The Crux has become a staple item for the Starkweather collection, but where did the idea come from?
The inspiration
My design process for Starkweather has always started by looking at images of explorers, and rural portraits, where people weren't concerned about fashion – they were concerned primarily with function - yet they still would find ways to add character and identity through their clothes. This manifested in distinctive layering, embellishment, color, pattern, and modification.
It fascinated me how across many cultures, the chest and neck area are like canvases for decoration. This happens in cold and hot climates, alike. And subconsciously those shapes, centered around the neck and torso, became a focal point of my creative development for Starkweather.
How would all of these colorful, textural, unique designs apply to an environment like the one pictured above? It is in the imagination and through design that these cultures can collide...
It seemed natural, after a point, that that part of the outfit should not only take on it's own identity, but that there were real functional benefits to developing it that way...
Re-imagined as the Crux...in it's purest form
With so many more ideas for the future, it is always a huge challenge to pare an idea down to its simplest form. This is the T-Crux: Starkweather's most essential interpretation of the crux concept. Essential, because it becomes a blank canvas for so many future ideas, and because it represents the core concept of adaptability. On one hand, it offers adaptability for the wearer to make it their own, and on the other hand, it offers adaptability in its own design.
If you would like to learn more about the Starkweather layering system, click here.