Designer Profile 2023: Kate Shchukina

In conversation with first-time MODA fashion show designer Kate Shchukina:

Tell me a little about yourself.

Hi, I’m kate, I’m a second-year CS and psychology major, and this is my first time designing. I'm pretty excited!

What has your experience been like with the DBC program?

It’s been awesome! I came in with a big interest in fashion, and reading about and studying fashion history are some things that I have been interested in forever. But, I had no experience with practical creation—okay, my grandma taught me how to sew a button when I was six, but that doesn't count. 

Janelle, our lovely sewing instructor, was very productive and helpful, and I feel like she gave us a lot of foundation to work stuff out by ourselves—we only had six or seven four-hour sessions and that left me feeling prepared to do stuff on my own, she was great!

How would you say you grew to be a designer?

I have a checklist sort of —like a very vague one of things I wanna do that I’ll basically only have the opportunity to do in college. There’s sewing, 3D printing, and soldering in the MAAD center (I don't know why I would need it, but it’s there and you can learn it for free). I'm actually incorporating 3D printing in my design!

But, yeah, I’ve always wanted to design stuff. I’m not a particularly artsy person. I think in Math and CS there’s a certain aesthetic but beyond that, sewing felt very hobby-like to me. Presentation is just very interesting, you know? It’s creative what you choose to spend your life wearing.

Kate’s Mood Board

In what ways would you say that your surroundings contribute to your work inspirationally, creatively, and innovatively?

I think a large part of the content I consume and the things I'm interested in are pretty much directly responsible for the things I associate with fashion and inspiration. So, something I’m really interested in is mycology, the study of mushrooms. I don't know that much about it, to be honest, but I’ve been learning a lot, and a big part of that is kind of the decay as well as the interconnectedness of systems and the idea of unity—which I guess steers a bit further than just science. I think there is this sense that everything is associated with everything or linked in a way. Then there’s another part to that, which is that decay, and the idea that leaving stuff alone sometimes can be very beautiful—that's something I wanted to emulate in my designs.

Honestly, the base was just the kind of design I like, and I personally enjoy the 50s silhouette. I have a great book on the history of fashion, which really goes through the history of fashion as a concept. So, from that, I got a good sense of the general rules of fashion used during that decade.

What is the process like for you to move your creations off paper/sketch to make them tangible?

The initial sketches that I gave to MODA directors when I was applying were very vague and based on the vibe—like I wanted the audience to feel a certain way, more so than I had a vision.

 I think a big part of my creative development was picking my models and seeing them. Honestly, the night they told me I could have them, I redesigned all three of my looks because I felt like the people that were going to be wearing them all had these distinct personalities. It was interesting because not only their physical appearances but, the way they walked and carried themselves felt like it gave personality to the looks. Then I had a lot of fancy ideas about my looks, and those got simpler when I learned to sew. The other tough thing was finding patterns, you know? You're coming up with your own stuff, so it's hard to find things that are similar to alter, and I’ve been sewing for a little bit over a month so it’s still scary to alter stuff. But it's really fun and I find sewing to be very meditative. I just really enjoyed the process, and I think a lot of stuff comes up as I'm sewing, like I think, “Oh, this would be cool”, and then I show my models. 

So you talked a bit about how your models influence your looks. But how would you say you want your clothes to make your models and audience feel?

With the models, I firmly believe that if a person (this isn’t even about the runway) doesn't like the clothes that they are wearing, the clothes will look terrible on them. Even if they're the most beautiful thing in the world, it just won't work out!  I think it’s very sad in the Haute Couture fashion scene how models are seen as hangers, and I think that's part of why people are so disillusioned with modern high fashion. So, I think the key thing I wanted when I reached out to my models was that they liked what they were wearing. From the start, I said “if you hate it completely, I totally understand,” but also, I was open to reworking. I asked them what body parts they wanted to accentuate and what it was they wanted to highlight.

That’s very sweet of you.

Well... I don't even think it's like a sweet nice person thing. I think it’s important to–

Listen to your models.

Yeah! So, I got some feedback which was really nice. They asked about color choices, and I was like “I was thinking this, but what do you think would look good on you?” Another thing is that I feel like you know yourself better and the models have different skin tones and different hair than me, so I think they know what works for them better than I do. Even though I'm the one with the “vision.” If you don't listen to that I think it can feel kind of inauthentic.

Then in terms of the audience, that's a lot more intimidating to me because my experience is mostly with personal fashion, in which case I don't really care what people think. Within reason. But, for this, I think I want a sense of confusion. I think there is a contrast between things that are conventionally beautiful and things that are somewhat gross, which I think is quite hard to illicit, and I'm honestly still not sure if I'm doing it right. But, that's ideally what I would want. You know beauty, not just in terms of the body, but aesthetics are so subjective and I think it's very cool when people confront that. Like “is this beautiful?” even though it's something I've never seen before.

Besides your models, who do you envision wearing your pieces?

I don't think they're very wearable outside of the runway *laughs* if I'm honest. I feel like you could possibly integrate them into daily life. I know that when there's an economic recession, fashion goes kind of crazy. So, maybe in five years, these we’ll be the most average looks ever. But, fashion is shifting so fast that I can't really say. As of today, though, I don't know if I would convince someone to wear them out and about.

If you were to choose some words to summarize your collection, what would they be?

Decrepit—

Ooh, that’s a good word.

How many words am I allowed to choose?

Let’s cap it at three.

Okay, so we’ve got decrepit, we’ve got… circular? And I don’t know if it's too big-headed to say... confrontational?

No, not at all.

That's what I would aim for. I'm not going to lie, I’m like halfway done, so I don't even know what it’s gonna turn out like yet. But that's how I imagine it.

What exactly do you want to confront?

The idea of solid beauty 'cause, I think most people, at this point, understand that there are cycles in terms of what is attractive—like in terms of bodies, fashion silhouettes, and all that jazz. But I think there’s more to it.  It's looser than a lot of people think.  As I said with the recession comment, a lot of the things we're seeing are confrontational. I think a really good example is people shaving off their eyebrows, especially after coming from the thick full-brows trend—not going for something that is subtle or trying to break apart from the norms— to me, that is confrontational.

What will be the most fulfilling part of seeing your clothes move down the hallway?

I want to see the models feel comfortable and enjoy what they are wearing; I think that’s honestly the thing I'm most nervous about. I went to the fashion show last year, and I don't think I saw anything I disliked, but I think the most impactful and important experience is that of the models; so, I hope people like how they look.

Do you have any ending lines or anything?

I would like to say that if people are curious about fashion and design and are interested in applying to DBC, I really want to encourage it! It’s very gradual; they really walk you through it. Also, if you're just interested in fashion in general, there’s a whole MODA ecosystem to find something. It's pretty awesome!