Life and labor in the digital realm is explored in a refreshingly bold and experimental approach by this project from Buenos Aires. Key inspirations here derive from disruptive technologies: the internet, AI, algorithms, facial recognition, social media and our relation to these elements; In particular, how our behaviour and perception of reality is shaped after our engagement with these technologies.

Who are you?
We are a Scorpio and an Aquarius born and raised in Argentina, we come from different realms of the arts and crafts, with shared tastes and ideology. We met via the internet (on-topic) while one of us was living in the UK.

How would you define your collection?
Functionality is key, that's why we make basics and work-wear clothes. Genderless items we would wear every day like a uniform, but embedded with our graphic work.

Ethical hacking is a clearly a huge inspiration for this project, was this something that occurred naturally, or have you always known you wanted to shape your collection around these influences?
It occurred naturally because hacktivism and hacker ethics are things we are very interested in, even though we're not coders nor hackers per se, we think it's interesting how hacking can subvert power and promote social change.

The utilitarian style of the pieces combined with the digital age influences strikes the same ideas explored in dystopian movies like Blade Runner and The Matrix, how much would you say pop culture ideas of a dystopian post digital society have shaped your view of fashion?Both movies have great costume design / aesthetics and cyberpunk culture is a big influence. It's hard to be out of the area of influence of western pop culture, dystopian or not. Many dystopian views of the future just don't seem to be so unrealistic in the end and that's something always comes to mind when we think about our work in relation to the wider culture.

Do you feel technologies such as AI, social media and face recognition shape the behaviour of society positively? What do you think of the controversial issues surrounding these technologies?
We think these technologies shape behavior in an intentional way both positive and negative; social media is designed to be addictive and make users insecure while generating profit for a small sector of corporate owners or advertisers for example. All sorts of relationships are now carried out via social media, we met via social media, so not everything is that bad LOL.

Technologies could be positive but it's the other way around when they fall into the wrong hands and reinforce surveillance and control. How facial recognition is used is just scary shit, that's for sure, we can't think of anything but darkness behind that idea. Same with AI, it's scary when it's used to increase social inequalities. There are so many controversial issues surrounding these technologies.

What is the future of fashion in the digital realm?
The future of everything will always depend on markets and trends. We can even imagine full automation taking over the designer’s role one day.

Without us, the users, the internet would be nothing. Is this a good or bad thing?
Maybe now, with all the human input in it, it would be possible for the internet to exist without its users, overpopulated by bots and spam. Internet gives us information and connectivity but also, we're feeding machine intelligence for companies to make profit from, or spy upon us. We're not just users but the product itself. Definitely we cannot think of things as just good or bad, both exist in every aspect.

Why have you incorporated such a strong graphic language into the collection? Is it purely for aesthetic value or is there a deeper meaning?
There is a deeper meaning but one has to look carefully and pay attention to find it, something that lacks in life today, which is all about the instant.

What’s next for Uthgra?
More of this outspoken wear for sure! Right now we are working on our next pieces which will be up for sale on our site soon.