An unfinished garment is any designer’s worst nightmare. Yet for Melbourne-born, now Oslo-based designer, Kevin Azzopardi, this is where the real creative process begins.

Azzopardi receives clothes from his factory in a state of incompletion. Tops come back with disconnected shoulders, and jackets and pants arrive in two parts. The designer then unites the pieces in his workroom, reconfiguring and altering the garments himself, adding a new creative layer onto the design and manufacturing processes. His unorthodox method is provoked by his intention to redeem creative control and complete responsibility for the final collection. It’s also somewhat of an ode to the very art of ‘making’ and creating, in an industry that often seeks to remove any trace of human labor in the final product.

Azzopardi’s Spring Summer 2012 collection, titled, ‘& Pieces Are Added,’ has been described by David Hellqvist, editor of Dazed Digital, as “conceptual menswear for a modern man who is aesthetically demanding whilst yet craving an exclusive mode of fashion construction and style.”

It’s an elegant everyday collection, with a restrained colour- palette; mostly shades of blue and the self-developed ‘Ink Smear’ print that has been rendered digitally onto velvets and jersey. It’s practical, playful, and manages to retain the couture details that only come with handmade craftsmanship.

Azzopardi has used Italian and Portugese fabrics; viscose cotton, jersey and wool, all of which are unified by Azzopardi’s unique construction techniques.

Born and bred in Melbourne, the 29 year old creative, started his career studying theatre design at NIDA, which then led to art directing music videos and working as a costume designer on short films. Azzopardi earned his Bachelor Degree in fashion design from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where he – in 2007 – won the Object’s Award for Creative Innovation for his graduate collection of elegant menswear and elaborate printing techniques.

‘& Pieces Are Added’ is Kevin Azzopardi’s fourth collection, and an exciting new take on what it means to see the trace of the artist’s own hand, and the raw original vision realised.