For Lara Volkonskaya, fashion and art are interchangeable. And with her vibrant collection of silk wraps, any true style maven can tell this immediately. If you're a gal who is searching for that classic fashion piece that you can't find in every other department store, whether shopping for yourself, your mom, your sister, or that really cool aunt of your who is obsessed with art nouveau, Lara's designs will satisfy your craving. To my lovely male readers -- think ideas! A fabulous gift for a loved one, be it her summer birthday, an anniversary, an early Valentine's Day present to store away, or that always coveted just-because gift, be sure to take in my interview with Lara (and that's her as the model! Awesome, right?)
...Another one of my inspirational interviews that I bring to you! Enjoy:
How long have you been "painting on silk?"
This is correct: an artist first and a designer second. I strongly believe that when a designer chooses a fabric it’s the fabric that dictates the shape and destination of clothes and not vice versa. Plus, if you choose a painting for clothes the task of a designer becomes not to spoil the painting. It’s like being a good sculptor: a good sculptor takes a piece of marble and removes all the unnecessary parts and pieces thus creating a work of art. The same is with me: I take a painting and turn it into a wearable piece of art.
What type of woman do you hope to attract with your pieces?
I’ve been painting all my life whether it was a piece of paper or a wall. The idea of painting on silk came to me when I lived in New York. I became acquainted with Japanese culture through reading ancient Japanese poetry. In ancient Japan and China people who represented high society wore exclusively silk clothes and wrote poetry about color combinations of their clothes. Dressing well was considered to be an art. Silk was extremely expensive at that time. Silk clothes were a luxury to own. Indeed, silk lets your skin breath and it cools your body in the summer and keeps it warm during cold times of year if you wear something over it. I made my first paintings and gave them as gifts to the UN where I worked at the time. To my surprise they were framed and hung on walls. Then I sold a couple of paintings to several museums and after that I decided that if my paintings belong in a museum it means that clothes made of such paintings, would belong in a museum as well, together with women that wear them.
Are there certain modern-day designers that you hope to catch attention from? Is that one of your goals?
So far my clothes have attracted women of an “elegant age” who understand beauty. But I hope to attract younger women, too who are looking for colors and have enough personality to make a statement with their clothes.
One of my favorite sections on your size is your size chart. It shows that you are very concerned with fit and making sure that the customer understands her body...
This is correct. In Europe, for example body must follow the clothes and here, in the USA it’s clothes that must follow the body.
The "Ancient Greece" piece is one of my favorites. Do you favor one style over another of yours?
Yes, of course. It’s a question of what becomes to me most. In other words, which style expresses my feminine wonderful self most? Since I consider myself to be a Renaissance woman it’s the Renaissance style that I prefer most.
Are any of your pieces being sold in a walk-in boutique?
Not yet. I am planning to open a boutique here, in Vegas towards the end of the year.
Do you create art on other mediums?
I do. I create art on paper: I write poetry and so far I have published a dozen of books of poetry.
* Contact Hermitage Art to Wear for more information!
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lara
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