BEHIND THE STITCH: ALANI
June 21, 2024
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In a world where fashion and technology increasingly collide, Calvin Pausania’s new project Selcouth emerges as a boundary-shattering exploration of the surreal and the sublime.
Released on May 14, 2025, Selcouth is a multidisciplinary visual project that redefines the relationship between man, machine, and material. At its core is a deconstructed Mercedes-Benz C-Class (C200), which Pausania transforms from an automotive relic into sculptural art. With pieces of the vehicle reimagined as extensions of the human form, the project challenges traditional notions of fashion photography and industrial design, creating a hauntingly beautiful world where steel and skin coexist in poetic harmony.
The term “selcouth” itself–meaning something rare, strange, and marvelous–perfectly captures the essence of this work. Collaborating with stylist Amber Aste, set designer Pleun Van Baren, and model Sokhna Cisse, Pausania builds a visual narrative that feels both alien and intimately human. Each image is meticulously constructed, showcasing Cisse adorned in automotive remnants, posing against stark industrial backdrops that emphasize the contrast between softness and machinery. The styling leans into sculptural fashion, while the set design draws from brutalist influences, creating a dreamlike dystopia that feels suspended between future and
decay.
More than just a fashion editorial, Selcouth is a statement piece on hybridity and transformation.
It invites viewers to reconsider the possibilities of wearable art and what it means to interface with objects once built for motion and power. The project has already drawn attention from the global creative community, earning a feature in Numéro Netherlands and sparking conversation around the ways design can transcend its original function. Selcouth is not just a visual experience but a standout moment in time–one that positions Calvin Pausania as a leading voice in experimental fashion and conceptual art.
