Wetsuits often reminded me of deep sea adventures, tight fits, dark colours and often not that flattering if your body isn’t looking like Gisele Bundchen. But with some innovation and creativity, the neoprene fabric of wetsuits can turn into something stunning.

Fashion designer Sadie Williams heat-pressed neoprene to create this collection of metallic sci-fi garments that reminded me of the 1960s Pierre Cardin space-age looks.

Williams also created the embossed effects on the dresses in her Totemic collection by sandwiching layers of neoprene, more commonly used for wetsuits, between metallic yarns and tracksuit material. Bonding the metallic yarns to the tracksuit fabric removed the need for lining and also gave the textile a stiff quality. Leather panels and patches were then either sewn into the dresses or appliquéd on top.

This collection was produced for her MA in Fashion Design, Central Saint Martins in 2013.

Image Source: dezeen.com