Young Ukrainian designers create mini-collections of experimental clothes that raise important questions about beauty, body politics and sexuality. Vogue UA is a promising young Ukrainian designers, which are worth remembering.
I’m meeting with Masha Popova in the building of the London College Central Saint Martins, where she graduated from the master’s degree and prepares the graduate collection. During study 29-year-old Masha received grants from the LVMH group and British brand Ports 1961. She interned at Marques ‘ Almeida, Fiorucci and John Galliano at Maison Margiela.
Mary creates complex silhouettes, exploring human interaction with clothing. She is inspired by things that are wrong sit, twist or cling to each other. These errors and flaws Popov made his signature move, which brings a new formula of sexuality – not only in design, but also on the level of feelings. “Fashion creates the image of a woman that has nothing to do with reality, explains the designer. In my work, I simultaneously sneer at this and trying through the imperfections to get rid of him.”
The designer likes to combine incongruous: content – reconciling aesthetics of high fashion of the late twentieth century with the style of synthetic sports clothing from the 1980s and 1990s, and the shape – blending in a single product different in structure materials. The game of contrasts – a reflection of her personal experience. Popov grew up in Podolsk (Kotovsk) and Odessa, where the perception of fashion were limited to those that were worn by the people around. “When I moved to London, I gushed a huge stream of information, – says Masha. – Things I wanted to Express the imbalance that I felt – between the new experience and what was familiar to me”.
Popov wants to create wearable objects, not just clothes, “which is already too much in the world.” Her work really impress feature. The important role played by technology: the designer colors denim, perforeret skin laser and kolgotochki embroider on the nylon. One of the findings of her graduate collection – fabric, woven with embroidery. In practice, this means a departure from podgainij parts and, as a result, nearly waste-free production.
“I use tactile material to develop a textile – says Masha. This is similar to the work of a sculptor: plastic material dictates what will come of it”. And if you do not achieve the desired result? “Then take it and invent a technique, which does not exist” – resourceful responsible designer.
“I like chance, says by phone from the Studio in Copenhagen Ukrainian designer and artist Valery alder. – They lead me through life.” In a series of spontaneous events of four years ago came to light its brand VOFT.
Valery was born in Kiev, and in 10 years went to study in British Repton School in Derbyshire. A boarding school with an art bias chosen by the parents who noticed in time the interest of the daughter to be creative: since childhood she has sketched and made subordi. Later, these skills came in handy Valeria at work: the design VOFT, she combines traditional materials (silk, wool, rayon, and lycra) with horsehair, latex, Konami for horses and in fabric from recycled Apple peel and Kombucha.
After school she was enrolled in a course of textile design at Chelsea College of Arts. Her first specialization, hand sewing, was so popular that Olkhovskaya quickly decided to transfer to the course in knitting – “so you don’t have to fight for the attention of the curator.”
In Copenhagen, where he now lives and works of Valery, she too was by accident: after graduating from College, he returned to Kiev, where part of Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days met the Danish designer Anne Sofie Madsen, who invited her to his training. Working on delicate leather decor, dresses for the show, Valeria realized that she could create a full-fledged things. After interning at companies and Obscur Barbara I Gongini, decided to start his.
“I called VOFT brand, but it’s not a brand in the traditional sense, says alder. – I do not adhere to seasonality, not doing full collections.” The brand name stands for Valeria Olkhova Fashion Textiles (“textile Fashion Valerie Alder”), alluding to the fact that it is not so much about the clothes as about the way of life and creative practices for the Valerie.
The main range of VOFT – things-transformers, or, as alder says, “thing-the chameleons”. They are practically dimensionless, they have no front and back, and the fact that the hanger looks like a fancy weave and fibers, takes the form already on the body, emphasizing seductive natural curves. And layering things on top of each other allows to obtain a set of new images. For this the designer calls them interactive “art”.
At Alder yet team – all the things she creates on hand knitting machine itself. “My work is intuitive – the result is influenced by my emotional state,” explains Valeria. For this reason, it creates no collections, and individual products that can be purchased in the brand’s workshops, Copenhagen showroom Sabine Poupinel and the CHURCH boutique in Los Angeles. Especially stylists and celebrity clients (among them a punk rock legend Courtney Love) fond of compound perforated show pieces like dresses-skeleton.
A recent collaboration with brand Id-ism from Hong Kong has pushed designer to create capsules. So there was a Second Skin, consisting of sports with a mean bandage tops paired with shorts and Cycling tracks. On this line of Valery inspired by modern femmes fatales – strong, confident girls, receiving your body with all its shortcomings. And will soon release a capsule dedicated to the underwater world.
“I have to constantly try something new, – says Valeria. – If I get a call from Nike and will offer to create for them a collection, I readily agree, putting your brand on a break”. And while the designer is preparing for the extension staff and the geography of sales, wants to open creative laboratory and begin to work with textiles “not only in body, but in space.”
Sophia Zander – a natural blonde with almost a boyish face. Literally “thin and twangy”: loud laughter, gait vpoluprisyk and lean body, which she boldly shows in social media. “I since the childhood liked to wear short shorts, for which I was constantly condemned. But I even liked it, – says the designer, which many know from the Instagram name “Sophia Lvovna”. – Probably, therefore I wanted to expose the body to the maximum. When you’re naked, it’s not erotic and not sexual. You just be you”.
In the first year of the Kiev Polytechnic University Sonya realized that most of all loves to alter things of mother’s for hikes to parties. So I decided to take the clothes and began to take on everything associated with fashion: I tried to style shooting, assisted designers and posed for Masha Reva (picture her naked body, painted by the artist, published in his Instagram Simon Port Acmus). After that, Xander went to Israel to study motion design, but did not stay long. Returning to Odessa, I went to the courses of cutting and sewing, got into an ordinary Atelier repair and tailoring, and then, after working in the Studio PASKAL, created by SOFIA – brand-continuation of itself.
Instagram Sony filled erotic selfies in outfits, revealing, and imbued with irony. The same energy charged its brand is fun-loving, daring, very girlish. “Girls” is one of the favorite words Sony. But the main character of her mini-collections not childish: they are well aware and acknowledge their sexuality. “My collection, rather, about the woman-child and her dramatic sexy story”, explains the designer.
Hits brand red vinyl top with roses blossoming in his chest, sheer floor-length dress with pink and green holographic shimmer and tiny skirt with cutout at the hip. This silk-chiffon world is no place for violence: most things made of natural fabrics, and the designer is to make the brand 100 % sustainable and vegan.
Fashion Sonia wayward is the same attitude as to life in General: “I’m a little funny and awkward to talk about myself as a designer. I just love to create clothing and images, making myself and other girls beautiful.” Fashion weeks, sander finds, forced to live in constant stress and lead to the creation of garbage, so it is not tied to the seasons: “All my outfits – this is my feeling, which I share with other girls.” Agrees Julia Pascal, in the Studio where Sonya passed baptism of fire: “Her clothing gives the most attitude – it is about the power to be yourself. It felt identity and emancipation”.
The following collection of SOFIA promises to the designer, there will be a lot of shirts – “a translucent, colorful, three-dimensional and shortened”. And in the spring Sonia plans to have the first show. As always, the rules: “On display will be invited only girls, says the designer. – But boys will also be able to look over the fence”.
Text: Anastasiia Fedorova, Ekaterina Solovey, Irina Lupu.
