Today might have been the day that Kimberly Ovitz debuted her Spring/Summer 2013 line, but despite the today’s the day feeling backstage, Ovitz was calm, collected, and fresh when she ducked out of makeup to meet with me this morning. Surely, it was a sign that her collection was just as collected and confident as she was.
And it turned out it was. Her third runway show and seventh fashion week run, Kimberly Ovitz delivered another masterpiece, featuring soft fabrics strategically draped and tied on models’ bodies. The models wore braids and matte makeup with dark red around their eyes, and walked on a catwalk made of clay without shoes. The look was back to basics and beautiful, but modernized with some bolder colors and structured shapes. It was both earthy and forward.
In the brief moments before show time, Ovitz allowed me to get some insight into her line:
How would you describe your Spring/Summer 2013 line in three to six words?
Create your own mythology. Nomad. Ritual.
I know that a lot of times a designer will say, “I created this line for this kind of girl.” Who is the girl that your spring/summer 2013 is meant for?
This season I was inspired by an artist named Almagul Menlibayeva, who is a Kazakhstani performance artist. She breeds these fictitious images that are spiritual and ritualistic but not referencing a specific religion. She promotes the idea that people can create their own mythology and I thought that was a really empowering message. So I guess my collection this season is for a woman who is strong, effortless, down to earth, and is very much creating her own path.
Do you see any flow between your *Fall/Winter 2012 collection and this one?*
There is always the same woman in mind, but it’s a very different concept.
I feel like a lot of the time a designer becomes known for doing a certain “thing,” like *Alexander Wang is known for the gritty street thing, and that is what he does best, and people expect it. But you also an urge to evolve, and people also want to see that from you, even though they also want you to keep your aesthetic. How do you evolve and stay true to yourself?*
I started young when I was 24, so I had all this growing to do, and as I grew, the collection grows, and I think you definitely could see that. Now I’ve finally found my voice, and once you do that it feels like second nature to have it be inherent in each collection.
Thank you for your time, Kimberly.
By Sarah
Images courtesy of Kimberly Ovitz
