SUBSURFACE: The Alchemy of Form and Femininity
Words by Avery Wheless
Photos by Sophia Schrank
Designer Kari Fry
Upon entering SUBSURFACE’S first-ever IRL pop-up in Los Angeles, it was no surprise that I was immediately met with a mystical, gothic charge—less like retail experience and more like stepping into a temple built for the body. Designer Kari Fry, the mind and mystic behind the brand, transformed a storefront in Silver Lake, Los Angeles into something closer to a shrine: garments suspended in light like relics, metallic bras glinting beside silk drapery, pearls galore, candlelit installations and black-rose florals by Brut & Bloom, perfumed the room—the air was thick with anticipation.
SUBSURFACE was also joined by a careful curation of other makers: handmade crochet knits from Mexico City by Niia Thomas’s and timeless, ethereal, hand-selected objects by Fig & Oak featuring vintage Chanel slingbacks and sculptural home objects like a purple marble plinth that felt both ornamental and devotional. It became immediately clear—you weren’t merely shopping, but crossing a threshold. True to Fry’s vision, no detail was incidental—every texture, shadow, candlelight and arrangement tethered to a broader social and cultural mythology, proof that in her world, fashion isn’t decoration, it’s doctrine.
Founded in 2020, SUBSURFACE has steadily evolved beyond fashion, shaping a language that feels sculptural, conceptual, and deeply informed by the historical and cultural lineages it so elegantly references. Fry, a self taught designer who honed her skills at an experiential design agency in Brooklyn, has built a name for herself. SUBSURFACE has become known for its exploration of light, depth, and the female form—a practice that blurs the line between clothing and jewelry, between sculpture and skin.
The brand’s name references subsurface scattering—the way light penetrates and refracts within a translucent material. It’s an apt metaphor for Fry’s approach: she designs from within the body outward, letting luminosity and contour dictate structure. Her latest collection, “Soie de la Cour,” embodies this philosophy. Crafted from vintage and deadstock silks, wools, and delicate trims, it is a study in elegance and resurrection—a meditation on the belief that things of the past were made not only with more care, but with more soul.
Fry’s cuts are architectural yet instinctive—marble-like forms tempered by vaporous draping. Her silhouettes evoke the surreal provocations of Elsa Schiaparelli and the visceral intensity of Artemisia Gentileschi, merging body and narrative into a single, charged gesture.
Each piece feels like a dialogue between structure and surrender, femininity and force. It's no shock that her work has consistently shaped the aesthetic of contemporary pop culture, her designs appearing on artists like SZA, Julia Fox, Doja Cat, Gabbriette Bechtel, Olivia Rodrigo, Karol G, Nadia Lee Cohen, Nicola Peltz Beckham, Camila Cabello, Reneé Rapp, Flo Milli, Sydney Carlson, Fletcher, and Tokischa—each wearing her pieces as if performing a ritual. SUBSURFACE doesn’t make clothes for anonymity; it crafts talismans for visibility and transformation.
SUBSURFACE doesn’t follow trends; it rewrites the terms of adornment. Each collection operates as a conceptual world unto itself and integrates narrative. Unlike most modern brands of today, you won't find a dress named “the Ashley” or "the Olivia", but you will find collections rooted in social cultural themes. The Death of Cleopatra collection reimagined the serpent as a textile, wrapping the body in knit striations that mimic the asp’s embrace as it bites Cleopatra's breast—a meditation on seduction, power, and surrender. The Butterfly Effect translated chaos theory into fashion, its multicolored pointelle knits exploring how small shifts create sweeping change.
Her Mother of Pearl series, inspired by the mollusk’s self-protective mechanism, each imperfect in its own way, and each a piece of art. Even her swim line Pheromones plays with attraction as metaphysics—clothing as magnetism.
Her latest creation—aptly titled Healing Properties—might just be Fry’s cheekiest act of sartorial sorcery yet. The barely-there chrome bras, stitched with silver thread and studded with tiny stones are said to offer “sacred protection” (naturally). They resemble less like lingerie and more like relics excavated from a futuristic temple—armor for the nipple, if you will, protection for the psyche. Naturally, it was what I chose to adorn myself with for the occasion. The play between irony and spirituality—between body and object—is central to the SUBSURFACE lexicon.
The air was celebratory and filled with exotic exploration—shoppers sipped champagne and my new favorite libation, Iris, a lightly sparkled spritz infused with the vibrant flavors of India. All of the coolest fashion girls in LA were trying on the iconic liquid slip dress, draping silks, and knits, each mirror moment turning into a mini performance of confidence. The energy was electric, communal, and effortlessly sexy, like everyone was in on the same secret. The undeniable hotspot of the night? The freshwater pearl bar—a glimmering altar of customization where guests built one-of-a-kind pieces ranging from $55 anklets to $2,000 cascading pearl chains. Jewelry here isn’t just adornment; it’s alive—sensual, protective, and undeniably SUBSURFACE.
It’s worth noting that Fry has managed something nearly unheard of in independent fashion: consistent profitability since SUBSURFACE's founding. In an era when many small designers fold under the weight of production costs, her model of small-batch, made-to-order releases has created a sustainable ecosystem that mirrors the longevity of her pieces themselves.
Perhaps I’m biased—Kari Fry is a close artistic inspirer and collaborator turned friend, a designer whose intellect and restless innovation I deeply admire. The more I came to know her, the more I fell in love with the mind behind the work: every collection she creates is underpinned by a precise social and cultural consciousness. Fry possesses that rare gift — the ability to dress you in armor without sacrificing sensuality. Whenever I need to feel indomitable, I reach for SUBSURFACE. There’s nothing more invigorating than wearing a piece so charged with intellect and intent. To wear one of Fry’s creations is to feel at once sculpted and unbound. SUBSURFACE doesn’t just clothe the body; it transfigures it. To wear it is to feel sovereign, and slightly spellbound — a reminder that fashion, at its highest form, is still a kind of alchemy.
