TTSWTRS pieces are like a type of body modification: You may’t tell where the clothing ends and begins. The designer Anna Osmekhina, a former costume designer and stylist based in Ukraine, works with emerging and established tattoo artists, transforming their designs into cotton pants, viscose blouses and denim blazers, structured shirts, lace wedding dresses and even cycling shorts. The result finally ends up looking like a body covered in tattoos – an extension of the clothing and skin.

“The concept of TTSWTRS was created by a wierd incident that got me involved on this exciting subculture,” explains Osmekhina. “My friend was in a relationship with a tattoo master who had his whole body covered in tattoos and was acting like he saved the world. I used to be so thrilled along with his energy that very soon I created a capsule of sweatshirts with a working title ‘tattoosweaters’.” Since its first iteration in 2013, the road launched at Colette in Paris and has now been sold at boutiques world wide.

“Looking for a tattoo master is at all times probably the most difficult moment within the strategy of creating a set,” she explains. So far, one among the largest collaborations she’s fostered with a tattoo artist has been with Kiev-based artist @edtattooer, who has added his own touch to a lot of her designs. “Fairly often great tattoo works on clothing seem like prints, and we spend plenty of time working with our web designer when testing tattoos on our naked clothing pieces. @edtattooer is most well-known for his really easy but stark black linework designs. His style is a mixture of naive art techniques, references to specific works from the history of the art world (from the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo to the Dance of Matisse), elements of mysticism and optical illusions.”

As for the designer herself, she currently has only one small tattoo, a tiny red heart in honour of her granny, but she believes as she turns sixty, she’ll slowly begin covering her entire body with tattoos. Here, Osmekhina shares the inspiration behind six different tattoo clothing pieces.

Name: Tattoo “body” (Resort 19)

Inspiration: “We imagined what we’d do if we were to cover an elf girl with tattoos.”
Creation: “We found a really soft fabric, and we got here up with the concept that in a tattoo-bodysuit you may be completely naked and dressed at the identical time.”
Tattoo artist: @edtattooer, one among the largest collaborators of the road. He’s mostly often known as a linework artist who splits his time between Berlin and Kiev.
The method behind it: The designer selected specific tattoos from the artist and played around with placement to give you different looks–a complicated process. “We placed tattoos on the piece very fastidiously, but nevertheless, it took us just three days to create this piece,” Anna says.

Name: Orenburg shawl (FW 18/19)

Inspiration: “I used to be inspired by the caption “Thanks, I don’t smoke”. I desired to embroider something ironic and so completely opposite to the delicate, soft headwear.”
Creation: “Our talented embroiderer was very nervous since it was very difficult so as to add embroidery to a shawl without damaging and stretching it.”
Tattoo artist: @edtattooer, a private favourite of the designer.
Why it’s personal to me: “I actually love this shawl. I’m from Orenburg originally and this is not only an adjunct for me, it’s a part of the cultural DNA and history of my hometown,” Anna says. “The flexibility to create a shawl like this there may be a national treasure. In my childhood, I’d often watch the strategy of Orenburg shawls being made – the masters tried to make it as weightless as possible. The most effective shawl was at all times the one which fit through a marriage ring.”

Name: Severed jacket (SS19)

Inspiration: A tattoo of hands reaching out to one another by @rostislaw_ts, made with dotwork tattoo technique, was the fundamental inspiration for this piece, which the designer didn’t immediately imagine as a jacket.
Creation: “We did a print test with the works of a distinct tattoo artist on a chunk of material, and it was just laying on the table throughout the fitting process,” says the designer. Later she decided so as to add the piece of material as an unconventional extension to this tailored jacket.
Tattoo artist: @rostislaw_ts, a tattoo artist who often uses the dotwork technique to create highly realistic artistic endeavors with a twist of surrealism.
The story behind the piece: The designer felt the piece was personal to her due to lively process behind the work. “I’m inspired by the indisputable fact that the garments we create are very full of life,” Anna says. “Each stage of the work we do gives the clothing recent meanings.”

Name: Tattoo top-bra (FW 18/19)

Inspiration: The tattoo aesthetic of “the awesome master” @tattoo_sinyak.
Creation: “The highest features works of two different tattoo masters,” Anna says. “We thought of what it might feel wish to get tattoos from different masters with such powerful bodies of labor and with such different tattoo techniques.”
Tattoo artist: @tattoo_sinyak was one among the fundamental artists behind this piece. He’s a stick and poke tattoo artist currently based in Moscow, known for his subtle designs of phrases like “I used to be made for loving,” or “Don’t panic.” Flower and butterfly tattoos by artist @sv__a also punctuate the piece.
Why it’s personal to me: “Considered one of the tattoos looks like the symbol of the Soviet Union, “ she says. “The design may be very strong visually for anyone who, like me, went to a Soviet school and dreamed of jeans and Adidas sneakers.”

Name: Wedding tattoo dress (FW 18/19)

Inspiration: “We imagined how a young and translucent dress would look on a body covered with tattoos,” the designer says. The contrast of the lightweight fabric covered in tattoo patterns made for a powerful juxtaposition.
Creation: “While creating the dress, we modified production three different times due to how hard the method was.”
Tattoo artist: @edtattooer
Why it’s personal to me: “On the time of creation, I made a decision it was precisely the dress I’d wear down the aisle,” Anna explains.

Name: Silk robe (FW 18/19)

Inspiration: The saying,“future is female”
Creation: “Our web designer offered to make this caption somewhat brighter as if it were the latest tattoo on the body as a substitute of a faded, lived in tattoo.”
Tattoo artist: @edtattooer
Why it’s personal to me: “This down robe is as cosy as a house bathrobe,” says the designer. “I just feel stressed when I actually have to wear heavy clothes, and this piece helps me personally with that stress.”