IMAGES Courtesy of Snake Divine
Fashion, you may have heard, is in a pretty bad place right now. However – despite the colossal piles of textile waste filling landfills, fast fashion brands knocking off independent designers’ work, unethical treatment of factory workers, and a never-ending revolving door of creative directors entering and exiting at luxury fashion houses – small, independent labels like Snake Divine are successfully injecting joy, care, and artistry back into the industry.
“I am happy I found my niche where art in fashion is more appreciated than making a profit,” Snake Divine’s designer and founder Rebecca Sarita Adam – whose hand-made, one-of-a-kind swirling heels, corsets, and handbags appear more like dystopian, wearable art sculptures than clothing you’d find on a rack – tells BRICKS. “I feel so seen!”
For Adam, an emphasis on slow, ethical, and creative fashion have stayed at the centre of her approach to navigating the industry since she launched her label in 2019. In fact, a week in her life might include stopping at her local park’s algae-filled canal with a camera before printing distorted replicas on her garments, looking back at her decade-long archive from her time as a tattoo artist for inspiration, trying out new art forms that she’s never played with before, or paying a visit to her family-owned supplier and seamstress.
“I would rather be friends with my seamstress and know [that] we both feel joy working on my designs and get to know other future suppliers that are family owned that are way more expensive, than make a lot of money,” she explains, sharing her appreciation for small, sustainable communities within fashion.
In fact, this year, Snake Divine joined APOC Store’s roster of ethical, independent designers – all working to showcase and celebrate a new era of change-making fashion among today’s industry. Here, a selection of the label’s textured and pattern-stamped tops, curling silver pendant necklaces, and flowing fairy mini skirts are available to shop now.
Below, we speak to Adam about finding her niche pattern making, the changes she’d like to see within the fashion industry, and watching H2O: Just Add Water in her studio.
Rebecca Sarita Adam, born and grew up in south Germany and finished my masters degree in fine arts in 2023 here in Kassel.
Hi Rebecca! How would you describe your label in your own words?
Dystopian, futuristic, [and] – at the same time – ancient equipment for foraging on a foreign planet.
What’s one piece you’ve made that you feel summarises your label, and why?
I would say the “embossed feelings” latex top. It is the perfect mix of interesting materials, intricate technique, and my need for embossed or imprinted designs.
How has your own tattoo artistry inspired your designs and love for pattern making?
I always loved embellishing people, and now with clothing, I see so many more possibilities because you can switch up your layers, symbols, and textures everyday. I love to incorporate my tattoo designs in a way that goes beyond just printing them on; I love to layer, texturise, and distort them. It is so much fun to take my clean tattoo designs for starters, and experiment with them [while mixing] organic elements.
How would you describe your design process, and how do you usually go about coming up with a new pattern?
I love to play and experiment with stuff I see out in nature the most. The organic elements [I work with] are mostly from photos I take of things like rust, water, trees, or – as in my exam collection – I photographed the muddy algae-filled canals in my local park everyday and assembled textures out of them to print on my pieces. I love the mixture of organic elements and symbolic drawings that I like to imagine as ancient, thought-up protection symbols from other planets. I love to see the item I am making as the equipment I need for wandering in vast landscapes of said planets and feeling protected and well-equipped.
Sometimes I also just start with a drawing and go from there or start with a photo of algae, and it piles up to an endless process of ideas that come from that. I could make a whole collection based on one photo or drawing or feeling, a song or object.
Are there any specific techniques you’ve discovered that you love working with?
The latex layering, embossing technique which I make my tops and bags with is one I really love. It is the most complex though, and [it] takes so long. I just try out everything I have in my mind and fuse it together – I also love anything that texturises and makes designs less 2D, like layering with wools, stuffing, and ripping. There is much more to learn.
Besides sewing I also work with CGI, silversmithing, drawing, painting, clay making, music, and printing techniques that all fuse together to play into my designs – which I do it on my own. I only have one seamstress that helps me sew.
I love to incorporate my tattoo designs in a way that goes beyond just printing them on – I love to layer, texturise, and distort them.
What barriers or challenges, if any, have you experienced in accessing the industry?
Every big label can call their brand sustainable, but it is not a protected term. Every big label can take smaller brands as moodboards and inspiration for their designs, and not make them responsibly. In the fashion industry lies a lot of money. I always remind myself to not get carried away for bigger profit margins, which [would] mean more unfair paid workers and cheaply produced items.
What changes would you like to see in the fashion industry right now, and how is your brand contributing to this?
I would love to see more transparency from brands – brands holding friendships with their suppliers and making good wages more of a priority than money and big profit margins. When I want to stay sustainable, I have to live with a very small profit margin, and I am okay with that. Fashion is already milked so hard and you have to know that as a small business as well you are just putting more trash onto the planet, which is one of the biggest problems. That’s why I am also going more into fabrics like linen, wool, and cotton.
The moment I lose track on production and who is making my clothes I designed, I don’t want to be in the industry anymore. In this industry it’s hard to work regionally, but I am happy to have my only seamstress here in Germany and to supply my fabrics mostly from small businesses here.
I would also love to see a community of small brands, DIY artists, and truly sustainable brands grow and build more of their own marketplaces where transparency, art, and joy in making clothing and accessories is the highest priority.
What’s the best and worst advice you’ve ever been given about fashion or design?
The best is to create even though you didn’t study or learn the “proper” way. Just do what you think is good, and people will sense that you create out of joy, not for a big profit. The worst advice is that you can’t start a business because it’s not secure.
What are you blasting on repeat while you’re working in your studio?
I love to listen to self-help podcasts and Eckhart Tolle; old series from my teens like H2O: Just Add Water or Gossip Girl; or ancient history documentaries – I have a mystical ancient playlist I love to draw to.
What’s your weirdest or wildest fashion obsession right now?
Dressing like in my teens again when I was 14 or 15-years-old – punk elements with a dystopian, desert-y touch.
What fictional character would LOVE your label?
Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter or Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell.
And who IRL would you love to see wearing your designs?
Caroline Polachek or Eartheater.
What are your plans for the future?
To keep on having so much joy in creating and building, getting better at my accounting and taxes, finding more models and building a new website, and expanding my production a bit. I have so many ideas and so many requests, there is so much more potential in this and I can’t fulfil it all on my own at the moment, which is sad – that’s why I think expanding will be great.
I also want to travel again, which I always do a bit in my van because that is also my biggest source of inspiration for new designs.
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