Introducing Zdeňka Imreczeová and three other promising young Czech fashion designers from Sistersconpiracy and Annalog.
For part one, click here.
Zdeňka Imreczeová
Specialty: Women’s clothing
Training: Academy of Art, Architecture and Design
Contact: http://www.fashiondesigners.cz/designeri/zdenka
Zdeňka Imreczeová likes glamour and elegance and the female form. “Women’s fashion can be more avant garde,” she said. “Women like colour more, and more volume than men, stronger cuts.”
Form, volume and details are the signatures of an Imreczeová dress. In her Prague 8 studio, she shows off a collection of “little” dresses – not just black, but also white, teal and green – with simple lines and embellishments of cuts and folded fabric. A little fringe here, a bit of tulle peeking out from below a hem there – each dress has an unexpected flourish. Imreczeová finds inspiration easily, citing “Japanese films, books, art, speaking with new people, and music” as catalysts for her creativity. “I have a vision, and I know how I want the form, then I choose the colour, then I choose fabric, and then I sketch,” she said. “Then I put it together and see if the material and form fit.”
Now is a good time for Czech fashion, she says. “More people want to buy something original,” she said. “People want something with a story – original and higher quality.”
Imreczeová prefers to work with silk, cotton and wool, but her favourite colours vary. Formerly hooked on black, she now prefers blue and yellow, which feature prominently in her new Process collection. Process is mainly leisurewear and features both short and long jackets, trousers, tops and a sweater.
Imreczeová will exhibit Process at Designblok. Her work can be found at Hard-de-Core and Parazit, as well as at her shared studio in Prague 8.
-Jacy Meyer
Alice Klouzková and Jana Jetelová
Focus: Menswear
Training: Academy of Art, Architecture and Design
Clients include: Joss & Löwenstein
Contact: www.sistersconspiracy.cz
Alice Klouzková and Jana Jetelová, who collaborate under the label of Sistersconspiracy, have designed three collections for Czech shirt manufacturers Joss & Löwenstein since 2008. They also designed ties and scarves for the Czech EU presidency, which were presented as gifts to selected guests attending related events. As students at the Academy of Art, Architecture and Design, they took part in an internship at the Glasgow School of Art. Upon graduation, they set up their fashion label, which specialises in menswear.
“There are a lot of designers for women,” Klouzková said “We said it’s a pity men don’t have the opportunity to have something interesting.” Klouzková and Jetelová sell their designs at Prague boutiques, including Hard-de-core, Basmatee and Shot Rabbit, as well as through their online shop and their own showroom in Karlín.
Sistersconspiracy’s fashions are made from EU-manufactured materials and produced in limited series. The label typically makes only five pieces of any one garment, for discerning consumers. “They know they won’t run into someone else wearing it,” Jetelová said.
Each of the collections (the pair is currently working on a fifth) has a distinct look. The 2007 Save Me Music collection was inspired by the women’s favourite bands and features 80s greys, blacks and blues with stripes, large geometric patterns and graphics. The 2006 Card Player collection evokes the “strange world of casinos”, Klouzková said. There are billowy satin blouses and pants, jackets and shirts with patterns of spades, diamonds and clubs.
This whimsical approach remains consistent throughout the collections. “The word to characterise the collections is play, humour – something not so serious,” Klouzková said. Klouzková and Jetelová want to take their brand abroad to expose it to new markets. Their first destination is the Designers’ Open trade fair and exhibition in Leipzig in late October. “We have to go abroad because the Czech market is a small one,” Klouzková said. “Unlike in, say, France or Germany, there are not many shops for designers in the Czech Republic. Maybe not all Czech customers are ready for this type of clothing.”
In Prague, Sistersconspiracy will be on hand for a 4 October show for young designers called Shooting Fashion Stars, organised by Sara Events & Olo. Also in Prague, the pair will exhibit at Designblok (6–11 October) and have a solo show at the studio of fashion designer Libéna Rochová (29 October–24 November).
-Joann Plocková
Anička Kolínská
Specialty: Streetwear
Training: Technical University of Liberec
Contact: annalog.cz
Anička Kolínská produced her first pair of trousers from her own design when she was 12 years old. She discovered a passion for jumpers when she was 18. Her designs were exclusively for friends until 2006, when she presented a collection of handpainted T-shirts at Prague Free Fashion Week. The T-shirts quickly sold out. By the next year’s event, she had a collection of streetwear and was ready for commissions.
She finds inspiration on the street and materials in fabric shops around Prague. A collection of shorts resulted from fabric scraps thrown out of a friend’s attic. She concentrates on trousers and multicoloured jumpers but does not shy away from other commissions: She creates up to 10 ballgowns a year and has also made a wedding dress. Her designs are available at Parazit.
-Barbara Bindasová
