Text: Andrea Všetečková Photo: Ilja Hubálek
“Inspiration is something unplanned and intuitive. It is the result of a kind of mosaic in your head — it is like love at first sight; something simply clicks in your mind and lights up your heart,” says Jana Veselá Kuťková, chief designer at Blažek, about the very first milestone in the creation of a fashion collection.
All roads lead from Milan
Jana Veselá Kuťková conceives the concept for a new collection at least a year in advance. The entire preparatory process kicks off with the international trade fairs in Milan, where fabric manufacturers present their new collections for the coming season. “They offer an enormous range of innovative fabrics for designers and companies from every continent. People in different places have different needs and fabrics are tailored accordingly. I always go there with an idea in mind so that I have certain guardrails, but what is on offer helps me pull my vision together and draw inspiration,” comments Jana Veselá Kuťková.
“A huge impulse for me to try and create new things is the Milan fashion fair. It may not be all that interesting for the reader, but for me it is one of the key events that takes place every six months.”
During the period of buying fabrics and preparing the new collection, however, the designers are still working with the previous collection, for which they are preparing the styling of the runway show as part of Mercedes Benz Prague Fashion Week. “I never really have time dedicated exclusively to a single collection, let alone a clean desk. That is why, in this period especially, I take every opportunity to travel, where I have the time and space to gain perspective, and often come back with ideas on how to enhance and move the new collection forward,” explains Veselá Kuťková. It is for that reason, too, that the last three collections have been inspired by travel — be it Lisbon, Ireland, the island of Lanzarote or, currently, the Netherlands. Different destinations in different seasons offer a unique palette that shapes the collection from the ground up. “I return with a wealth of impulses and fresh inspiration, which I then pass on to my fellow designers in the studio, and together we develop that initial impulse. Preparing a single collection therefore takes almost half a year,” the chief designer describes the beginnings of each collection’s creation.
The world keeps accelerating and fashion is no exception. The fashion industry is currently set up so that, over the course of a year, brands produce two collections: spring/summer and autumn/winter. At Blažek, that means working on as many as three collections at the same time: the one currently in stores, the one whose preparation is parallel to it and drawing to a close, and the collection that is only just beginning its preparation with fabric selection at the aforementioned fairs.
The creative team in Blažek’s design department numbers three designers. Alongside Jana there is also Monika Štaudová. In addition to her role as a designer focused on knitwear, she is also in charge of denim, which is a very interesting discipline in its own right. The fabric for it is bought in a raw state, ready for various treatments — be it creating hand-made effects with a laser or various washing techniques. These are then used, in an entirely organic way, to create a natural look that imitates the appearance of everyday worn-in jeans. Knitwear, however, is also a very specific field. “I work directly with the material supplied by the fabric manufacturers, whether it is suiting fabrics or shirtings. Monika, unlike me, goes one step further back. She only has yarn at her disposal and creates the pattern and colour palette herself. With T-shirts, again, she creates the print from scratch,” is how Jana Veselá Kuťková describes the differences in the manufacturing processes.
Rounding out the design team is Veronika Bobčíková, who is in charge of outerwear — that is, the design of jackets and coats. A great deal has changed in this field lately. Wool fabric manufacturers have begun to offer materials not just for coats but for the rest of outerwear too, so very high-quality, functional coats and jackets are now made from suiting fabric. The material is bonded with a membrane and treated with a water-repellent layer, which makes it rain-resistant while remaining breathable. In her work, Veronika therefore has to accentuate current trends and demanding technological parameters at the same time more skilfully than anyone. A prime example is the functional down-filled jacket in the new autumn/winter 2019 collection, made from an exclusive fabric by the Italian manufacturer Thindown, which Blažek is introducing in the Czech Republic for the very first time.
Once it has been decided which fabrics will be used in a given collection, the designers still have three to four weeks before the manufacturers deliver them. During that time, they are designing. “I draw some things by hand and prepare others on the computer. Based on my design, the pattern makers prepare the cut and the sample tailor sews a prototype, we then try it on a model, and the garment is often further adjusted several times before we are completely satisfied. It is also important to say that when we devise a new collection, we build on what our brand has already created, on what worked, and on where something that proved itself can be taken next. We never shoot from the hip,” says Jana Veselá Kuťková.
From a button to a complete outfit
It is impossible to say for certain which part of the process of creating a fashion collection is the most demanding — each has its pitfalls. The choice of fabric is certainly no small matter; how a fabric will behave when worn is hard to predict. That is why you have to take great care over the final assembly of a model too — over choosing the right lining, the colour and size of the label, the button or the type of zip. This step is demanding because every fabric has different requirements, a different colour and structure, and must be approached entirely individually.
“We also place great emphasis on the cohesion of the outfits we put together and which we always offer to customers as complete looks. Pulling them together and offering the customer our point of view — that is what matters to us,” chief designer Jana Veselá Kuťková concludes her reflections.
Preparing a fashion collection is a living organism which, although it has certain fixed points, is roughly as unpredictable as tomorrow’s weather forecast. The factors that have to fall into place, as it were, are countless. The demands of the market, of customers, social trends and moods, and the pressure to keep coming up with something new — all of that plays a significant role in preparing a new collection for the next season. One thing, however, is certain. You have to LOVE it.
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