In the autumn of 2020, Ying Suen and Jules Volleberg launched APOC Store, a discipline-spanning marketplace which collates the best in progressive, avant-garde design – from fashion and jewellery to art and homeware – with a focus on emerging talent and niche, offbeat labels. Oftentimes pieces are entirely one-off styles, made-to-order, or crafted from repurposed materials (Suen and Volleberg note they are drawn towards ’progressive and consciously-created pieces’ in their curation). True to this approach, the name APOC is an amalgam of ‘Anthropocene’, ‘epoch’ and ‘apocalypse’.
‘We live in the Anthropocene, a time when human activity dominates the world we live in with enormous consequences,’ they say. ‘As a result, a new generation of creatives has emerged who care about the world and want to make a difference.’
Alternative fashion gifting: APOC Store Christmas e-market 2022
Sylvi Sundkler shrunken woven corset and bag
A new Christmas e-market – which was first launched late last month with regular drops coming throughout December – continues this approach, Suen and Volleberg curating an array of alternative gifts as a riposte to the Black Friday sales and rampant consumerism of the festive season. ’Every year, we always tried to get a special gift for our loved ones, ideally something unexpected and something they wouldn’t get themselves,’ Volleberg tells Wallpaper*.
’From Black Friday onward, consumers are purchasing to insane extents, partly due to brands and retailers offering deals too good to pass on. At APOC, we wanted to do a launch of special products that are made with minimal impact, mostly made by the designers themselves in their own studios, and often made from remade or deadstock materials.’
Lou de Bètoly donkey purse
Fashion highlights include Swedish designer Matilda Sundkler, who works under the alias Sylvi Sundkler creating deconstructed garments – corsets, bags, dresses – from shrunken waste fabrics in a process she developed, or Berlin-based Lou de Bètoly, who incorporates found and second-hand materials into her playful and oftentimes surreal collections (one particular handbag is a soft-toy donkey stitched with glass beads and Swarovski crystals). Olivia Rubens’ ‘planet-friendly knitwear’ also features in the edit, as does South Korea-born Central Saint Martins alum Sungbin Hong’s label Nibgnus which features sensual cut-outs and heart-shaped motifs.
Elsewhere, artist duo Nicholas Gardner and Saša Štucin of Soft Baroque – whose work recently featured in the Danish Pavillion at the 59th Venice Biennale – have created a one-off anodised aluminium vase, while Brussels-based Naomi Gilon offers three unique ceramic handbags (the artist’s signature piece) and a series of candleholders as part of the e-market. Los Angeles jeweller Emma Pryde also features, her offering comprising necklaces, earrings and bracelets inspired by both digital video-game realms and ancient artefacts – the perfect festive adornment.
Emma Pryde earrings
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