WE WANT MASCULINA
Masculina isn’t just about beautiful clothes - it’s a raw, riotous manifesto for anyone ready to fuck up the status quo. Just a few days before unveiling her FW25 runway show in Copenhagen - Submission Beauty onboard with glam - Masculina designer Alectra Rothschild sits down with us to talk vision, anger, process and beauty.
PHOTOGRAPHY LANA OHRIMENKO @lana_ohrimenko @dearjones.tv
INTERVIEW JESPER GUDBERGSEN @yessirjesper
MAKEUP NATALIA SYRIK HAASE @natscience using @submission.beauty
MODEL TRIXIE @trickpsy
Hi Alectra ! Tell me about who you are and how you like to introduce yourself?
I introduce myself as a maker first and foremost, because I think my practice is a lot more than just making collections. I also dabble in the arts, installations, costume design and stage wear along with my clothing collections.
How do you think your childhood has informed what you do and your life today?
My god. I mean, it depends on how we talk about it, because subliminally it probably affects a lot, right? … I would say I had a very supportive background yet even with a nurturing family, growing up as a trans person you are told by everyone around you that you are wrong. All my childhood desires were very much suppressed and they're all coming out now. So it’s very high femme performance in terms of how I carry myself but also quite literally the clothes I make. I guess in that way, I was very informed by my upbringing.
Right, a need to express yourself to an extreme, show up and show out - now that you finally are, or can? They often talk about the coming out experience and transitioning as sort of a second puberty…
Oh it absolutely is. Once I started Hormone Replacement Therapy, this second puberty really came into fruition, for sure. I think it's also about the exploration of finally allowing yourself to be in your body. You just want to go out and live again, and be like, "Okay, I'm actually going to meet the world now."
In some ways, you feel like maybe not a new person, but more fully you…
Yeah, but you’re not wrong - also a new person to be honest. I felt like that. I was very much feeling something, maybe not exactly a new person, but I felt an allowance to exist where everything feels new again because you can do this now and meet everybody around you in the way that you've always wanted to.
When and where did you start Masculina?
As an official time stamp it would be like January ‘23. but I would say that I've been working on it for quite a long time before that moment. It has been a more organic process from the time I was a student. I changed my Instagram handle to Masculina back in 2016 so technically, my entire practice has gone under that name. But officially registering a company and whatnot - that happened in January ‘23.
What does the name Masculina mean to you?
I grew up in Italy as a child, speaking Italian, and I chose the name as a play on the words masculino and feminina, adding the feminine “A” at the end to masculine. That A in my logo is an anarchist A, a sort of way to say fuck you and your expectations of gender
What are your thoughts on those ‘boxes’ let’s say - masculine versus feminine?
I think these rigid boxes are honestly quite boring, but this is also why I use that name for my brand. I think the most feminine people can be super masculine and I don’t believe one excludes the other. I’m not really interested in the strictness of those terms because I spent so much of my life trying to fit and conform to these stereotypes - as a kind of self-protection. I’ve had a hard time with masculinity and men, but lately I’ve started to let them back in, haha.
You grew up in a culture where masculinity often means something quite old fashioned and in a way, it represents a lot of what you’re breaking away from: a stereotype you tried to apply to yourself. Let’s talk a bit about what femininity means to you instead, then?
An attribute of masculinity would to many people be strength, and sure, men are also strong. For me, femininity is the strongest of all, and the performance of femininity is something I investigate constantly with my work. I just think femininity is an essence more than anything concrete. Sure, there are traditional feminine garments, a dress, a this and a that, but for me, it's more about a poise and a way of carrying yourself. That's what I want my collections to support, more than it's about a specific view of what is feminine and what’s not. An essence of how you live your life.
"I would say Masculina is definitely for all the girlies out there. A lot of what I do, I base on the transsexual body, right? To begin with, the blocks I create from are made from a trans body, so it's definitely for trans people. But it’s also not only for trans people, which I really want to emphasize - it’s really not! My clothes are for anyone who relates to the performance of what I do. If you relate to the garments, that's super great. I love that. I think the people who buy into what I do relate or want that essence of femininity."
