If you are not one of those people who believe that a person must go against his luck, perhaps an interview with fashion designer Ivana Kuráňová will convince you of this truth. It is living proof that even in Slovakia we have smart and talented people who have experienced first-hand things that we can only dream of in our wildest imaginations.
How does one become a fashion designer? Was it your dream since childhood?
I liked to sew dolls since I was little. I always tried to improve their outfit! Then I wanted to dress differently than what was available in stores. I sewed for myself and my family, and that grew into a love of designing.
Your career in this field was mainly started by going to England. Did you go out into the world with this intention?
I went to England like everyone else. Learn the language. However, I had a plan to apply to the London College of Art, where I did a postgraduate course in Created Pattern Cutter. There, my teacher noticed me and he suggested that I would like to teach students at the prestigious Royal College of Art. I was very happy. From then on it went on its own.
She worked for well-known fashion brands such as Marchesa or Roksanda Ilincic. Making a name for yourself in this industry is certainly not easy for a young girl from Slovakia. How did you manage?
I simply went to the interview and people liked me. Out in the UK and especially in the US, it's important to show what you can do and how you can do it. There they are not interested in who your father or mother is and who you know. I like that very much. It is talent and the desire to do or improve every day that decides.
She also created dress collections for the famous designer Alexander McQueen. Did you have a chance to meet him personally?
Alexander McQueen was and still is a phenomenon for me. He started as one of the few to see fashion through different eyes and that was very inspiring for many others after him. If I had to compare him to someone in the music business, it would be the BEATLES. I did editing documentation for models for Alexander. I never met him personally, I think that when I was there, his infamous period began, which ended so unhappily... . I worked with his main assistant, who then took over the brand after his death.
She sewed dresses for world celebrities from the world of film or politics. Can you tell us which celebrities you dressed?
Yes, I participated in clothes for British Prime Minister David Cameron's wife Samantha, American President Michelle Obama's wife, Penelope Cruz, Claudia Shiffer, Scarlett Johansson, Cameron Diaz, Norwegian Princess Mette-Marit, English Princess Kate Middleton, etc. It was interesting and exciting work.
During her work in the United States, she also met the American producer Harvey Weinstein. What do you think of the "me too" campaign? Isn't it just an inflated bubble?
Harvey Weinstein is a powerful man who is confident in the success he has achieved in the film industry. I always had a pleasant feeling about him. He was always nice and very polite to me. I think you're probably right about the inflated bubble. I don't want to offend anyone or make light of something, but we all know how things sometimes go behind the "big puddle".
After years spent abroad, she decided to return to Slovakia. What led you to such a decision? Wasn't that too much of a shock?
Returning back to Slovakia was a big step and a bit of a shock, but I don't regret it. Home is home. Especially for children who have a better childhood here than in London. And they have the whole family here with their grandparents. They are probably the happiest about it.
How do you perceive the differences in the functioning of the fashion industry in the world and here at home, in little Slovakia?
We certainly do not dictate fashion in Slovakia. Fashion trends will come from big brands from Paris, New York, London, Milan. Even so, in Slovakia we are able to create our own style. However, there is no purchasing power here. People are influenced by the price rather than the quality of the product in their decisions. And that's a big shame for everyone. Well, I think that is slowly starting to change. And slow is very slow.
You started your own brand Ferity, you work with Czechoslovak legend Nehera. What are your next plans for the future?
I want to devote more time to my brand, which I often relegate to second place before other orders or my family. I would like to get Ferity up and running already this year. We have built a new modern studio in the center of the city in Ružomberok, so I hope that this will be the point from which the Ferity brand will bounce off into a new life. We are preparing a modern website as well as an e-shop. I am very much looking forward to all the new things that will come.
Your life sounds like a fairy tale. Do you have a recipe for success?
A fairy tale? That's what it looks like when you look at it from the outside, that's what many people who are not involved in this business think, because you only see the cover of the whole thing. But behind all this is a lot of work, sacrifice, stress and even tears. Recipe for success? I think that the desire to create and an enormous amount of hard work, and of course the inevitable pinch of luck, are always reflected somewhere. Unfortunately, there is no recipe for success.
The interview was prepared by: Vladimír Dubeň