When Ann-Sofie Back told us, that she had been hanging out in the virtual world of Second Life, we thought she might have come away with quite literal bimbo/page 3 aesthetics of the women her 'character' encounters to inject into her collection. Instead though, the muscle motif seen on the burly avatars in the game were transferred into tufted tulle dresses, shirts and trousers that played with sheer as well as faded denim and the distressed denim seen in the game was interpreted as stitches on denim and worn out boucle and graphic cut-outs referenced the stripper life that Ann-Sofie Back had taken on in this virtual reality.

Dazed Digital: What made you decide to use these soft materials like the tulle to convey the motifs you saw on Second Life?
Ann-Sofie Back: We, I say, (my character and I) went to some fashion shows on Second Life. They're like the fashion shows for people who haven't seen fashion shows before. I think it's bad programming  but there's this fabric standing away from the body that's kind of see-through and hazy.

DD: And the slashed boucle?
Ann-Sofie Back: There was a lot of worn out denim look on Second Life. We didn't want to do distressed denim so we chose to do distressed boucle and the stitches on the denim so that it's a decoration as opposed to holes which doesn't feel right for now.

DD: With the given inspiration, it could have been very directly influenced and instead, the inspiration was only faintly there?
Ann-Sofie Back:We didn't want it looking spacey or manga because I can't stand that aesthetic and it's really not me. Instead we chose a sort of 'fairy' look.

DD: Has taking on the position at Cheap Monday affected your own collection?
Ann-Sofie Back: My work at Cheap Monday hasn't affected my mainline at all. I do whatever I want to do at the mainline regardless of how much it costs or how difficult it is.

Photography by Alex Sainsbury

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