Christoph Rebane

Black Sheep

https://www.instagram.com/karlchristophrebane/

Location

tallinn / estonia

University

EBS / Estonian Art Academy / UAL (LCF)

Graduation year

2020

Contact

The estonian based designer Karl-Christoph Rebane has made his brand’s main focus around sustainability and asking the question of how to push the boundaries of sustainability - from creating the materials himself or finding alternative ethical means to creating the garments. Furthermore pushing the concept of what can be done in general with mixed media - such as creating from the roots of self written poetry, being inspired by or creating within making experimental films and so on.

In the first collection ‘’AM I A JOKE TO YOU’’ the designer created water resistant sequin fabrics using upcycled confetti and repurposed plastic tableware as well as used hundreds of bulletshells gathered from a nearby forest which were dyed and drilled into dangly almost musical beads.

Through this natural urge of trying to find more rough materials that have been thrown in the landfills, but could be bent into fashion, the second collection ‘’The Significant Other’’ was born. With this deeply personal collection a new wave of cruelty free faux leathers was born from either barber school trashed hair dummies or be it something naturally beautiful like shedded snake skin. The urge to use local materials is something really near and dear to the designer which depicts through the usage of local wool, scraps of fabric from local designers as well as just using beach sanded glass shards that have been individually hand-drilled into beads.

Latest Collection

Empty cans

The collection in full is a reflection of an essay I wrote on studies abroad in Oslo, Norway - gas lit by being
uninspired by the neatness, cleanliness of the surroundings. Through half poetic nuances and descriptive
juxtapositions I found a way to put the words into garments and artifacts that make the collection.
Kneeling onto the concept of a Can in different homonyms and cross sections led me to understand that I
am and have always been surrounded by Empty Cans: empty cans of Mother’s mystery meat, Whorehole’s
soup, Red Bull, empty vehicles, empty promises. The last, empty promises, hitting home the hardest -
from telling myself I Can quit smoking, to coming out to my relatives or even doing the dishes when I feel
like absolute garbage. Telling myself that I can love myself, my body, how I change with time. Empty
Cans.
What turned Oslo inspiring for me, was when I walked home from my birthday and saw a singular empty
can left on the sidewalk. I wonder if it is still there.
I am dissecting if it is possible to be okay with empty cans and to find beauty in the extra special cans that
might have dents or layers of time embroidery covering them. This collection is for me and me only -
things that make me feel special, things that fit the vessel I am currently in charge of, in order to maybe fill
some empty cans. There’s a saying in Estonian ‘’Kes senti ei korja, see münti ei saa!’’ (rough translation:
Who doesn’t pick up change won’t get big coins) which is a good reference point to the collection as most
of the looks are created from thousands of tiny bits in order to create something beautiful - from natural
mineral shards, hand-bent metal rings to over a thousand tiny squares of repurposed rabbit fur.

Previous collections

tHE SIGNIFICANT OTHER

am i a joke to you

Latest Collection

Empty cans

Previous collections

tHE SIGNIFICANT OTHER

am i a joke to you