How has the male body been represented throughout history, and who has been allowed to look at it with desire? These questions drive Karim Karam’s Mise à Nu. The collection brings the vulnerable, nearly divine figure of Saint Sebastian into conversation with the unapologetic masculinity of Tom of Finland. Vintage underwear advertisements, fitness magazines, military uniforms, religious imagery, and queer subcultures extend that conversation, offering Karim a set of images to examine and rework.

The tension between restraint and freedom is built into the garments. Structured silhouettes sculpt and contain the body, while voluminous draping lets it expand beyond those boundaries. Karim draws silver jersey through metal rings, recalling the cords around Saint Sebastian while allowing the rings and openings to carry associations with underground queer spaces. Gold beading traces openings and wounds, turning marks of suffering into ornamentation. Gold paint on denim gives an ordinary fabric the appearance of a body dipped in something precious.

His fabric choices sustain these tensions. Leather, waxed fabric, and parachute fabric provide protection and volume; silk taffeta, satin, and organza introduce softness and movement. Ribbed cotton and silver jersey recall intimate garments, while knitted Lurex and gold-painted denim bring shine to familiar materials. An off-white textured fabric evokes marble and religious sculpture, with its contrasting reverse suggesting another layer beneath the surface. Black and brown sit alongside off-white, gold, magenta, green, and silver.

Karim retains the power of these historical images while changing their relationships. In Mise à Nu, the body can be sacred and erotic, exposed and protected, vulnerable and confident. It is seen through references that once prescribed its meaning, then revealed on its own terms.