Dépaysement (2014)

This project explores the theme of "Dépaysement," drawing parallels between the surrealist world of René Magritte and the emotional landscape of snowboard enthusiasts. As a snowboarder, I found a connection between Magritte’s exploration of illusion and the snowboarder’s experience of living in wishful denial of reality. Both grapple with the conflict between reality and illusion, crafting fantasies to reconcile their desires and truths. Magritte’s work reflects his oscillation between "what he wishes" and "what he knows," shaped by the trauma of his mother’s death. Similarly, snowboarders face a seasonal loss as winter ends, confronting the absence of snow and the disruption of their routine, while wishing for the season to persist. 

The collection captures this duality of trauma, reality, and wish through designs inspired by snowboard gear, the act of snowboarding, and Magritte’s motifs. Merging form, details, and colorways, the shoes evoke the tension between reality and fantasy, offering an emotional and surreal interpretation of longing and transformation.