One Brand—With an Eyebrow-Raising Name—Has Become a Celebrity Go-To

Reported by Vogue.

The name alone could end a PR career. Matières Fécales — formerly anglicized, now proudly French — is a Paris-based label that has somehow made "fecal matter" synonymous with red-carpet ambition. At the 2026 Met Gala, Sarah Paulson arrived in a shredded gray tulle ballgown paired with white leather opera gloves and a money mask; María Zardoya followed in a padded-hip, drop-waist pink confection that came accessorized with a haunted doll purse. Neither looked like a joke. Both looked extraordinary.

This wasn't a one-night anomaly, according to Vogue. In February, Lady Gaga wore the brand's black feathered mermaid gown to the Grammys. In March, Zendaya promoted The Drama in a frayed salmon chiffon gown from their spring 2026 collection, while Paulson hit the Vanity Fair Oscars Party in a strong-shouldered cardigan and tutu skirt. Designers Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran — recognizable by their matching shaved heads and severe black eye makeup — are building a celebrity following that most emerging labels spend entire careers chasing.

Pretty Subversion, On Purpose

The range is what makes it interesting. Matières Fécales isn't a one-note provocateur — it oscillates between near-classical feminine silhouettes and full confrontation. Their signature shade of pink tulle is named "cunty pink," after their Sphinx cat, Cunty. Their accessories have included bloody gloves and pearl ball gags. The same brand can dress a nervous red-carpet debutante and a fashion iconoclast, which is a genuinely rare trick. Dalton and Bhaskaran are deliberate about this: "Freedom of expression is our main value," they write from Japan. "Being fearless in self-expression is not just our brand philosophy — it's how we live our lives."

Their diagnosis of the industry is direct. "A lot of the major players in fashion are too concerned with pleasing everyone," they write. "Their proposals are structured the same way as fast-food restaurant menus — all cash cows and greatest hits." The women wearing Matières Fécales, Dalton adds, are "tired of that. They are craving something authentic that has soul and depth." It reads less like brand-speak and more like a genuine critique from people with no financial incentive to be diplomatic about it.

Gaga and Paulson are repeat clients, but the brand has its sights set wider. The one name on Dalton and Bhaskaran's wish list: Michelle Obama. "She is the ultimate embodiment of fearless beauty," they say, adding — with complete sincerity — "It would be so glam to see her in one of our tailoring sets." A brand that can make that sentence feel earned, rather than delusional, is one worth watching.

When a label named after excrement is dressing Zendaya and crashing the Met Gala, the joke — clearly — is on everyone playing it safe.

Read the original at Vogue.