This week, we were so excited to chat with Andrada Bodea about her designs. We also got a peek at her illustrations!

Hi, Andrada – how did you get started on your journey as a designer?

My earliest memories started with drawing. Drawing was one of my passions and I remember asking my father to draw me things and watching my mother work who is a graphic designer. What I really loved to draw was clothing. Growing up my interest in fashion grew and once I saw a Vogue Talents article about the fashion schools in the UK I knew what I was going to do so I enrolled myself to London College Of Fashion where I graduated from in 2016.

Tell us about your heritage and life in Transylvania, do you feel this has influenced your work?

Growing up in a family where art represented a great interest. My father was an avid collector of books about art, history, travel and sci-fi. My mother was a graphic designer this gave me the opportunity to have access from an early age to a computer and to different design software which I was using in a playful way and opened the door to the digital world. I think this greatly influenced me and is a big part of who I am today.

“What I really loved to draw was clothing”

Where do you get the inspiration for your work?

I like to get inspired by contemporary subcultures, music, events and art. Music is a big part of my life and represents a great source of inspiration.

Tell us all about your most recent collection, PROTOTYPE.

The collection is inspired by an underground culture with a dystopian dark futuristic twist. By deconstructing functional fashion and accessories and fusing it with sportswear, it creates an industrial urban nymph look, futuristic but lived-in, distressed contrasting with fine luxurious fabrics and details. The rebellious nature of the collection has a conceptual feel and merges masculinity with femininity creating a glamour meets grunge story. The juxtapose between structural and geometrical shapes blended with the relaxed streetwear look work to achieve an edgy collection. My aesthetic approaching this collection was a sophisticated urban look with an edgy conceptual feel.

What was it like to showcase at Feeric Fashion Week 2017?

Feeric was a one of a kind experience which enabled me to showcase my work in a unique location with amazing people. The show marks the beginning of my journey as a brand. It was amazing to have my debut in the place of birth and at the same time I felt very honored to be awarded a full scholarship at the Institute of Design IED Milan thanks to Feeric Fashion Week and Myra Postolache who support emerging designers.

How do you go about sourcing vegan materials and ensuring your lines are ethically produced?

Creating sustainable clothing is a very important element of this brand. We ensure this by working directly and at a more personal level with manufacturers as our collections are not mass-produced this creates a more sustainable cycle. Regarding fabric we don’t use and will never use animal-derived materials and we want to show there is
no reason for such materials when creating fashion. Design-wise we strive to create a bond between the wearer and the design to ensure its longevity.

What does ‘fashion’ mean to you?

I see fashion as being a means of self-expression and creativity with cultural importance which helps in forging identities.  My brand philosophy is to create a platform through ethically produced fashion for identities who have a divergent state of mind and I wish to dare the individual to think differently. I strive to be beyond the mainstream culture.

What’s next for you?

My next move is to open our online shop and launch the new collection which I am currently developing. With that I am interested to explore gender neutral clothing. In the future I would like to make a difference in the world by using my fashion and my brand. I strongly believe in authenticity, individuality, ethics.

Thanks for giving us some of your time – lastly, where can our readers see your work online?

Please do check our website www.andradabodea.com and follow us on instagram @andradabodea for some cool fashion.

Illustrations supplied by Andrada Bodea
Lookbook – Photographer: Zhou Bing; Model: Mila Alex M. ; Retoucher: Xinyun Zhang; MUA: Daria Farc
Catwalk – Photographer: Ancira Adeon; MUA: Cristian Buca using Paese Cosmetics; Hair: Geta Marin Academy using Wella Professionals GHD Hair