Who is Simon Carle? The designer who turned Tyla’s skin into a garment

You may not know the name of Simon Carle yet, but you’ve probably already seen his work. The emerging designer is developing a distinctive language that turns the body into the true support of the garment, blurring the boundaries between fashion and tattoo art. His pieces are, in fact, essentially that: temporary tattoos applied directly onto the skin.

His work went viral again this week when Tyla appeared during Paris Fashion Week wearing what looked like a fitted snakeskin jacket on her way to the Crazy Horse. The catch: the “Water” singer wasn’t actually wearing a garment at all.

The design was in fact a direct intervention on her skin created by Simon Carle, who applied several printed pieces across her torso and arms to recreate a snakeskin texture. The result created the illusion of a fitted top while her back remained completely bare. The look was completed with ultra low-rise moto jeans by Rock Revival, archival Samurai heels from DSquared2 (Fall 2016), a suede and python bag by Valentino, and a gold chain necklace from Chanel.

Based between London and Paris, the designer has developed a distinctive language built around a simple yet radical idea: turning the body into the primary support of the garment.

His pieces function as a kind of “second skin”: ultra-thin surfaces printed with hyper-realistic images that are applied directly onto the body, much like temporary tattoos. Lace, prints, corsetry or logos appear on the skin, creating the illusion of garments that, in reality, don’t exist.

Before beginning to circulate within the pop ecosystem, Carle had already moved within the orbit of high fashion. The designer was part of the couture team at Maison Margiela during the era of John Galliano, contributing to the 2024 Artisanal collection, and later returned to Paris to continue working at the house under the direction of Glenn Martens. In parallel, his work has started to appear within the music scene. Artists such as Charli XCX have already worn his designs, and he also contributed to the costumes for the dancers in Rosalía’s iconic performance at this year’s Brit Awards.

Now that we have seen all the proposals from París, and at a time when many brands seem to be leaning increasingly towards the safe and predictable, it is refreshing to see designers like Simon Carle. Figures in whom the industry—or at least those who still believe in creativity within fashion—can continue to place some hope.