Matières Fécales Find Beauty in Being "The Other" For Their PFW Debut

For 10 years, Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran have been breaking binaries and provoking society's tired expectations of beauty through their platform Fecal Matter. The Montréal-based duo first met in pattern making school and found solace in their shared values and feelings of dissonance with the status quo. Shattering preconceived notions of femininity became their thematic drive -- in each other they found space to harness connection and celebrate the duality that exists within. Underscoring this duality and desire for creation without reservation, Dalton and Bhaskaran set their eyes on Paris Fashion Week to debut their brand, Matières Fécales. 

Their inaugural collection, called "The Other," is an ode to living louder and acts as a mirror to "see [yourself] outside of what society expects." Gritty and deconstructed garments exist alongside handmade, haute couture gowns that required hundreds of hours of stitching. Cross seams, a motif that acts as a marker of independence from their religious upbringings, beautifully showcase their technical precision while angel winged garments pay tribute to friends and family "who protected [them] during [their] battle to get here." The Fall/Winter 2025 collection also unveils a collaboration with Christian Louboutin in the form of a tall curved pump as well as the revival of their signature skin heels, first made in 2020. 

Continue reading for our intimate conversation with Dalton and Bhaskaran on crafting their debut collection, the duality of femininity and what they've learned from each other along the way. 

After a decade of building Matières Fécales (Fecal Matter), why is now the time to launch something bigger? 

Bhaskaran: For us, after going through 10 years of building our platform and voice, we're at a stage where we can articulate it in a way where we're ready for the next obstacles. We're ready to show that there is an extension of us where we can present really beautiful luxury products and have that as part of our world.

Dalton: We have so much hardship happening in our community, for trans rights, for queer rights, for visibility in general – especially with what's happening in the States. With the political situations going on in the world, it's so important that it's now. 

Is there a mission statement that articulates your feelings about the collection?

Bhaskaran: Freedom of expression – that's always been it for us. 10 years ago, we didn't look like this. We were really scared to be ourselves and express our authentic truth. We want to inspire people to live bolder and live louder. 

Do you ever have conflicting visions for a creative project, and, if so, how do you compromise?

Dalton: Everything you see, whether it's an Instagram post or a piece of clothing, it's always an argument between us. But, we always align on the values. For me, there’s a softness and for Steven there’s a harshness, but when we bring those together it creates Matières Fécales.   

Bhaskaran: To be honest, when I first met Hannah, I was like, "I'm not going to hang out with that person." She was very Burberry, very conservative and very preppy. We have totally different backgrounds. I lived in low-income housing in Montréal, it was scary and sketchy and Hannah lived in a nice area and went to private school.

There was a difference between our experiences, but at the same time, we really connected on our desire to express something from within that we were so scared to express. Hannah was scared to explore a different side of femininity. For me, I was interested in exploring femininity but I couldn't because I was trapped within my cultural limits. We helped each other personally to understand that no matter where you're from, it's about where you want to go and we both wanted to go to the same places. 

What have you learned about femininity that you would tell your younger selves?

Dalton: Femininity can be anything. I used to have long Barbie hair, and I held on to that as my identity. Femininity isn't what you look like, it's what you feel on the inside. If you feel feminine, you're feminine. If you feel masculine, you're masculine. If you feel like whatever, you feel like whatever. I grew up in an all-girls school for 12 years. What society thinks a girl is was so implemented in my brain. It was very hard to get out of that construct. 

Hypebae: So, you're an all-girls school survivor?

Dalton: Literally.

Hypebae: I didn't go to an all-girls school, but I was in a sorority. It was an artificial dystopia like I'd never witnessed before. 

Bhaskaran: That's why you guys are f-cked up. 

You’re early adopters of post-human aesthetics and now, we're seeing a lot of prosthetic play in fashion. How did human extensions first arrive in your work and where do you envision them heading at an industry level? 

Bhaskaran: I grew up Mormon, and it was super intense. I couldn't connect with anyone. I felt like an alien. I felt like The Other. That's where our desire to express something beyond humanity came from. Our connection to aliens derives from a craving to find belonging in something else. I've never wanted to look like a monster. If anything, it was about being normal, within what we believe is normal. When you see [us] on the street, it's a window into our minds and how we see beauty. It's not just for the runway, it's for everyday life. 

Dalton: In this show, it's about humanizing us. This is who we are, in the most beautiful, poetic way. More people should be able to look in the mirror and see themselves outside of what society expects. That's what we want our brand to do—give people courage to see something within themselves that they might be scared to admit or release.

How do you deal with negative commentary online? 

Dalton: Digitally, that sh-t doesn't hurt me. What hurts more is when family or friends make comments or have hurtful actions. When you walk on the street everyday looking like this and you have all the stares and the points and the screaming, that to me is so much more dangerous than online trolls. But, there's always a piece of my heart that no one has access to. 

What is your relationship with navigating the digital space, both as a tool and as a place for duality? 

Bhaskaran:  Digitally, that's where our experimentation starts. We used Photoshop to make our skin shoes, at first. Photoshop gave us the freedom to create whatever we wanted. As humans, we're made of flesh and blood. If I jumped out of a window, I'd die. But on Photoshop, through technology and imagination, we could do whatever we wanted. For us, it's about creating whatever we want without human consequences. 

All of us as humans have duality. You can be interested in your family and partying at the same time. You can be into Matières Fécales and you can also be super into Chanel. 

Dalton: Me. 

Bhaskaran: We don't want to tell people who they should be, but show them who they can be. It's more about revealing layers of yourself and giving a space where that's okay. We'll never be a huge powerhouse brand but what we can offer is an opportunity to present alternative options. Most campaigns are there to tell people what to look like and how to live. For us, it's about showing a mirror. That's our ad campaign. It's not an image, it's a reflection.

In terms of design methodology, what was the most surprising thing that you learned in the process of making the collection?

Dalton: We'd never manufactured before so, being able to see these garments [through to completion and at scale] was new for us. I'm very proud that we were able to work with the Dover Street Market team and make it happen. Usually, it's just us in the kitchen.

Bhaskaran: It was an experience to learn about the limits of factories and production because we had some really crazy shapes that take time to develop. This collection is like a compass pointing to where we're heading.

What can you tell us about the angel references in the garments? 

Bhaskaran: We've always been really obsessed with angels. When you're walking down the street and feel like your life is in danger every day just for being who you are, you have to find hope somewhere else. We've lost a lot of friends over our 10-year journey—whether to drugs, suicide or other struggles. Our community is small, and many don't have the right resources for mental health support or supportive partners. So, we've lost people we love and, in some ways, we see them as guardian angels. 

What's the most important thing you've learned from each other—in life, in fashion or in self-expression?

Dalton: Steven is a perfectionist and never lets up on anything. He teaches me to really pay attention to every detail, which is so important in our work. No crumbs are left. Everything is perfectly packaged.

Bhaskaran: Hannah taught me how to be kind, warm and friendly.

Dalton: You're a monster otherwise.

Bhaskaran: I'm not a monster [laughs]. When you've been bullied or abused in life, your instinct is to let that out on others. Hannah taught me to transform that—turn the negative into something positive. Fashion can be so egotistical and selfish. People choose who they associate with based on image. But Hannah doesn't care about that, and that's special. She proves you don't have to be a b-tch in fashion. No matter your position—intern or designer—you can still be kind. And to me, that's Hannah.

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