Inside the industrial walls of North London’s Electrowerkz, Dilara Findikoğlu’s AW25 collection stormed the runway. The Birth of Venus cracked open a portal to a world of medieval rockstars, ethereal rebels and sirens washed ashore, with models moving through the space in seashell bodices, snakeskin dresses and corsets laced with braids.
Closing the show was True Skin, a moulded leather dress inscribed with sigil-like markings. Taking over eight weeks to create, the piece was a collaboration between leather artisans Whitaker Malem and East London-based tattoo artist Jonah Slater. As the final look walked, its skin-like texture and ritualistic engravings drew an almost reverent silence before quickly flooding social media, praised for both its unsettling beauty.
Slater, who works out of his studio The Church of England, brought his signature designs to True Skin, carving the sigil-like markings into its surface as though etching directly onto flesh. “I’ve always been fascinated by the tension between the human and the sacred, the debauched and the divine,” he tells Dazed. This duality runs through his work, shaping the way he approaches tattooing. Raised within the Church community and educated in Christian schools, his artistic vision has always been influenced by religious iconography and its inherent contradictions. Here, he tells us more.
How did the collaboration with Dilara Findikoğlu come about?
Jonah Slater: Miss Dilara Findikoğlu is truly the last refuge of excitement and progression in contemporary fashion. Without her, the industry would remain boring and conformist. She is pushing forward courageously, eliminating the frump, irony and blandness from modern clothing… she also happens to be my girlfriend. It’s total nepotism.
What was the creative process like working on designs for the runway?
Jonah Slater: Dilara and I share many values in our work, namely the idea that our designs should exaggerate the figure and flatter the body. Clever tattooing considers the anatomy in the same way beautiful clothes do. Dilara’s designs bring drama and romance to the way the body is perceived, and this is a goal we have in common. These ideas were intrinsic to the design of the dress.
Did you approach creating art for skin differently than for fabric?
Jonah Slater: Thanks to the wonderful work of leather artisan, Whitaker Mallom, the dress was formed so tightly to the figure that my approach to designing it was exactly the same as my approach to designing for the body. The application of the design to leather was a different story. It took many more days than we initially thought, but nothing a few sleepless nights before the show could not fix.
When and why did you start tattooing?
Jonah Slater: I have been tattooing for almost five years now. When I started, I wanted more tattoos for myself but couldn’t afford to pay for them. However, I could afford the cost of a tattoo starter kit from eBay. For me, it was a period of extreme creative output with zero direction. I was working tirelessly on many different projects in various mediums. It was not until I made my first tattoos that I truly felt connected to a creative process in a way I had never experienced before.
Do you think about your style in defined terms, or do you avoid labelling it altogether?
Jonah Slater: For me, the references have always been the same. I have just got much better at communicating my understanding of them. Labels are unnecessary, but they help us communicate when speaking in visual terms. We try to avoid falling into certain categories as artists, but it is also natural and perhaps even important to embrace the tropes of our time to communicate effectively. Intelligent work speaks a language people understand, and tattooing is always a performance for an audience. I think it is important for our ideas to be understood clearly.
What’s the strangest place you’ve ever found design inspiration?
Jonah Slater: Growing up within the Church community and attending Christian schools shaped my creative ideas and personal views. I’ve always been fascinated by the tension between the human and the sacred, the debauched and the divine. I love to look at the extremes at both ends, as that tension is a place we all exist within as ‘men made in God’s image.’
During secondary school, we were required to attend the 150-year-old chapel several times a week, singing hymns to the sound of the organ. At the front, behind the altar, was a huge mural depicting a scene from the story of St George, after whom the school was named. One side showed the bloody slaying of the dragon. The other, his prize, a kneeling woman offered as a sacrifice to the dragon. She waited on her knees, shirtless and patient. The rest you can imagine. This place of divine purpose and human temptation is a space I find most intriguing to explore. Though my work is mostly abstract forms rather than figurative, the atmosphere of that tension is what I try to convey.
What is something about the tattoo industry that people often misunderstand?
Jonah Slater: The idea that tattoos should be seen as a ‘serious art form’ seems to be the goal for my generation of tattooists. The generation before focused on breaking away from the conventions of shop tattooing. They questioned what the experience of receiving a tattoo should be, and that mission was successful. Now, it seems to be a generational goal to evolve the standards of beauty within tattooing.
The institution of tattooing had so many rules that prevented its evolution. When I was a teenager, bearded old men with coil machines would resentfully tattoo my drawings on me at walk-in shops in Luton town centre. Finally, their rules and reign over the industry are broken. The US had its golden era of tattooing in San Francisco through the 80s and 90s. European tattoo history is being written now online. People have been questioning the foundations of what makes a ’good’ tattoo, and as a result, tattoos are more beautiful than ever. Young tattooists continue to push boundaries and break institutionalised rules.
On that topic, do you feel like tattoos are being more widely recognised as an art form?
Jonah Slater: There is a fine line between progression and pretension. For me, the most interesting thing is to be seen as a pure tattooist while still pushing boundaries. ’Artist tattooers’ have existed since the dawn of tattooing. Figures like Thom DeVita prove that. So in some ways, this is not new. However, there is a short-sightedness in young tattooing, a failure to look back. Some young tattooers are so blinded by their desire to be perceived as rock stars that they forget to be themselves. It is OK to be a tattoo artist. Tattooing should remain tattooing, in my opinion. If you want to be received as a painter, then paint. If as a sculptor, then sculpt.
Are there any other projects or mediums you are hoping to explore in the future?
Jonah Slater: For now, my focus is on pushing myself with tattooing. I have so many ideas for large-scale tattoo projects and am constantly trying to evolve my designs. I am putting more detail into the work than ever before and pushing to attain the unattainable.
There are infinite applications for my designs outside of tattooing on skin. I am just looking for the right projects to collaborate on. They will certainly be something very special.
