L'Officiel Italia

Now Ioana Ciolacu Miron is back home in London taking a well-deserved little break. She is watching movies and discovering all sorts of the city’s places which she had no time to see before, Ioana tells me. The last months have been stressful for the 31-year-old Romanian designer. And the upcoming times will be challenging as well. After winning the “Designer for Tomorrow” Award by Peek & Cloppenburg Duesseldorf and Fashion ID at the past Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin her life has changed “big time”. She received an individual sponsorship that will enable her to open her own studio, produce her next collection and to present her first solo show at the Berlin Fashion Week in January. At the same time the current graduate student will hand in her Master’s Degree collection at London College of Fashion in November. Luckily she is supported by personal mentoring in every aspect of the fashion industry from top people in the business. Among them is Stella McCartney, who follows in the footsteps of Marc Jacobs as this year’s patron of the DfT Award. “It might sound tacky”, Ioana admits, “but I admired her a lot before I met her for the way she keeps a healthy balance in her designs”. Apart from Stella McCartney, one of her favourite designers is Riccardo Tisci whom she closely watches.

So how did Ioana convince the nine-headed jury comprising German Vogue’s editor-in-chief Christiane Arp? Her winning collection is named Paradox and that is what it is all about – in a subtle way. It is soft and feminine but strong and masculine at the same time. The colours are kept simple in white, black, grey and nude but are completed with a splash of light blue. As a former Architecture student “all the elements such as structure, geometry and proportions got stuck with me”, she says. During this time she also came across the material foam, which she now processes into flounces in her key-look. Nevertheless, she perfectly manages the balance between conceptual and wearable. What is most important to the up-and-coming designer after all are feelings. Ioana wants to express and share hers with every piece she creates. Unlike others she starts looking for inspiration within herself. Her experiences, characteristics and emotions lead to a very personal style but in a way other women still can relate to.

So for now, the best thing Ioana can do is to take Stella McCartney’s advice for her: “keep doing what you’re doing”.

Diese Fotostrecke entstand für L’Officiel Italia im Rahmen des Artikels über die aufstrebende Designerin Ioana Ciolacu.

Konzept & Styling: Valerie Soschynski

Fotos: Anita Bresser

Hair & Make-up: Helena Narra using Estée Lauder @ Agentur Nina Klein

Hair & Make-up Assistant: Timo Bloom

Model: Lucy @ Core Artist Management

Kleid & Cap: Ioana Ciolacu

Shortly before his death the German photographer established the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, in a partnership with the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. In the summer of 2004, his foundation within the Museum for Photography opened its doors in a former military casino. Now his great retrospective, which had been shown at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2012, returns to his hometown Berlin. More than 200 photographs, in both black & white and colour from all major work series, can be seen in the exhibition “Helmut Newton: Paris-Berlin. Exhibition Grand Palais 2012”. It also presents numerous portraits, fashion photographs for magazines from the 1960s through the 1990s, nudes, as well as product shots. The curators are his former wife June Newton and Jérôme Neutres.

Helmut Newton met actress June Brunell in 1947 in Australia, when she posed as a model for him. Their wedding was one year later. He became an Australian citizen in 1946 after five years of serving the Australian army. In the mid-fifties the couple travelled through Europe and Newton got his first contract with Vogue in London. He quit after eleven months and they went to Paris and back to Melbourne where he got a contract with Australian Vogue. But the city, which would become their new home for two decades was Paris. Newton got a full-time position with French Vogue and contributed to French Elle, British Vogue and Queen. Additionally, he was not only successful in editorials but in commercials as well. In 1990 he was awarded the French “Grand Prix National de la Photographie” and later the “Das Große Verdienstkreuz” of Germany for his amazing work.

As Newton wanted to support other artists with his foundation, there is the accompanying exhibition “Men” by Greg Gorman. It presents a series of black & white male nudes that the American photographer selected together with June Newton and that were created between 1988 and 2012.

The exhibition “Helmut Newton: Paris-Berlin. Exhibition Grand Palais 2012 // Greg Gorman: Men” will be shown until May 18th2014 at the Museum for Photography in Berlin.

The voluminous floor-wafting gowns created a romantic look that was still extremely sexy due to artfully applied transparency. At times zippers juxtaposed with the filigree materials, leaving an urban appeal. Sumptuous gem embellishments and flounces were given proof of the duo’s handcraft and tailoring expertise.

I met Johanna Kühl during Berlin Fashion Week backstage at the artistic space of Italia Palazzo where their show took place and talked about nymphs, new collaborations and the lust after abstinence.

What is the theme of your current collection?

From the beginning it was all about femininity and sensuality. Of course, these are themes which are always in our focus. But this time we really wanted to concentrate on the dress. It’s our core element because we started with dresses before we included the bridal couture and red carpet looks. So that was our starting point. The initial inspiration eventually came from a painting at the Musée D’Orsay, that we had seen in Paris during our last show there. It’s called “Les Oreades” and is by the French painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. There are flying nymphs. And that led to the whole nymph-oreads-theme, sensual beings from legends and mythology, as well as this elusive nature of women.

That fairy-tale-like spirit?

Yes, exactly. The women in these mythologies are mostly very feminine, with curves, long hair and very little clothing. We translated that into different elements. For instance we deconstructed lace in its component parts and then partially readjusted them manually so that individual lace appliqués are created with a 3-D effect. That is of course an immense work of craftsmanship – it really is couture. Not haute couture, we would never claim that, but couture, a lot of handwork. And everything is manufactured in Germany and Italy.

