EDITH A´GAY

The interview with Edith A´Gay was a premiere. It was the first time Lorenz (he is back from his holiday... read his post about Venice and the Biennale) accompanied me to an interview. So we made our way to meet Edith A´Gay, Hungarian born designer who was a student of the great Helmut Lang. Arriving at the atelier Maria her PR, who I had met before and who was kind enough to arrange the interview for us (thx for that Maria) opened the door and we entered a world full of great ideas and wonderful clothes. We sat down on a huge white sofa and started talking about architecture, Coco Chanel and the simplicity in clothes.

AW: Tell us about your presentation at the MQ Vienna Fashion Week? 

E: I will show a mixture of my SS09 collection FEATHERS and my SS10 collection called ROTATION. Im showing the same in Paris as well. At the fashionweek I am working together with Andreas Eberharter (label and_i) as I have many times before. He sees jewellery more as an object than as jewellery. My clothes are very reduced and somehow it fits perfectly together- it's the perfect balance between minimalism and dominance. The styling of the models will be extreme. So you can look forward to that.

AW: You were a student of Helmut Lang. Would you say that you look up to him?

E: I think what he did was amazing. He influenced me a lot. The ongoing reduction is just amazing.

AW: Your collection is named Rotation… 

E: Yes… The idea behind it is to create clothes with as little seams as possible. Geometric forms are used as sewing patterns.  Circle, cube, triangle, square…I want to transfer these forms onto the human body. My collection is made out of 100% pure silk.

AW: That sounds really architectural. Are you inspired by architecture?

E: Yes its my statement. I really like Zaha Hadid. I have known her before she got famous and admire her work. I think she is completely different and very interesting.

AW:What inspires you?

E: Everything. Your eyes, a picture, friends, and things I see on the street and art. I love art and I am interested in history of art.  Just everything. For this collection my inspiration came from Alfons Schilling's spin paintings. He is a really nice person. I visited him in his atelier and he showed me his pictures.  I didn’t adopt them a 100% but that’s clear. It's his work and I do not want to take it.

AW: To whom do you look up to?

E: I adore Coco Chanel. What she did was extraordinary.

 AW: So have you seen the new movie about her yet?

E: To be honest no. I wanted to go but I am just to busy at the moment. The MQ VIENNA FASHIONWEEK, Paris fashion week and I will go to Japan as well to show my clothes. But I will watch it definitely when everything is over.

AW: You're showing in Paris- the fashion capital of the world. Why also in Vienna?

E: I think that the MQ VIENNA FASHIONWEEK is an interesting project. My hope is that this fashion week becomes a tradition soon. I would love to show regularly in Vienna.

 AW: How would you describe the Austrian style? 

E: (laughing) A friend of mine from Germany once told me that he is amazed by the Viennese elegance. How the Austrians dress. But I personally think that a lot of work has to be done in Austria.

AW: Do you think that the MQ VIENNA FASHIONWEEK can help in that process?

E: (laughing again) No.  It just takes time to develop an own style. I think that in Vienna it depends on which street you walk. Everywhere you have different styles. And that’s what I like.

AW: Do you think that Vienna has the potential to compete on the same level as Paris or Milan?

E: I am absolutely sure about that, but it will take time.

 AW: How would you define beauty?

E: For me beauty is not beautiful. If I see something beautiful I immediately lose interest. I think that beauty is very personal and special. I often see something and think "that’s really amazing", even though my friends think that it is ugly.

AW: So what are your next goals?

E: The next big step will be the opening of my own shop, which I am very excited about.

x, a.