose old clothing and household goods to create costumes for playing imaginary games in the galaxy and the ‘pink matrix’ as a child. The use of starch water and repurposing household items inevitably became an inspiration to Durikovic, which led to the creations of many of her products helping you transport into her ‘Pink Matrix’ collection.
Mata Durikovic began by combining the starch water from fruits and vegetables with jelly-based bioplastic that created the edible fabric called a “Bioplastic Crystal Leather.”
Yes, you heard that write - edible. They define this material as, “a leather-like consistency easily cookable at home from ingredients such as water and jelly.” Durikovic only exclusively uses materials that could only be accessed in her grandmother's home; such as brooches, recycled knitting yarn, safety pins, and crystals. These crystals found in her grandmother’s home and used in her collections seen today were meant to be charged at a full moon and used as healing portals to ultimately create a protective shield.
On The Runway
Mata Durikovic’s ‘Pink Matrix’ collection is an inspiring story showing how far your imagination can take you. With sustainability at the forefront of her collection, the creative use of starch water, crystals, and safety pins shows how little it can take to produce a mind blowing collection from start to finish.