Which other elements feature the collection?

Most notably really are the floral lace appliqués. Basically our inspirations arise from nature, we work a lot with blossoms, flower and animal details. This time we adjusted blossoms made of vinyl like little worlds.

What are the other fabrics?

The typical for us – lace, chiffon, organza, mousseline.

Also leather?

Leather not so much, but we included it. We will also offer jackets and tops for the collection, which are not shown on the runway. We really wanted to have a clear message: dresses, dresses, dresses.

How come so?

There’s a really strong request from our shops. The evening dresses are sold out immediately. Some things might not work out for us, but the dress always does (laughs).

Are there projects or ideas you could recently fulfil?

At last the couture is a new way of working for us. The immersion in these couture details was really a lot of fun for us, we could really celebrate that, even though it was a lot of work as well. Apart from that we developed a limited edition make-up series with Catrice. It’s great to create our own look and to evolve colours.

Do you still have that shoe cooperation with Selve?

Yes. This time the shoes are reduced, efficient, if you will.

What kind of shoes?

We felt like doing high heels. After all this time of understatement we really lusted for femininity. You see all these reduced designs and think they are cool, but at some point you think, now you need volumes and short dresses and details again.

Do you have any projects planned for the future?

There are a lot of requests. Also in the beauty area. And lingerie. These are things we really like to do.

You are very open?

Yes we are really extremely open, just because it’s so much fun for us. We fancy variety. And also like other products – not always just fashion. We both had tended to be product designers. We would also like to design lamps, things that constitute a room.

Right before his show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin I talked to the visionary designer about his love for art, Cristóbal Balenciaga and his insatiable curiosity for knowledge.

What do you like about Berlin?

The generosity, the incredible growth, the possibility to have your privacy, the many lakes, because I’m Gdansk-born I need water around me, and the many great people. I didn’t found my brand here for no reason.

You said that the industry in Berlin is not that big yet. Are there other cities interesting for your brand?

We have showrooms in Paris and Milan as well. But here in Berlin I can actively participate in the whole process and I’m able to make changes. Today you can see what a great project we did in the workshops of the Deutsche Oper Berlin in cooperation with Prag PR and Catrice [the cosmetic brand is official partner of the show]. We have had off-site shows before, but they were never as complex.

You studied Art History after your Fashion Design studies at the London College of Fashion. Didn’t you want to start working as a designer right away?

Fashion was interesting to me for two years, but then I wanted to do something different. I also studied Psychology for one year in order to get to know myself better. I took some Architecture classes as well, but only along the way. To me Art History was important to gain more knowledge. I’ve always loved art. My mother, a fanatic art lover, always pushed me in that direction.

The Constructivism inspired this collection. How did that happen?

I’ve always loved Bauhaus and the Constructivism. The main inspiration was the Russian Suprematism. I like the radical approach to colour, shape and design. The Constructivism was one of the most enthralling epochs due to the collages. Everything was different and new – not necessarily beautiful, but it had a beauty within. And I like to deal with architecture and Bauhaus especially inspires me.

Do you have a favourite gallery or museum?

I love the Neue Nationalgalerie, it’s one of the most beautiful buildings in Berlin. There are many great places, including the Martin-Gropius-Bau. But I also like to travel to London. The Tate Modernis one of the greatest exhibition spaces you can imagine.

You said you are a book freak. What are you reading at the moment?

I always read three books at the same time. Right now it’s Steve Job’s biography, different ones about the Constructivism and the biography on Diana Vreeland, she was incredible humorous, a great woman.

Do you have a secret trick for when you loose inspiration?

I said that a couple of times, when I should stop developing myself I will quit fashion. That’s why my inner pressure is enormous. I’m searching for new ideas 24/7. And I’m extremely curious about what I can see and learn. I don’t own a TV though. I just live of music and books. I try to stay away from the stuff we don’t desperately need.

Is there something you would like to do in the future?

I would like to become the Creative Director at a big fashion house, maybe one very different from my brand. That would be amazing. We’re already having some talks about that.

That would be parallel to your own label?

Yes! I really want to do that! I always say how I have so much time. I never take vacations. I travel a lot for business, but it’s not work, it’s my life. That’s a great thing, to be able to say that. And I definitely want more – more of life, more of art and more of creativeness. That’s what pushes me.

Who is your designer example?

My role model has always been Cristóbal Balenciaga. I love his design – his radical approach to fabrics and these sensational shapes from the 40ies, these oversize coats... And he has been a great person too. I also read his biography recently.

You already did a men’s collection. Are you planning another one?

For now we’re focussing on women. I adore the female body. Women are the most beautiful creatures that surround me, my team basically just consists of them. I like it to work with just women.

Did you see the collection already? The print is amazingly beautiful.

It is based on architectonical drawings right?

Yes, it’s the architectonical floor plan of a high-rise building. We enlarged, shortened, stretched it and put some colour on it, a little bit in the style of Gerhard Richter. The fabrics arrived two weeks ago and look perfectly like someone had just drawn over them with a pencil and a brush.

Just two weeks before the show?

Yes, it’s an ongoing process. You always change something. I’m constantly aspiring towards perfection.