Fashion trio serve up first #BornToMix collaboration for Absolut

Absolut vodka has partnered with a trio of unlikely fashion talent – Drag star Tayce, top celebrity designer Chet Lo, and the Next Gen metaverse Ateliers Institute of Digital Fashion (IoDF) – to create a translucent "second-skin" garment, offering a look into the future of fashion where people can freely express their identity. This is the first of Absolut’s #BornToMix creative collaborations, celebrating the power of mixing it up – in drinks, in ideas and in life, all to create a better tomorrow.

Absolut’s #BornToMix will see unexpected and diverse creatives work together on a series of projects designed to drive conversation and progress in the UK, bringing different minds together for a greater purpose. The first project, Second Skin Couture aims to challenge existing stereotypes and perceptions of fashion and provide a vision of the future – a world where what you wear isn’t tied to the binds of gender, seasonal trends, religious expression, or function.

The hero piece from the collection, a physical garment modelled by non-binary model and breakthrough star of Drag Race UK, Tayce, features Chet Lo’s iconic light, translucent and futuristic fabric. In what is his first ever collaboration, Lo’s ‘second skin dress’ aims to blur the line between skin and material, symbolising how the wearer can express their true and purest self on the outside in future fashion. The item, hand knitted by Lo, will also be showcased by Tayce at an exclusive catwalk event at BOXPARK Shoreditch on 11 May, and tickets are available from www.absolut.com/uk/BornToMix.

Tayce and Chet Lo have worked alongside next gen collective IoDF, to also give UK consumers the chance to experience what Second Skin Couture looks like on themselves through a one-off couture piece that will be added to IoDF’s metacloset. The digital filter will be available to access via social media platforms from early May to coincide with the London launch event.

“I want everyone to be able to show their true selves in whatever way they want, and that’s why I’ve mixed things up this year with Absolut Vodka (delish!) to help design the new Second Skin Couture, hand knitted by Chet Lo himself," Tayce. "And what’s even better is that not only I can rock it, but you can too through this new IoDF virtual filter, it’s the future of fashion don’t you know! I can’t wait to slay it down the runway IRL with you at BoxPark next month, see you there!”

Marnie Corrigan, Brand Director at Pernod Ricard UK, said: “Absolut was born as a spirit crafted to be mixed and has always believed that whether its cocktails, ideas, or people, life is most interesting when we mix things up. Which is why this year, we’re so excited to kick off our #BornToMix collaborations with Tayce, Chet Lo and the Institute of Digital Fashion to give our consumers a glance at what the future of fashion can mean to them, and how Second Skin Couture can inspire people to show their true identities. We can’t wait to see fans try it on themselves through IoDf’s virtual fashion lens on social media.”

Vodka remains the no.1 Spirit in the Off-Trade and Absolut holds a 7 per cent share of the Total Vodka category, whilst in the On-Trade, Absolut is growing +94.4 per cent. Find out more about the Absolut Born to Mix programme here.