CITYist

22 year-old womenswear designer Lako Bukia took the time out from designing her eponymous fashion line to tell us a bit about her inspired collections and what Lako Bukia is all about.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on my new SS 2012 collection, which will be ready in August.

What do you think makes you different from other designers who are out there right now?

Lako Bukia is a womenswear brand, which is trying to redefine the way the world sees femininity and sexuality. Due to a decade long pressure from the fashion world and show business representatives, femininity and sexuality are now widely perceived as being equal to wearing tight and revealing clothes. The women of the world forgot that there is something more exciting in the about the mystery of those type of garments which do not stress one’s body shape, and thus pointing to a more important side of a woman. This is one of the reasons I think my designs are different. They convey a different meaning; a meaning I think is missing in fashion today.

What has been your biggest inspiration for your collections?

There are different things that inspire me every season: my mood, exhibitions that I visit, places I travel to, people I meet and things like that. But I think my biggest inspiration always comes from my country, Georgia, with its culture and history.

Will you be showing in September for New York’s Fashion Week?

I am usually showing in London, as I am based in the UK. In the future I would love to be part of New York Fashion Week and I am considering this option. I really want to get to know New York’s fashion industry and crowd, and I also want them get to know me.

Do you feel your young age has hurt or helped you in the industry? How so?

I guess both. I love when people call me a young designer and they judge my work according to my age.  I also feel I have lots of time to explore different things, in case something goes wrong, I still have many years ahead to make everything perfect. I don’t regret that I started so early, because I believe in myself and I am lucky to have people that believe in me and support me.

What type of woman is the ideal Lako Bukia client?

I think my clients should be very feminine, sensitive, intellectual, should have a personal style and should want to stand out of the crowd. It is very important to me that a person is intelligent and has a very strong sense of identity.

With the pieces in your collection, do you feel that there’s one piece in your most recent collection that you really feel every woman should own?

I never say that someone should like or own pieces from my collections, because there are so many opinions and styles. But from my recent collection I think black chiffon shirt with leather details is the piece that everyone can wear and look different and stylish.

Is there any one celebrity out there that you’d love to get your hands on and dress?

When I was a kid my biggest dream was to see celebrities wearing my designs at the Oscar’s  (I didn’t know what designing was back then) but I think this was one of reasons I became a designer. There are so many celebrities out there that I adore and all of them have different styles. That’s why I can’t say Lako Bukia will suit them all. But I would be very excited to see Sienna Miller in my clothes.

You can see more of her past work and gain more insight at: http://www.lakobukia.com/