In fashion design there is a lot of areas of focus requiring specific education to work on. We face them every day, but we don’t know that they exist. To work with leather, nonwoven, and 3D technologies it is not enough to have only base knowledge. It is necessary to have specific education. Knitted fabric is one of such specifications in fashion design.
Ksenia Seraya has this uncommon occupation, and I want to tell you about her.
Photos of collection from Ksenia Seraya's page.
Why? Because today she is the best of all her Russian colleagues. Because any mass production blots out a person’s creativity keeping nothing but boring digithead. A person who is able to get out of this productive conveyor to continue creating is a strong-willed man. To deserve attention his professional way is to be worthy of notice. After Ksenia deliberately finished her carrier at mass market she went to continue her education. The knitted fabric designer with experience of many years including executive job needed more knowledge in fabric clothes classic design, and she decided to continue her education in the Italian school in Florence.
“As a designer I took a lot from POLIMODA and from Ermanno Scervino where I had my practical work. There I realized that when we do everything with inspiration, we would never face routine.“
Ksenia’s clothes’ blameless quality comes from her inborn pedantry, longstanding experience in the industry and the Italian school. The way she understands the word ‘quality’ makes every single loop and every stitch be corresponding to it. Ksenia is satisfied with her work only if she gets from patternmakers, seamstresses and knitters exactly what she wants.
“If a brand declares itself as a brand of design and pretends to high price level then every detail should be correct to a dot. Fit, facture, prints have to be absolutely unique.
I am a perfectionist, and I do not agree with those tradesmen who say: ‘Apart you, nobody will notice it’. Quality must be honest.”
This year Ksenia starts her own fashion brand. This is a big step for any designer. But in knitted fabric this is also a serious production and absolutely different price of materials.
Fall/Winter 2013 collection by Ksenia Seraya already exists. Spring/Summer has been being created now. The brand’s potential clients are women with a big W – they are active and vigorous ladies for whom work, home and leisure are always delight.
”A woman of Fall/Winter 13-14 is also a witch, as well as all beauties.”
Four pics above from Ksenia Seraya's archives.
When creating this collecting, Ksenia was inspired by the Far East and its shamanism traditions. The designer’s family lived there during the first 8 months of her life, when her father worked there. Fit lines of Ksenia’s clothes imitate shaman dresses. They are form-fitting where they should accentuate and they are relaxed fit where more freedom is needed.
Creating such a silhouette is very laborious work. It requires attention and responsibility. We can call it adcanced maths in design.
“Weaves design is a creative, but longtime process. After all factures are defined, every cloth’s curve has to be made taking the weaves into account. It is impossible to do it on the first try, because each detail in knitwear is made after contour, which should be ultimately patterned. Sometimes it takes 5 or 6 times to get it depending on complexity and combination of weaves. After every detail is knitted, all details are being washed in a special way and steamed. Then they are put together. Then one more washing and one more steaming. All this laborious action gives all characteristics to the knitwear.”
Not only technology, but also thread of which the cloth is knitted determines its mood and behavior. Ksenia concerns it very serious.
“There is some intuition which prompt me how to work with one or another yarn; what it would endure, and what it could not stand.”
Ksenia Seraya
All which is described above is a shining example demonstrating that the Russian fashion design is able to have a very high quality. It depends on who creates one or another brand, and what basis it has. If there are pertinacious and toilsome work, and love to the business in the basis, then the designer’s location doesn’t matter. You will just love such a brand with the first touch.
I hope that we will soon find Ksenia Seraya's clothes in Moscow stores, and everyone will have a chance to take a gage of the master's work.
All untitled photos by ColouHeelsDiary.