Who do you think Masculina is for?
I would say Masculina is definitely for all the girlies out there. A lot of what I do, I base on the transsexual body, right? To begin with, the blocks I create from are made from a trans body, so it's definitely for trans people. But it’s also not only for trans people, which I really want to emphasize - it’s really not! My clothes are for anyone who relates to the performance of what I do. If you relate to the garments, that's super great. I love that. I think the people who buy into what I do relate or want that essence of femininity.
It's interesting the way we talk about gender as it relates to clothes. A few years back there was an obsession with saying that gender doesn't matter or gender doesn't exist, but it can be so powerful and important to express a gender or sexuality…
I know. It's not gender free, it’s full of gender. But also, gender doesn’t look the way we are used to any more - how people talk about gender is absolutely flat. There’s so much more to identity than that. There's a lived life. There's a way in which you step, you know? The way you strut is full of gender, the way you dress yourself and express yourself is full of it. Your body itself is full of it, the way you meet the world is full of it. There's so much of it that you can't just ignore that part. You can make a gender-free hoodie, but what does that really mean?
I’m so impressed with all you do and I wanted to ask you specifically about your choice to stay in Copenhagen? I guess I see you as somewhat of an outsider in that space - I think it’s a strength, but tell me more about that choice?
Although I grew up in Italy as a child, I am Danish and my family is here. I lived all over Europe for 10 years and was away from Copenhagen for a long time. I decided to go back because of Covid, which was also when I started transitioning. I needed a sense of safety, having family and friends nearby. I was doing my thing and I developed a very very strong network of friends and collaborators in a very short amount of time when I was back here. Since all my collaborators and my friends are a crucial part of Masculina, it's nice to be here.
I understand what you’re saying about being outside of whatever people understand as Danish fashion, but I think there's a strong point to that. I am not alone in standing outside of what is normally represented here.
I think the fact that I'm doing runway at fashion week here is showing that there is an underbelly to what Copenhagen fashion represents. The landscape around me is more to it than just a clean and nice Danish aesthetic. There is a growing understanding that we need to bring that element to Copenhagen Fashion Week, we need more than well-cut dresses and nice white shirts.
Tell me a little bit more about the Masculina shows. They're such a joy to watch, even from far away - it's such a happening. What makes your shows special?
All the collections are based on experiences. The first collection I showed was a funeral in a video in a black box, it was about mourning. To me it was actually very happy, because in some way, the first step in transitioning is acknowledging who you are and letting go of your old life. The next collection was the Rebirth Carry which was like - we're here again bitch, and we're going to have a fucking party because we’re alive! It was a rebirth on a beach in Ibiza, inspired by the start of life - water. The whole room was pink like my pussy.
The next one was about the aftermath of the party - riding home from the beach on motorcycles, going back and having a kiki in the early morning, afterparties… Very personal, very introspective.
The upcoming show is going to be very different because the other ones were very introspective in that way. This next one is very angry. It's called Give the Girl a Gun. It's addressing all the violence transpeople go through.
It’s a very angry and sad collection, but my hope is that it is also empowering - taking autonomy back. The girls are going out on the runway fighting. I took a lot of inspiration from video game assassins, how to be strong enough to protect yourself. A lot of the collection incorporates quite harsh elements, garments that have been ripped off the body, are broken - gunmetal colors
"Gender doesn’t look the way we are used to any more - how people talk about gender is absolutely flat. There’s so much more to identity than that. There's a lived life. There's a way in which you step, you know? The way you strut is full of gender, the way you dress yourself and express yourself is full of it. Your body itself is full of it, the way you meet the world is full of it. There's so much of it that you can't just ignore that part. You can make a gender-free hoodie, but what does that really mean?"
Reclaiming power and finding strength in something very sad, moving away from the party?
