Introducing designer Sophie Ott. Photography by Benjamin Püschel. The models are Louisa Daum and Vladyslava Soboleva. Hair and MakeUp by Niklas Hiller. Jewellery designer, Zipper puller design and creation by Heinrich Nisse. “My name is Sophie Ott, I am currently studying Fashion Design at Fashion Design Institut Düsseldorf and just finished the 5th semester. Right now, I am preparing for my internship, which I will be doing over the summer. The collection presented in KALTBLUT. is my third collection; before that, I have already worked on upcycling outfits.”
“As a designer, I like to work with abstract ideas and experiment with ways to bring them to life. After finding my initial concept and idea for the collection, I like to draw inspiration from a variety of very different sources in order to create an innovative and unique result. Next to the design process, I am also strongly interested in the craftsmanship that comes with being a fashion designer. Especially during my time in high school, I quickly realised that I would like to learn a manual craft and work both with my mind and hands. It was also during this time that I discovered the power of clothing and dressing for myself. Still to this day, I am fascinated by how big a psychological effect clothing has on people, their moods, how they carry themselves through the days and how it can boost self-confidence and self-love.
Since I was a child, I have always had vivid dreams and a flourishing imagination. This collection explores a very certain and strange type of dreamworld where nostalgia meets disorientation and the ordinary becomes uncanny.”
“My collection “Uncanny Valley and Beyond” can be seen as an imaginary trip to the backrooms, an internet phenomenon and term which originated as an online creepypasta in 2019. The concept describes places or locations that seem somehow familiar and normal, but quickly you can notice that something does not feel quite right, that something feels off. It usually begins with the idea of “falling” out of reality and falling into this liminal space. The backrooms are unsettling, not because of visible monsters or creatures, but because of their emptiness and familiarity. They look like places many people have seen before, like offices, playgrounds or swimming pools, but stripped of life and purpose: Spaces designed for people, but no life is visible. The swimming pool, as a place of eeriness and faint nostalgia, is oftentimes used in stories or simulations about backroom scenarios. As I also resonate with this imagery, I wanted to include this in my collection. The sculptural skirt seen in the collection is inspired by a pool slide, supposed to look like the person wearing it is being sucked into the slide/ dreamworld.”
“The Uncanny Valley is a concept introduced by Masahiro Mori. It describes how humans react to robots or digital characters that look nearly human, but not perfectly so.
As robots, video game characters, or dolls become more realistic, our comfort with them increases until small imperfections in their appearance or movement make them seem strange, eerie, or even disturbing. When something mimics them closely but not accurately, it leads to a sense that something is wrong, creating discomfort instead of familiarity.
The Dreamcore aesthetic overlaps strongly with both ideas. Dreamcore focuses on imagery that feels like a memory from childhood, a half-remembered dream, or a distorted nostalgic space. It feels like stepping into a dream where logic doesn’t quite work, yet everything feels deeply familiar. This sense of distant nostalgia and childishness is something that strongly influenced my design choices for this collection, especially in the colour selection, as I used a lot of popping pastel colours. The buttons I used are very playful and are usually used in kids’ clothing.
Together, these ideas reveal how powerful distortion can be. Horror doesn’t always come from the grotesque or violent; sometimes it can be really subtle. I have used this phenomenon in my collection. Most of the garments are constructed really tightly to the body; some are even impossible to take off by yourself without help, as they lack “exits” like functional zippers or button rows, just as sometimes you are stuck in a dream, and it seems like you can not wake up from it. This is also symbolised by the smiley face peeking out from behind the zipper in one of the outfits. An exit might be in sight, but in the end, it will only lead you deeper into this strange dreamworld. As I love to collaborate with other creatives, I asked a jewellery designer to create some zipper pullers for me to put more emphasis on the fake zippers/ “exits” showing symbolism like spikes or a spiral.
The smiley face occurs multiple times in my collection, as for me it symbolises the effect of the uncanny valley.”
Fashion Design by Sophie Ott Instagram: @oddbyott
Photography by Benjamin Püschel Instagram: @benjamin.pueschel
Models: Louisa Daum / Instagram @louisadaum
Vladyslava Soboleva / Instagram @sobolevavvv
Hair and MakeUp by Niklas Hiller Instagram: @makeupartist.niklas
Jewellery designer, Zipper puller design and creation by Heinrich Nisse / Instagram: @zumgoldenenheinrich
