Editorial Note: This month, in advance of NYFW and World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept 10, 2020, and in conjunction with Mikeysline in the Scottish Highlands, FWO is featuring outstanding young designers with a focus on mental health and wellness.
Elina Perkone
I am fashion art student at the Art Academy of Latvia. My studies have helped me realise that to some extent I am a spontaneous person, even though my appearance might sometimes suggest otherwise. I enjoy letting myself go and experimenting, without always having a clear idea of what the final result is going to be.
Even though I sometimes cannot help questioning this way of life, I do not regret my choices. They have offered me a greater variety of experiences and they cover broader horizons. I am Still learning about different fabrics, understanding their qualities an advantages, as well as acquiring different techniques and ways of processing them.
Elina Perkone
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For me this is a time for exploring. I have been consciously moving into uncharted waters, because I believe progress lies in challenging oneself. It may Sound a little harsh, but I never let myself stand Still for a long time and rest on my laurels after achieving something. The second I finish something that matters to me, it loses its importance and I take up something new. There is no looking back.
Q: What sparked your interest in fashion?
When I was a child, I already had a feeling I would work in the creative field, but I did not realise that it was going to be fashion design.
I believe my mother has had some influence on this. During my childhood she would sew me dresses and do other types of creative work.
In secondary school I would craft my own things, like jewelry and clothing. The creative process had such a grip on me that I could go nights without Sleeping just to be able to finish the conceived design sooner and wear it.
Studies were not enough for me; during all my School years 1 was looking for new challenges and ways to express my creativity.
Q: As a designer, what matters to you most?
To challenge oneself. It is Important to maintain one’s thirst for knowledge and to remember that fashion design is intellectual work.
Fashion is a practical field, where you learn only by doing. Clothes are made to be bought and worn, that much is true; but they can be used to tel greater things, too. It is possible to communicate with the world through fashion design.
It is my belief that in fashion, the same as in other areas and life itself is not about ambition. It is all about cooperation and communication between people. Fashion is a conversation. I] highly value the ability to talk. Mere communication does not always ensure that the interlocutors hear each other. I am Still learning.
Q: Who do you envision as your “core customer?”
This person must be absolutely familiar with all aspects of life. They have to be flexible and able to occupy diverse social roles. I want my works. to contain the synergy of the environment, culture and human personality. For our glances to cross, these fields of interest must have a common” point Somewhere.
Q: What’s your vision for the future?
I have been interested in sustainable fashion for a while now. The more I learn, the more deeply I analyse my choices and new decisions. I do it more responsibly and with more focus on the future. This model of thinking is now also present in my daily life. It is not only about recycling; sustainable fashion is relevant in the environmental, social and economic fields. his ideology motivates me to generate new ideas and approaches. In the following creative projects I will choose sustainability as the main criterion.
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With love,
FWO