I mean it's all political, right? I think this show is all about - give me the gun and I'm pointing it right at you. That’s the invite image too, my dear friend Proxy pointing the gun at the invitee, because everyone around here is complicit in why the world looks like it does right now…
Speaking of Proxy - who is also featured in the images accompanying this story - you work with a group of chosen family - muses, one could call it. Tell me more about that
My friends embody what I do in a visceral way; it's about the strut in your walk, it's about our world and it's a lived experience. The way we carry ourselves in the world is so specific and when my friends are modeling for me, they get it. I could never imagine anybody else being in the shows. It's about the joy they have when I can see them feel really cunt in something I've made. I couldn’t imagine having anything else that that
I wanted to talk to you about the word inclusivity and how you feel about that.
Oof, that word. To me, it’s similar to sustainability or diversity - they’re words that are just so diluted by now. They used to have a significance, and mean something at one point but it kind of got lost somewhere.
I want to speak to a different kind of casting for my shows. Everyone follows a formula, “we need to have a plus-size model, some people of color” - they’re just ticking boxes. Diversity means so many different things, bodies are so vastly different. Ableism is a large part of that conversation too.
I think I have a hard time defining exactly what inclusivity is, but I believe as many people as possible should feel represented and feel seen through the work itself,
Since we’re on the topic - instead of using the word sustainable, let’s talk a little about working in a climate conscious way. It seems for young brands, this is a crucial part of the conversation. How do you feel about that and what do you do in your work to address the need to produce in a more sustainable way?
I think my ethos since the beginning of my work has been to work with you’ve got. Most pieces are upcycled and if not reworked in some way, pretty much everything else is made from deadstock fabrics. That’s just my approach to my craft - not necessarily a selling point - a very minimal amount is made from new materials.
And then of course, one could also argue that the casting - it's like social sustainability. My main pillars are my cast and the way my materials are used and found. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money and always had to work with what I had in front of me. Not only do I think it’s the right thing to do, but I also simply enjoy the process of upcycling and collaging a garment together from a million different pieces.
I would also say that it’s how clubkids have always approached dressing for the night - could you elaborate a bit more about what nightlife has meant to you and how it influences your work?
I mean, to put it very shortly; I think I found so much of myself at the club and from the community in queer clubs specifically. It's a space where we're allowed to exercise the person that we want to be and it’s where I found so many of my absolute best friends. The club is such a prominent part of what I do - it's because it's been an important place in my life
There’s a rawness, honesty and emotional vulnerability on the dancefloor - it can be hard to describe…
It's like a place where you can find yourself and also a place where you can escape everything. I’m moving away from it being so much of a primary focus, but I think my work has been a place of escapism, imagining this world I’d like to be in. Fantasy and escapism have been very pure pillars in my love of making clothes.
Tell me something that you love about what you do?
Before design school, I studied tailoring for three years. I love sewing, I love making clothes and I love the community I have around the globe now.
What's something that you want to talk about more that no one ever asks you about?
The clothes themselves. After doing quite a few shows and having all this press around what I do, I think the majority of people just focus on the trans of it all. I appreciate that it’s a huge part of what I do, but people mostly end up writing more about that and less about the clothes. I feel that a real sartorial analysis is missing from the conversation about me
You came on the scene with an explosion and it’s so interseting to speak about the world you’ve built and the community around you - I get it - but let’s talk more about the clothes then !
I think this collection is so much about taking apart and taking away. I looked at ways of slashing a garment, the way a garment falls off the body… And I’ve looked at a lot of assassins, their masks and their need to be able to move around. There’s an element of athleticism to this season, which is fun territory for me to explore. I do a lot of corsetry, so there’s an interesting dichotomy between being able to move and not being able to in this collection.
I’d love to hear what you are most looking forward to about the show, in addition to the clothes of course..?
I'm really really really excited about the music for the show. I'm working with dj g2g who's done all the other soundtracks for me in the past and the process of doing that together is always really nice. I'm excited about the performances too - but I'm not going to name anything or anyone just yet…
I think what’s thrilling me about working with Submission Beauty is that I think we speak a similar language of understanding beauty in a different way. This season is about fighting and that’s also evident in our approach to the makeup. It’s about questioning ourselves - what is beauty? Makeup can mean so many different things and I’m excited to explore that more with Submission.
Thank you Alectra - we’re beyond excited for the show too