The Até corset is grounded in material ethnography, a theory that frames matter as a living repository of social history, cultural traces, and temporal weight. This framework acknowledges the independent agency of materials, their capacity to age, oxidise, resist, and continuously record the physical conditions to which they are subjected. Every material carries a narrative of its previous state, transferring its raw, unyielding history into whatever structure it inhabits.
The evolution of copper lies at the core of this piece, precisely because it refuses to remain static. It ceaselessly transforms through exposure, accumulating patina, altering its surface, and registering the passage of time. Shifting the copper sheet from flatwork into a sartorial exoskeleton, the design replaces traditional corsetry textiles with an unyielding metallic boundary. The dense network of creases spanning the surface emerged organically through wear, as the metal yielded to and recorded the pressure, movement, and physical force of the wearer’s body.
Bringing this highly reactive surface into direct contact with the torso establishes an evolving physical dialogue: the metallic shell dictates posture, while the body’s heat, breath, and movement permanently etch themselves onto the copper. The design is articulated along structural seams with white velvet yarn and is secured at the back through silver eyelets and ribbon lacing to suit various sizes.
This piece is 1/1 and handmade in our studio in Athens.
