Mst by Maurice Stamm

The main inspiration of my MUTU M collection is the Rally Paris-Dakar 1992.
In that year the participants drove from Paris all the way to Cape-town and so through the whole continent.
To get closer to the research and the collection I made up a story which is inspired by Thierry Sabine, the founder of the Rally, whom died in a desert storm in 1986.
In my story the character drives to nearly the end and then gets lost in the Namib where he tries to survive.
In that kind of state right before his death he reflects the tour which includes the tribes of the Wodaabe from Nigeria, the Chokwe from Angola and the Himba from Namibia.
In 2008 I got the opportunity to visit the Himbas myself.
The base of the collection is motor gear. This inspiration I used in constructing tailored cloth with volumes in the parts of the protectors. Therefore I user materials like Denim, truck tarpaulin, lamb and cow skin.
The leather is an homage to the tribes which dedicate their whole life to their cattle and build their wardrobe like the Himbas around the scraps which arise during slaughter.
I personally was really interested in the celebrations of the tribes where they also have their special rituals and wardrobe.
In contrast to the constructed base the other pieces are all draped and therefore quite voluminous.
To reflect on the decorations the tribes use I worked with prints which are screen printed and in addition to this I hand painted tire tracks on top of some pieces.
The knitwear is in some parts done with a Tunisian technic and is out of leather, cotton and wool.