Meet the neo-punk Ukrainian ex-Project Runway star making clothes for self-love
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…
Liza is the neo-punk designer and founder of Ukrainian fashion brand, Zvoli, who is using her new capsule collection to represent the burnout experienced by creatives in the fashion industry.
Courtesy of @zvolidesign
NAME ZVOLINSKAYA LIZAVETA (Liza) of ZVOLI
AGE 24
LOCATION Kyiv, Ukraine
STAR SIGN Aries
May Garland: Hi Liza, what are you up to today?
Zvolinskaya Lizaveta: Today is Saturday, I just woke up, made myself some tea and sat down to write this interview. It's sunny today, so I'm planning on having a picnic lunch and taking a walk around town.
MG: I am in love with Zvoli’s asymmetrical baby dresses and scar t-shirts! How did you start the brand?
ZL: Oh, thank you very much! In 2016, I started to embroider on t-shirts and sell them on the internet, at that point I still did not think that I wanted to start a brand: I was a student and just wanted to make some money. Around this period, I finally realised that clothing is my passion and this is what I want to do all my life. In 2018, I participated in the Ukrainian Project Runway and firmly decided that I wanted to be a designer.
MG: Talk to me about this new capsule collection you’re working on, what can we expect?
ZL: The collection is dedicated to burnout and fatigue. This is what I and other artists often suffer from, it prevents us from living. We simply do not give ourselves a breath, either morally or physically, and our creativity suffers from this - what we love more than anything in the world. This collection will be a kind of therapy for me and I hope covering the topic of burnout will help someone else too. I want to sew this collection using only dead stocks and second-hand fabrics.
MG: How does your Ukrainian culture influence your designs?
ZL: To be honest, it almost does not influence in any way. I somehow tried to imbue with Ukrainian traditions, costumes, dances, but so far I only like to look from the outside. Perhaps later I will be greatly impressed by Ukrainian folk art and create something dedicated to it, but now I am not ready.
MG: What do you want the wearer of your clothes to feel?
ZL: I want people to feel confident and self-love. They remembered that they are special, if not for someone else, then for themselves for sure.
MG: Do you have a favourite piece you’ve created?
ZL: Yes, my favourite is the chess queen dress, a blue dress from my latest collection called Introductions. I wanted to create something fabulous, but also have it carry a certain subtext. Its name is a play on words - a dress made of checkerboard fabric, graceful and luxuriant, as a fairy-tale queen would wear. The queen in chess is the strongest piece, she can go wherever she wants, and the dress simulates her strength and freedom of action.
MG: If you could see anyone anywhere in the world wearing your clothes, who would it be??
ZL: MELANIE MARTINEZ. I know this is not her style a little, but I would die on the spot with joy if I had the opportunity to dress her up. Her work and her songs helped me go through many difficulties and accept myself for who I am. I love her, she is gorgeous!
MG: What three things are you obsessed with at the moment?
ZL: Weird shoes, online games and black tea with bergamot and sugar.
MG: If you had to pick one outfit to wear for the rest of your life, what would it be?
ZL: Something baggy and neutral, so that it is convenient and not distracting to work in.
MG: Your guilty pleasure is…
ZL: Kinder chocolate and Capri-sun juice, I can eat this combo endlessly, although they give me imperfections on my skin.
MG: What does fashion mean to you?
ZL: This is my way of expressing myself, communicating and reflecting. Fashion introduced to me a bunch of people, many of them from abroad, gave me the opportunity to work with cool artists, musicians, stylists, photographers. She opened the doors for me to the big world and I am happy to be in it.
MG: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
ZL: Enjoy the process. There is such a mentality in Ukraine that if you are not a tough businessman at the age of 20, without a wife or husband, did not graduate from university with honours, then you are a sucker. The new generation is slowly beginning to realise that ‘success’ is not the most important thing in life, that you do not have to be a genius to be loved and recognised. The most important love is self-love and you just have to live life enjoying yourself. It’s not important to be the best, but to enjoy the process.
MG: What advice would you give to other young designers in Ukraine?
ZL: Do not hesitate to write with an offer of cooperation to anyone.
MG: Finish this sentence. In 10 year’s time, I want to be...
ZL: Confident and happy.
