Seraphim SS2025

Cyber Gothic Pale Opera Stretched Over Digital Shores karstenkroening.com The rise of “Cybernetics” as a study and how we understand our broader philosophy and sociology in relation to cybernetic theory has played a significant role in this collection. The internet is macabre, gothic, and terrifying. Guided by Mark Fisher’s Flatline Constructs: Gothic Materialism and Cybernetic Theory-Fiction, there lies a certain apocalyptic vision of humanity through the cybernetic lens. Fisher proposes that the cybernetic space—embodied in the internet and digital networks—is an extension of the soul, both a vehicle for transcendence and a potential site for malevolence. The extension of the soul into the digital flesh creates precedent for divine protection. Karsten Kroening spent the majority of his time designing this collection in rural Alaska and Canada where he meditated on the symbol of the angel. The angelic as a source of protection. Nestled in a cabin between pale mountain tops and barren rocky shores he synthesized the ancient texts of the noncanonical book of Enoch, Shem HaMephorash, and texts involving the figure Metatron; with the perspective of a rising cybernetic and digital flesh. “Mecha Angelic Patterning” is the design language in that Karsten Kroening deploys in this collection to create “apotropaic” clothing. The term "apotropaic" derives from the ancient Greek word "Ἀποτρόπαιοι," meaning "to turn away" or "to ward off." It is often attributed to objects that