Fashion is my language and I try to feed on different areas, but it seems that I prefer a diet based on contemporary art and South American writers. The way I operate when I approach a new topic, a new collection, is constant and relies on a simplifying and minimizing of the line, of the shape of the final product. As a personal strategy, instead of extensive orchestration I pursue a balanced balance of idea and product. It is very true that contemporary fashion movement is often packed as avant-garde, yet I do not militate against specific rules of clothing design, neither do I adopt a radical attitude. I strongly believe that the geo-cultural space where my pieces are worn can insert my work into a historical trend, be it avant-garde, futuristic or constructivist, although I am quite fond of simple ingredients and the ease of reading the outlined product. Owing to its cultural, ethnic and social diversity, Los Angeles is the place that inspires.
Smaranda, thank you for having us in your studio. Tell us, what are you working on at the moment?
I’m trying to figure out and outline patterns, materials, silhouette and texture to make up the next season for me, while 2019 is all about launching a new capsule line … but I prefer not to say too much. I am collaborating on a project with pouf.ro, we are launching it in March.
Do you have an aesthetic creed? What values are guiding your artistic practice?
I would rather not list inspirational cultural models. I think a 3D scanning of my immediate vicinity, meaning the exhibitions I see, the things I read, the show of the street, and more recently the presence of a pure and cheerful being in my life, opens up a multitude of new valves previously unaccounted for.
What's your favorite color and why?
I like colors! And I keep from black as much as I can … I do not know exactly which one I like the most, but I know I don’t like yellow … probably because of the hair color… blonde, yellow is not really good on me J:).
Which aspect has priority when creating a collection, the practical or aesthetic one? How do you manage the combination of the two?
I think that when we talk about fashion, we also mean business, and business is sustained by compromise, but the one notion does not exclude the other. Ideally, you should be able to have a catwalk collection where you can creatively unfold without restraint and a derived collection of ready to wear pieces. Actually emotion connects the two notions, every sign, every gesture or line drawn with the pencil, each molding, each cut of material is to some extent a challenge, the challenge and the emotion that appears and sweats before the “new”.
How are intention, planning, execution and the end product connected for you?
I think fashion is both discipline and experiment. I would say that my approach is experimental. And I’m continually experimenting. The system does not interfere, it neither exerts pressure, that’s why I make the most of this period, and I strongly rely upon the importance and relevance of the experiment in the creative process.
Is there any recurrent element/symbol/theme in your works?
There isn’t.
Nature or culture? Where are you taking your themes from?
Cultura în natură.
How do you put yourself in the state of doing when there is no inspiration?
I try to carry on working, to totally avoid such situations …
Tell me three artists you like, who motivate you and make you work.
Jack Pierson, Sterling Ruby, Ion Țuculescu.
How much does your art depend on the location/space you work in?
I don’t think it depends on a particular location, I’ve changed several studios since 2010, but I like it out there in a community … I like to visit other workshops, I like interacting with other artists.
What do you think about the local artistic community, how do you relate to it?
I’m an observer and a player.
How do you relate to the international artistic context?
I feel privileged to be able to navigate easily in different international cultural spaces. I believe that the informational inflation provided by social media needs to be doubled by the experience lived in a given cultural context.
Just ask yourself the question you wanted to answer but you did not get it.
Smaranda, are you wearing clothes made by you ? 🙂
Where can we see more of your products?
On my website, smaranda-almasan.com.
