Designer Kasia Kucharska on the language of lace
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Courtesy of @kasiaku
NAME KASIA KUCHARSKA
LOCATION Berlin, Germany
STAR SIGN Cancer
PET PEEVE Soaked Frosties
PARTY TRICK Polish exit (also known as Irish exit).
FAVOURITE SONG It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay by Whitney Houston
Think silly string but make it fashion and you’ve got Kasia Kucharska’s lazy lace. For the designer, who graduated from Berlin’s University of the Arts back in 2019 with an MA in Fashion Design, the language of lace is one that ought to be revisited beyond the dusty history books of 17th century aristocrats in lace cuffs and collars. Instead, the creative is recontextualising the weblike threads into silicone wardrobe pieces attuned to the zeitgeist that craves playfulness with purpose.
“The clothes are eccentric and romantic, designed for sensual people. They are utopian, making everyday moments feel bigger in this timeless new age,” shares Kucharska. “The garments are for people seeking pleasure, because ultimately, we need escape, fun and to dance with people we love!” With dexterous training, including a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture at both the University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart and the Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kucharska merges her interdisciplinary vision between architecture and fashion to create hybridised garments from scribbled cycle shorts to bralets. While the intricate designs dance between frivolity and expedience, Kucharska’s pieces offer “lace for everyone.” Here comes the revolution.
Scarlett Baker: Firstly, how are you doing?
Kasia Kucharska: It’s not right, but it’s okay.
SB: How have you kept optimistic over the past year?
KK: Working together with my two close friends, Wanda and Reiner, on the brand. We cheer each other up, we tear each other down, it’s an emotional rollercoaster.
SB: Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and where you grew up?
KK: My parents are Polish and I grew up in Allgäu. That’s in the Alps in the very south of Germany.
SB: Did you grow up in a creative background? Or was your interest in fashion something you explored independently?
KK: I’m not sure if my interest in fashion has a lot to do with my creative background from home… I learned as a child that I can use clothes as a tool to fit in or stand out. They speak before you do and are the first tool to communicate with others.
SB: Did you always plan on starting your own label?
KK: I didn’t really plan on starting a label, it kind of happened. But I always wanted to work independently as a designer.
SB: How has your background in architecture informed the way you approach your work?
KK: Working in architecture has taught me many manufacturing techniques but also a deep love and appreciation for a well made product.
SB: What was your time like as a student at the University of the Arts?
KK: Studying was amazing, it’s a place with a great sense of community and collaboration. That’s where I met Wanda and Reiner, who are now my close companions working together on the brand.
SB: What reference points do you look to when designing?
KK: Sexy people and historical garments.
SB: What was the starting point for your silicone creations?
KK: I knew I wanted to avoid sewing because I’m really bad at it. So the starting point was loads of material and technique research at the beginning.
SB: Your creations exist like a modern-day lace. What prompted you to explore and ultimately re-invent such a historic fabric?
KK: It really was about investigating lace-making as a feminine craft, which has almost vanished from our modern world. Lace is one of the foundational pillars of fashion, playing a large role in haute couture, historical royal dress and clerical garments. I wanted to elevate and reinvent it through contemporary means of technologies and aesthetics, reviving the craft with new meaning and our shared belief in sustainability and inclusivity.
SB: You cite “the future is now” as your motto throughout your work. What change do you hope to see imminently in the fashion industry?
KK: We want to go away from the fast-paced fashion calendar towards people working at their own pace and only producing things they believe in.
SB: Do you ever wear your own designs?
KK: Absolutely!
SB: How do you feel when you see people sharing photos of themselves wearing your pieces?
KK: Lots of love, of course. It’s the biggest compliment to see that people like the garments and even share pictures in it!
SB: A place everyone should visit in Berlin is…
KK: @rosawolf_berlin. The loveliest magazine shop.
SB: Can you remember the first garment you ever made?
KK: The basic straight skirt we had to sew during BA at Universität der Künste.
SB: What was the first film you saw that you really loved?
KK: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick.
SB: When was the last time you felt starstruck?
KK: I recently met the owner of my hometown brewery, Zötler. It’s the best local Allgäu beer and you can’t buy it in Berlin.
SB: What’s your dream collaboration?
KK: UPS or FedEx. We can’t decide yet.
SB: What’s in store for 2021?
KK: More lazy lace.
SB: What can’t you leave the house without?
KK: Shoes.
SB: What’s your favourite word?
KK: Schatzi.
SB: What’s your go-to pandemic look that you’ve been wearing from home?
KK: We always dress up, now more than ever.
SB: Do you prefer to stay up late or get up early?
KK: Both! But not in combination.
SB: What’s your guilty pleasure?
KK: Kellogg’s Frosties.
SB: Best story from a night out?
KK: When all but Wanda got rejected at Berghain. Then she had to come out again and we went home together.
SB: When the pandemic is over, what’s the first thing you’re going to do?
KK: First is Heiners (our favourite bar), then the world!
SB: What’s the worst fashion-trend you’ve partaken in?
KK: There are no bad fashion trends.