Zinaida Lihacheva

Jean-Pierre Braganza has just showed one of the best collections of the whole S/S 2013 season, highly praised, among other things, for the spectacular prints and clever asymmetric cut.

One very special and surprising thing about this collection is that it was made in collaboration with Ukrainian artist and designer Zinaida Lihacheva. In his own words, Braganza “incorporated the artist’s unique aesthetic into his prints“. He also pronounced Lihacheva his muse and will travel to Ukraine to show this collection at Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days in October.

Braganza was inspired by Lihacheva’s works Transformation and Touch:

“My idea does not require any explanation – everyone will find his own answer,” said Zinaida Lihacheva about her Transformation art project, presented at the First Kyiv biennale of contemporary art ARSENALE 2012. These words can be used not only to describe this particular project but as a key to her overall creative vision.

Lihacheva began rising to fame in 2010 when two landmark events took place – her first personal art exhibition of watercolor paintings and the presentation of SunLight collection at Oxford Fashion Week. It was the time when her ideas about putting ethnic elements into ultra-modern context took shape. Her fashion designs often reference traditional Ukrainian costume – its cut, color palette, embroidery and fabrics. She keeps the silhouettes very natural, flowing, yet precise.

During the last two years Zinaida Lihacheva focused on art projects: performances, installations and sculpture, mixing different media and incorporating handmade fashion objects into her artworks. For example, the installation Uzor Art, showed at Art Monaco, featured  paintings and clothing printed with the same ornaments using batik technique, while the performance SHE featured models dressed in Lihacheva’s designs.
The enthusiasm and praise expressed by Jean-Pierre Braganza in his interview with Diane Pernet makes me think that this collaboration wasn’t a one-time deal. Where do you think it will lead them?

For more pictures go to lihacheva.com

Irina Shuvalova is a journalist based in Irkutsk, Russia. She fell in love with fashion at the age of 3 when she borrowed her mom’s lipstick for the first time. Irina firmly believes that fashion is a very intellectual thing and will fight to prove it. When she isn’t fighting or writing, Irina tries to prevent her baby girl from stealing her make-up.

Tags: irina shuvalova, jean pierre-braganza, likhacheva, ukrainian, zinaida lihacheva
Posted in collections, people | 1 Comment »