The brand name behind recent showstopping isn鈥檛 quite as delicate as their romantic and otherworldly looks. When asked what an ethereal Zendaya was wearing for the 鈥淥dyssey鈥� premiere in New York, her responded: 鈥淔ecal Matter.鈥�
with feathered white wings was the work of Mati猫res F茅cales 鈥� yes, in English, Fecal Matter 鈥� the Paris-based, high-end fashion house founded in Montreal over a decade ago that鈥檚, seemingly suddenly, everywhere.
Why Mati猫res F茅cales is called … that
The design duo behind Mati猫res F茅cales, Steven Raj Bhaskaran and Hannah Rose Dalton, have aimed to subvert beauty with their own alien-like personal style, including dramatic white makeup, shaved heads and eyebrows, and skin boots made to look like realistic feet.
Bhaskaran and Dalton started the brand as students at Coll猫ge LaSalle Montr茅al, going from selling designs on the secondhand shopping platform Depop to showcasing collections at Paris Fashion Week. The designers have said the name reflects their view of the fashion industry, a perspective they initially summed up with a more vulgar word.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no other word for it, but how can we say it in a glamorous way? So we鈥檙e like, 鈥榝ecal matter鈥� is the scientific word for it,鈥� Dalton recalled to Vogue last year, adding they translated it into French, which 鈥渟ounds way more glamorous.鈥� Bhaskaran told the 鈥淔ashion Neurosis鈥� podcast in March that the name was also intended to 鈥渃hallenge the wasteful side of fashion.鈥�
A representative for Mati猫res F茅cales said the designers were not available for comment.
Despite the visceral name, tastemakers from Lady Gaga to Kylie Jenner are embracing their designs.
鈥淭here is this beautiful tension in their work between the finesse and the decaying, and the strong and the soft,鈥� told The Associated Press.
And after years of building a cult following, they were taken under the wings of in 2024, after first meeting its president, Adrian Joffe, backstage at a Madonna show. The global retail and concept stores offer emerging brands development support, from production and distribution to sales.
Kristen Bateman, a longtime fashion and culture writer who has attended all three of the designers鈥� Paris Fashion Week shows, said their rise is driven by the industry鈥檚 desire to see something new.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e looking at the high-fashion brands like Chanel and Dior, it all sort of starts to blend together,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd this feels like it鈥檚 in its own category. … You can鈥檛 replicate it.鈥�
From cult status to Paris Fashion Week
Milan Tanedjikov, a Coll猫ge LaSalle Montr茅al design teacher, had a front-row seat to Dalton and Bhaskaran’s rise and says they have finally found the balance between their art and fashion.
鈥淭hey have created this, like, very interesting organism together,鈥� he said.
The designers were invited onto the official calendar for Paris Fashion Week last year, debuting 鈥淭he Other,鈥� a collection they described as an ode to being fearless with identity. It featured a collaboration pairing their striking curved-heel design with .
鈥淎t their very core, what drives them is absolute freedom of expression, and they want to push the boundaries of what is human,鈥� Tanedjikov said.
In March, during Paris Fashion Week, the duo unveiled 鈥淭he One Percent,鈥� with models theatrically strutting with red paint on white opera gloves and wearing eye masks made of dollar bills. The collection showcased how 鈥減ower affects us all,鈥� they wrote on Instagram.
鈥淲hat they were able to build in such a small amount of time is really insane in terms of world building and creating their world,鈥� Augustin Maunier, Dover Street Market’s director of brand development, said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 real storytelling behind it.鈥�
The show’s theme was a stark contrast to the billionaires who had been sitting front row at other fashion week shows. At this year鈥檚 Met Gala, where , actor a voluminous, gray, distressed ball gown from the collection, paired with the eye-covering money mask.
Goreski pulled from 鈥淭he One Percent鈥� for as a Cannes Film Festival jury member, telling the AP he wanted something new for Moore. Moore’s frayed, full-volume, with a distressed bow was a break from her usual structured looks. In 20 years of dressing Moore, Goreski said she hardly ever chooses a full-skirt 鈥渃upcake鈥� shape, but that she fell for the designers鈥� artistic vision and storytelling.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e designing clothes for themselves,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 authentically them, but they鈥檙e bringing it to like a whole other audience.鈥�
Find their clothes on Lady Gaga and a Dunkin鈥� ad
Early supporters of the brand fittingly included boundary-breaking performers Madonna and Lady Gaga. Madonna even invited them to DJ on her tour in 2023 and they’ve designed custom looks for Gaga鈥檚 live performances, including Coachella. At , Gaga wore a high-neck, feathered, black gown from the designers, a dark angel to Zendaya鈥檚 heavenly 鈥淥dyssey鈥� look.
Now, though, their bold designs are going beyond red carpets. In a television ad for Dunkin鈥�, Kylie Jenner wore a blush-pink, satin, structured blazer with over-the-top shoulder pads, a designer choice that generated some amusement online from those previously unfamiliar with the brand’s name.
The designers created a distressed Victorian-style dress for model to musician Matty Healy, a first for the brand. With their next Paris Fashion Week show set for September, fashion connoisseurs are eagerly waiting to see what鈥檚 next.
鈥淲e鈥檙e rooting for them because they鈥檙e younger designers who have something to say,鈥� fashion commentator Hanan Besovic, who posts online as @Ideservecouture, said.
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