It’s absolute Heaven to see Chris Habana’s design on international model Bella Hadid.
Filipino designer Chris Habana is no stranger to working with big names in the industry. Since the launch of his eponymous label in 2008, Habana’s creations have been worn by the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna, Kylie Jenner, and Nicki Minaj. And last year, his accessories made it on the runways of New York Fashion Week: 3D-printed bustiers for LaQuan Smith, intricate headpieces for Theophilio, and black eye caps for Christian Cowan.
Rooted in his love for challenging standards, Habana’s designs are known for their punk, goth, and futuristic touches. It’s no wonder then that Heaven by Marc Jacobs reached out to him for their Y2K-inspired Fall 2023 collection campaign.
The Fall 2023 Heaven collection features futuristic and robot-like styles, dressed up in Y2K silhouettes. For the campaign, Habana was approached by stylist Danielle Emerson to create a Hajime Soroyama-inspired robot helmet for international model Bella Hadid.
The process was a quick one, completed within five days. After a fast sketching process, Habana and his team patterned the helmet on paper and segmented it into sections, ensuring that it matched Hadid’s head shape.
Despite the futuristic and modern style of the campaign, they decided to go for a traditional way of making the helmet to maintain its visual strength. Made out of brass, the panels were laser cut, torched, pounded, and heat bent into the helmet shape. Then, they polished and plated the helmet in rhodium.
To add an element of surrealism to the design, Habana’s team added a floating face piece that would extend off the helmet. For the face piece, they molded clear acrylic on a model and cut it into a perfect circle. Lastly, they cast a brass nose, plating and polishing it in silver. To further create a floating effect, they attached the brass nose with bridges.
Habana hit the mark, accomplishing the futuristic Soroyama feel of the look. In the official campaign photo, Hadid stands tall wearing the helmet, complete with matching armor pieces. When asked how he felt when he saw the complete ensemble, Habana said that he was “blown away.” “I felt like our pieces really lent themselves well to Manuel Albarran’s body plates and the other robot parts that Danielle sourced! And to see it on Bella Hadid who modeled it so well was great,” he said.
He also shared his enthusiasm for the Heaven brand. “I am particularly impressed by the way the brand understands youth culture today, and how it translates those themes in a cool way. It would be a dream to have an official collaboration with them!”
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