My motto: You are what you wear!
Fashion is a branch of art, art which works with the people and for the people.
My name is Alexandra Calafeteanu and I’m a Fashion Designer. I graduated from The National University of Fine Arts in Bucharest and I also hold a Master’s Degree in Fashion Design and Pedagogy of Arts.
A fashion designer is the person who should have the power to translate a vision into a sketch, a pattern or a piece of clothing, being able to establish an interaction between material, body and society.
The dress is a subtle form of communication that can show one’s mood and personality. My job requires communication skills, imagination, creativity, independent thinking, prompt decision, initiative, ability to work both in a team and individually, and I find myself in all these traits.
My creations address all those I find in my desire to portray a bold, lively, yet feminine woman. I love the refined and relaxed style, I’m a follower of elegance, while attire still remains both comfortable and easy to wear.
I address the modern woman whose identity divides, multiplies in as many characters as may belong to the angelic fragility, while still often hiding a strong inner strength.
Spiritual involvement is important in each of my creations. In making a collection I take into account that fashion is a social barometer, being subject to a relationship of interdependence with everything that makes up the daily life-style. As a fashion designer I must keep myself up-to-date about all cultural and social events, and always get the “market pulse“.
In order to look to the future with clarity and confidence, I should fathom the past, find the elements between old and new, between the glowing past ages and future technology.
When I conceive a new collection I “go” on a virtual research and documentation trip, looking for a place that inspires me, I collect data from the library, I see the trends given by great designers, I add my own ideas, put them all together, and thus set up the basis of my collection.
As soon as the sketches are made, the collection already “marches” before my eyes.
New and old always meet in fashion creations. They come together, dovetail, and reinvent themselves. Many of the pieces of clothing created by me are inspired by fashion in the 20s, 50s, 70s … a reinvention of styles with new shapes, textures, which may be of course accessorized and completed with vintage items.
I willingly work with any fabric, trying to find balance between shape, material and color. More often than not it is the material that is inspiring you, giving you the idea. Color, texture lights your imagination. It “tells” you what the person for whom you create would be like, whether she should be sexy, sensual, elegant or sport. I imaginarily dress the future character with that very piece of fabric.
I think my life and how I perceive myself as an individual are also reflected in my creations. I like to think that a woman mustn’t give up femininity to succeed in a man’s world, she can be strong and educated while still keeping her tenderness.
I appreciate brands and designers such as Burberry Prorsum, Carolina Herrera, Loewe, Badley Mischka, Chado Ralph Rucci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vera Wang, YSL, and I’d like to have the power and inspiration to reach the hearts of as many people as possible through my creations.
I don’t like to have rules imposed on me or to impose rules, however, as a piece of advise, I think fashion extremism should be avoided: one should neither try to stand out by vulgarity, kitsch, chaotic mix of styles, by ostentatiously displaying brands, nor by choosing a toneless and dull outfit. It’s good to reach harmony between our personality and fashion trends.
I believe clothing is what helps us to be visually perceived the way we want to. Culture and education will have a say in future and I hope more and more people will understand and appreciate fashion as a branch of art, which it is, the art that works with the people and for the people.
