The Exposed Heart of World of My Own
Sydney Wekstein’s Coeur Exposé channels the emotional architecture of love into muted palettes and sculptural forms, cementing World of My Own as a brand of intimate expression.
A select eight looks from the Coeur Exposé collection via World of My Own. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Sydney Wekstein is a New York and Paris based artist whose work is a synthesis of many creative disciplines; namely, fashion design and styling. Sydney is the exposed heart at the center of her brand, World of My Own. Having launched in the heart of the pandemic, Wekstein sought an ingenious outlet of self-expression and a way to resonate with an audience outside of her own echochamber. She, like many of us in times of uncertainty, prized the need to strike meaningful conversations. Starting off as the sole designer and representation of the brand, World of My Own has grown considerably in talent and contributors in recent years, contributing to its relatability and diverse audience.
The World of My Own Team has already achieved many feats. They have hosted multiple fashion shows, photoshoots, and have even collaborated with rather renowned brands such as Omighty and Emcee Studios. The brand follows an aesthetic ethos that aligns at the intersection of Wekstein’s individual spirit, a state of eccentricity, and a connection to the human condition. The budding brand finds itself at home in New York City, surrounded by other fashion creatives seeking to shift the narrative of style and design towards storytelling.
In April, the team released a new collection entitled Coeur Exposé (‘exposed heart’, for English speakers). The looks in this collection are derived from the raw vulnerability that emanates from engaging with love, in a broad sense. The inspiration is not exclusively centered on romantic love, but invites the intimacy of platonic love, love for the world, and self-love into the conversation. Composed of twenty-one looks, each of these carefully styled garments are unique from both their predecessors and subsequent looks, yet cohere to the same visual appeal of representing love and vulnerability.
Look 7 from Coeur Exposé: “A Realization”, via World of My Own. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
The designs follow a rather muted color scheme, with an emphasis on the use of dull greys and pinks. Despite the pieces’ lack of technical ‘brightness’, each garment is engrossing in its silhouette and manner of capturing the body. While many of the looks are tailored to accentuating one’s figure, outlining each line and curve, there are also plenty that take on a formless structure.
The different looks, from one up to twenty-one, provide a visual critique on the steps it takes to fall in love, broadly speaking. Looks number nine and ten are especially evocative of this process, displaying fear (look nine) and truth (look ten).
Look 7 from Coeur Exposé: “Fear”, via World of My Own. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Fear serves as a take on modesty, and a sense of hiding oneself. It is composed of a grey, two-piece set: a pin-striped, short-sleeved top that buttons up until it reaches the chin, and a matching skirt that reaches the ground. The set mimics the conservative nature of making decisions in love, and how sometimes, fear overtakes individuals in ways that push us to seek comfort and safety over risk-taking.
Truth provides a look and meaning that is almost a complete counterpart to Fear. This, too, is a set, just not one that matches. The top half is a white and silver tank top, with a triangular gap carved out the chest, revealing the heart. The bottom half is a blush pink, widely structured skirt. The skirt has features of cardiac ventricles, disclosing a take on wearing one’s heart publicly.
World of My Own has laid its grounds as an uplifting brand, one that encourages its consumers to look inwards to their self portal of possibilities and self-expression.
