My work for ARTHROPODA by RAEANA sits at the intersection of fashion, film and fine art and is a reflection on the depths of emotion. It explores what it means to move through pain, beauty, grief and resilience. I am interested in the moments that undo us and the ways we begin again. Strength, vulnerability and armor are recurring themes. I create to process, to rebuild and to imagine new forms of becoming.
ARTHROPODA is an expanding world and conceptual ecosystem. It is inspired by my deep admiration for arthropods, their resilience, their structure and their ability to adapt and evolve across time. I could study them for the rest of my life and still be learning. Their anatomy, their exoskeletons, their color and their design offer a lens through which I explore transformation. Through their gaze I tell stories about metamorphosis, collapse and emergence, the death of one self and the birth of another.
Color plays an essential role in how I build meaning. I often work with green, red and yellow, which represent strength, danger and illumination. Chartreuse green appears throughout my pieces as a signature color, symbolizing vitality, rupture and the electric charge of change. These choices are intuitive and intentional. They function as both signal and story.
My use of a scallop motif across garments in the ARTHROPODA series is another signal to story, and a brand signature. The shape is drawn from the anatomy of caterpillars I have studied closely. I was struck by the sculptural elegance of their segmented bodies and the unexpected beauty in their texture and rhythm. The scallop detail nods to this early stage of transformation, referencing growth, fragility and the preparation for change.
Each piece, whether a garment, a film or a performance, is part of a universe I am building. A universe that holds the tension between protection and exposure, stillness and motion, decay and bloom.
I am drawn to what is in flux, to the space between collapse and bloom. ARTHROPODA is not a fixed concept. It is a portal. A process. A world I am building with others who see art as transformation.
metamorphosis
metamorphosis
Metamorphosis, the first film in the ARTHROPODA series, is a meditation on emergence and identity told through fabric, body and sound. I originated the concept and partnered with director Cole Borgstadt to develop the narrative and visual language. We produced it with a crew of 15 that included set designers, lighting gaffers, producers, photographers, makeup artists and talent. I worked closely with set design to dress each world and bring every material choice to life so gesture, texture and form carried the story of change and renewal.
The film was shortlisted in 2025 by the Berlin Fashion Film Festival.
The paris showrooms
In January 2023 I launched Arthropoda — Collection 1 during Paris Fashion Week, with a gallery showroom in the heart of Le Marais. The collection hung on sleek black racks while archival insect studies that inspired Collection 1 were suspended overhead to cue scale, structure and movement. I built a simple flow from street to rack to image so press and buyers could read the story in minutes. The opening night had a DJ, light Parisian bites by a local chef and champagne. I handled gallery contracting, insurance, AV, rentals, and vendor timing so install and strike ran on a single call sheet with customs and freight aligned to delivery windows.
In June 2025 I returned with an intimate showroom that let the clothes sit against traditional Parisian architecture. Again the collection lived on black racks, but this time the brand’s chartreuse green became the heartbeat. We produced a newspaper about the film and the collection, stacked it as a bold backdrop inside, and distributed bundles across the city to seed discovery and drive appointments. I led creative, managed overseas production partners, coordinated with rental houses and caterers, and timed couriers, handlers and press calls to a tight daily run of show.
Across both showrooms I treated the space like a living editorial. Materials stayed restrained so silhouette and craft could lead. Operations stayed sharp with clear budgets, vendor briefs, and checklists for power, lighting and security. The result was two Paris moments that felt elevated, efficient and unmistakably Arthropoda..
