Interviews with two representatives each of ten areas of applied and desing art on their own careers and the current state of profession | The artists talked to Hedvig Dvorszky and László Attila Márton

- How did you find your way to the area in which you became a well-known and recognised artist?
- In which of your works do you think you succeeded in realising the objectives you had set?
- What is the current situation and the future of your profession like? What are its opportunities?

Garment design is centred on people, on exploring the human body and soul – its proportions, innermost qualities, modes of existence, self-expression, movements and changes – and expressing all this with a range of materials, forms, patterns, colours and surfaces. The garments I design have simple cuts and are built on the properties of textile, its decorativeness and the freedom of movement. I am seeking a constant essence that crosses the boundaries of time and space on the tumultuous fashion scene.

In 1981 I was invited to teach at the leather specialisation course of the Secondary School of Visual Arts. This new responsibility besides working as a designer changed my life. My professional ties also expanded rapidly from 1979, when I became a member of the Association of Hungarian Fine and Applied Artists. I debuted in 1985 with a solo exhibition in Műcsarnok’s exhibition venue in Dorottya Street. My ars poetica was: “Garments can be exhibits as well as a means to convey an artistic message.” A year later I was elected to be the head of the Textile Division of the Association of Hungarian Fine and Applied Artists, and in 1988 I received an invitation from the Design Education Institute of the Hungarian College of Arts and Crafts to teach garment design; I participated in the MA programme. These years opened up entirely new dimensions for me, and I was able to help many talented young designers to start a successful career. From 1986 to 1992 I coordinated the participation of the students of the College of Arts and Crafts in the Young Designers international competition organised by Air France and the Cultural Ministry of France, as well as by the Japanese company, Yomiuri Shin-bum. For many years I organised the Hungarian project and I was an invited member of the jury at the international finals in Paris. I also enjoyed several professional successes: in 1898 I debuted in the Barbican Centre of London with a solo exhibition, at the cultural programme titled Britain Salutes Hungary. I received the Munkacsy Prize in 1990. I won the scholarship of the Hungarian Academy in Rome in 1993, and have been able to benefit from my experience of that period in my designs, at various shows and in my educational work alike.

Interview conducted by Hedvig Dvorszky

Like many other designs I made, the work exhibited here, at Salon 2017, was realised thanks to my master, who recommended me for participation in a large-scale touring exhibition, titled Twenty Garments for Europe, organised by the Cervantes Institute. They invited twenty internationally acclaimed designers asking each one of them to design a garment inspired by a different literary work. Visitors could view these beautiful designs in Madrid, Brussels, and in the Petőfi Literary Museum in Budapest. I was fortunate to be able to exhibit my piece alongside such famous names as Jesus Del Pozo, Devota & Lomba, and Agatha Ruiz De La Prada. I only exhibit this design on special occasions, and I feel that Salon 2017 is one of these.

During my university years, I participated in many international competitions. I had the opportunity to take my designs to Japan, China, France, Italy, Finland, Germany and Austria. In 1996, I was in the second year of my studies when I won the second most important prize, called the Chief Judge Prize, at the World Fashion Contest Japan, where 150,000 projects were entered in the competition. A few years later, UNESCO organised a world competition, where I was selected among the top fifty designers. I was invited to go to the award ceremony in China, and my design went on tour in Paris and Japan. Today that design of mine is preserved in the collection of the Kobe Fashion Museum. I created my own brand, NATI 100% PURE IDEA, in the year of my degree project. I had it trademarked at the Hungarian Patent Office, and then I began to design the collections.

For some reason I have always been drawn to shaping the surface of materials the most. Fashion design is an applied genre. And it has always been my ambition to design some extra garments besides the ones that can be worn in the street. My collections always have a kind of ‘culmination’, a piece designed not to be worn by the masses. I believe that collections need to have unique, signature items that make their designer distinct from others. My ultimate goal is to achieve a perfect combination of the art of fashion with more casual garments. I can feel potential in myself, but I need some support for my brand to be able to realise this potential.

Interview conducted by László Attila Márton