Chimera exists at the crossroads of the supernatural and the untamed. What was the initial spark behind this collection?
The subject of surrealism came up during doing my research for my diploma. Most of my inspirations and thoughts while searching for a suitable topic for my collection were directed towards fields of unreality. In previous years, I also often directed my art towards similar themes, combining supernaturalism and strangeness, and I decided to follow this direction in my diploma as well.
The mythological Chimera is an impossible being—a collision of forms, an exquisite anomaly. How does this figure translate into the identity of the modern woman you portray?
In surrealism, women were often portrayed with disfigured bodies, without heads or other parts of their bodies, resembling creatures from dreams, which connected imagination with reality. It reminded me of mythological creatures, and that’s where I found inspiration for the name of the collection. I wanted to portray the resemblance of mania, dream visions, and irrationality that was often shown in surrealist art. My collection reflects this image by combining unnatural forms with exaggerated accessories, showing the contrast between the restraint and freedom of the female body. I think women, especially their bodies, are still often a part of various strange visions and fetishes in modern times, and the image of a woman portrayed as something unreal and unnerving is still very common.
Surrealism often dissolves the boundaries between the imagined and the real. What were the most significant challenges in designing this dreamlike chaos into the wearable collection?
One of the hardest challenges when creating this collection was finding inspiration in surrealism for every piece I created. I didn’t want to add something irrelevant to my topic, so the research took a very long time. I also think that transferring a vision into reality is always difficult. The implementation of some projects, especially jewellery ones, was really challenging since this was my first time working with some materials and techniques.
Creation is rarely a linear process. Can you share any pivotal moments behind the making of Chimera?
I honestly don’t think there were any pivotal moments. After choosing the topic of surrealism, I conducted thorough research, and then I just noted every idea that came to my mind, even when I was working on something else. Later, I collected all of these thoughts and started to sketch projects referring to them.
Did your fabric choices mutate along the way or were their presence set in stone from the start?
Before choosing the fabrics, I spent a lot of time looking for them and ordering samples. I wanted to stay in the dark palette so the colours could portray a dark, feminine vibe. After deciding on that palette and the way that chosen fabrics should work, I looked for materials that could look the way I wanted them to but also hold or fold the right way. Later, I just ordered a few samples for every piece and decided which ones looked the best for the silhouette and together as a collection.
