The Bite Magazine - Spring 2019 - Issue 24

bite fashion P aula Knorr is an exciting NEWGEN designer who has been championed by renowned fashion crit- ic and columnist Sarah Mower and BFC (British Fashion Council), who launched her latest collec- tion in collaboration with SWAROVSKI at London Fash- ion Week. The collection combines a comfort and ease of sportswear with luxurious fabrics and creative silhouettes creating a modern take on eveningwear. The presentation included a DJ which helped create an enjoyable environ- ment. For her latest collection, the inspiration behind her design ethos was for her eveningwear to provide as much comfort and ease as leisurewear in the centre of the design process. “Everything in the collection should be easy to wear, com- fortable and allow flexibility and movement. As a contrast, we worked with the most luxurious fabrics and haptics {such as] Swarovski crystals, liquid velvet, sequins in all shapes and sizes, and soft silks, as well as uber-feminine colour palette of rich red and wine tones, bright neon pinks and soft blush tones.” The essence of her brand is to create a new form of glam- orous feminine dressing that doesn’t cut out comfort. “90% of our garments are made with stretchy back or side panels to allow movement and flexible sizing. We develop unique and new ways of cutting garments which embrace feminin- ity while respecting the female body and giving the wearer the freedom to move and do whatever they want. For me, empowered evening wear means that glamour and weara- bility go hand-in-hand. My designs are about the woman that wears them. Her movement and her beauty should be the centre of attention.” Working with sparkly, velvety, liquid, glossy and glittery fabrics enables Paula to evoke true excitement and fulfil all the glamorous dreams her clients have. It was through this that the designer contacted Swarovski in a bid to create fabrics and textile designs that would push the glitter and glam of her collections to the maximum. “This season’s col- laborative pieces are very simple draped pieces on stretchy mesh, covered completely with different shapes and colours of Swarovski crystals and show the Paula Knorr design es- sence perfectly.” From a very young age, Paula always knew she wanted to create clothes. She recalls the memories of always sketch- ing and sewing outfits for her little sister. “Growing up in a very artistic household - my parents are both artists and illustrators; I naturally saw fashion as an art form and for a long time not the commercial side of it.” Fashion to her and especially women’s fashion means to challenge what femi- ninity means to them and she believes should be in society. As a designer, her sole field of work is to dress women, so she has the responsibility of being progressive, powerful and a fighter for their wishes. And in her small area of reach she has the chance to contribute and absolutely change something for women. Her desire is to support and illus- trate female identity which is at the core of her designing process. “In fashion you sometimes get the feeling that the superfi- cial vision of a girl and her clothes on the runway is getting more attention than the real woman that wears the garment later on. Every season, I try to design a method to reverse that and remind people of the actual purpose of fashion. The woman should be in the foreground not the clothes; It’s all about her body, her movement and her personal beauty.” When asked about her design signature, Paula replied, “When I started my research, I had this Idea of a wet body stepping into a sheet of fabric and the fabric clinging to the body and the way it drapes across. This idea then transi- tioned into a dress with a flexible jersey on the back which pulls an organically shaped silk front around the body shape to create a ‘relief ’ like look. These ‘relief pieces’ are among my best sellers.” The first article of clothing she designed was a top made out of silk ribbons for her little sister when she was ten years old, after getting her first sewing machine. “She wore it to a wedding and looked very cute.” The designer tries to cast as diversely as possible. “A lot of designers work with fictive girls as a muse. I am inspired by realistic female identities to influence my designs with reality. I always have this at the forefront of my mind at a casting.” When coming up with a concept for a collection, Paula tries not to move on too quickly and would rather deepen the vision of her brand. “With every collection, I try to work on another aspect of the world I would like to create with Paula Knorr. It’s never a completely new concept; it’s more about focusing on the details and intensifying important and different aspects of the brand.” A celebrity she would like to dress is Rihanna. “She is unapologetically herself and has also become this inventive, intelligent business woman.” On the subject of whether she prefers to sketch her designs or construct them, Paula’s main intention is to always put the woman in the foreground not the clothes. “This interac- tion and balance between the body and garments is essen- tial. The details, print, etc, come second. That’s why I never start with the drawing of my ideas, I have to drape and pref- erably create them directly on a real body to explore how they interact. Interestedly, she likes to work in 3D with movement as the fourth dimension. “I love the challenge of creating some- thing creative with a true purpose.” And if she could go back and tell herself one thing before starting her career, it would be to “stay true to my vision and don´t introduce new ideas too quickly. As a young designer you have to re- alise that the fashion world just sees a glimpse of your work. They will not get bored when you show them similar things; they rather get confused when you move on to quickly.” www.paulaknorr.uk