In April French capital will host World Fashion Exhibition 2022 (WFE). 195 leading eco-minded designers from 195 countries will present their eco-couture outDts. The aim of this major event consists in raising awareness for “Sustainable fashion industry and planet Earth”, with the theme “Give Your Light to the World”, specially focused in the reduction if child mortality in the African continent by empowering women and children.

Sasha Gapanovich proudly represents Russia at the WFE. In her eponymous emerging brand, Sasha is blurring the borders between art-objects of high fashion and street wear, day-to-day garments She is native from the Russian Far North city of Murmansk. This place is harsh to live as winter can last over half a year, but landscapes and aurora borealis are mesmerizing. All this northern magic we can Dnd in the collections of the young designer. They perfectly reUect her personality: eclectic, combination of colors and volumes, prints, multi-layered, second hand and handwork, a slight touch of nostalgia which serves “as a bridge between the generations”.
Authenticity and couture quality pay off as Gapanovich was invited to present her last two collections within Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. And now Paris is calling! Exclusively for FOXYLAB NY we talked to Sasha and are happy to share her vision here with you:

1. Your design is a unique combination of Russian elements and something Scandinavian, I would even say that I see the infuence of “Anvers 6” (Antwerp six) and some notes of “Dries van Noten”. How would you explain it?

For me, this comparison is 0attering! It seems to me that such similarity lays in the concept of deconstruction. In my design I use the same “rules” as the famous Antwerp Six, where the basics of cutting and sewing do not argue, but erase the line between the stable concepts of masculine, feminine, everyday, elegant, new, old and cancel the perception of “beautiful” as inevitably elegant.

2. What comes first in the creation process: design or fabric? What fabrics do you use in your clothes?

For me, these things are inseparable from one another. Fabric can reinforce the idea and convey the meaning of the collection more clearly, but a beautiful fabric cannot save a bad design. I use natural fabrics, Italian and French stock. I also work with second hand materials and I do recycle.

3. What inspires you? What are your favorite movies, pictures, art pieces?

So many things can inspire me: travel, cultural differences, architecture, art, communication, people, events, famous personalities, nature and much more. One of my favorite artists is Henri Rousseau and his bright fairy-tale worlds. I can’t single out just one movie. Periods of life do not repeat, and emotional states also require different Llms and books. I can deLnitely say that I love documentary criminal investigations and thrillers.

4. Pandemic isolation was it diRcult for you to go through as a creative person, or vice versa, was it a chance to re>ect on your work and go inside to convey out new ideas?

As for me, my lifestyle has not changed much during the pandemic – I am a stay-at-home person and spend a lot of time within the walls of my house, working at home. I have a large family – 4 daughters, younger twins, and before the pandemic, I took care of them. As for work, this period allowed me to make a strong collection and get a grant to participate in fashion week and quickly gain momentum in the development of the brand.

5. How do you combine your family life (mom of 4 children!) and a job? No secret that for many working moms, creatives, this is a challenge

My family helps me a lot if I need to go to a show or take part in a project. My kids know how important my brand is for me, it’s my lifetime job, so they are very supportive.

6. What does a suitable fashion/brand mean to you? What makes Sasha Gapanovich suitable?

Sustainable fashion is our future. My brand is very small, at this stage of development, all collections are produced only in a single copy, and often they cannot be reproduced in the same fabrics. I use natural fabrics but also the leftovers for applications and accessories, packaging collections. I will dive deeper into the topic of sustainable development and, for my part, competently build work in this direction.

7. What do you think of the digital fashion? Do you think it might if not replace physical cloths completely but take a big slice of the fashion industry in the near future?

It’s definitely becoming part of our everyday future. There will always be a group of people who need this form of self-expression, and perhaps it can become part of a sustainable fashion.

8. Who are you muses and your clients? Who do wear your creations?

My Russian muses are Renata Litvinova (@renatalitvinovaoTciall), Ksenia Sobchak (@xenia_sobchak), Irina Gobacheva (@irina_gorbacheva), Chulpan Khamatova (@chuplanoTcial), Irina Khakamada (@irina_hakamada). These women are unique, intelligent, beautiful, with a creative nature, inner strength and vividly manifest themselves and can inspire.

9. How do you see the future of your brand? In which direction would it go? More haute couture fashion? High end of ready-to-wear?

I plan to further develop my conceptual brand and produce collections with meaning and love for my homeland, but to go beyond the Russian market. I see that people from different countries like my cloths. I also want to make my collections more accessible to the Russian market without losing the quality and my DNA. I am just at the beginning of my journey, and there are many technical moments that require development and growth.

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