When I felt settled, I went away, says designer Petra Ptáčková
I have to say that I’m not too surprised. You have always been very unclassifiable to me, which is perhaps your distinguishing mark…
That people can’t classify me? Definitely! (laughs) But I don’t do it on purpose, it just comes out that way. A lot of people have lined up what they’re going to do for the next year or two. I do have a way to go, but I’m open to what may come. I owe that to my stays abroad, where you are often in a situation where you don’t know at all what will happen, who you will meet tomorrow, today… And planning something would just always be a disappointment. For example, when I was living in New York, where I had a work visa, and I was finally getting settled there, I suddenly left everything and went to Italy to study knitwear, which I knew nothing about. But without it, I probably wouldn’t be doing fashion anymore, it partly made me who I am today.
Source: Youtube
In such moments, how much do you consider if you are making the right decision?
In the end, what – at least for me – decides is the inner feeling. Simple: A smart lady told me to always try to visualize as a photo or as a picture the first possibility and then the second, and the one I feel in that moment is probably the one I should release. And so Italy won that time, and among other things, I also gained a love for wine, prosecco and all the good things, without which life is half as good.
From your latest works, I noticed the colored rust socks that came from your collaboration with We are Ferdinand. How did you come up with it?
Thanks to painting, I have been close to coloring since I was a child. Sloppy hands, freedom, movement – when paint makes its way into an empty surface or is layered over itself and some communication is created there. When painting, I’m looking for a reason to go for this particular shade, but rust has a given color – it creates itself. That’s how nature does design, I just hang around and help her.
Will you continue with colored rye?
Certainly, the whole coloring process is pure joy, which is the most valuable thing about the job! Every time it is a surprise, because each piece of iron offers a different treatment of the object, the result of the weather and the environment where it is matured.
How does it actually look with your banner capes? If I remember correctly, even Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom got one from you.
This ended up with few artworks being sold. I would have to devote all my energy to finding a meaningful way to turn it into salable products. The process of getting the banner, which has been seen somewhere for many months, into a usable form, is lengthy and financially burdensome. You don’t even want to take that into your hands, let alone make something out of it… For several practical reasons, I simply evaluated that it doesn’t make sense for me. I like to leave the banner fabric for brands, projects that make bags out of it, for example. But I don’t know whether to stuff banner material into high-fashion. There are probably ways to do it, but I want to do other things as well.
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Sustainability is a big theme of yours. How limiting is it when creating?
If you put the principle of sustainability into your work, I believe it carries over into everything you create – even when you cook. However, I don’t think that everything can be 100% sustainable. In addition, it is not easy to find out what the concept of sustainability includes. For example, with recycled items, you also have to take into account how you will have the life of the used material and whether it can be further recycled. It’s cute that we have products made from coconut shell, but the fact that maybe in two or three years they will fall apart and leave a zipper and other components that are not sustainable, no one can solve that.
To that I feel like saying: “At least something…”
For me, it is definitely not possible to build a brand solely on sustainability. Sustainability should be an automatic part of any undertaking today – when I go to produce something, I should at least think about the impact on the environment and behave responsibly as much as possible. However, the primary reason why I go to produce something should be some other added value – I want to tell a story, entertain, shock… Simply evoke emotions. Fashion, by its very nature, actually goes against anything that can be hidden under the term “sustainable”. So, overall, it’s important not to go crazy with all the eco-bio-green sunshine. To do things at least with the feeling that I did it as well as possible, so that I don’t just spit out another ton of crap into the world that will soon go into the trash. To have the feeling that I am cultivating something for those people, I wear a pair, what the hell, for a better day, maybe they are useful for something, I inspire them… That is of great value to me.
Source: Youtube
I really like your “detours” – the jackets and bags of the women’s football club Yellow Ladies, or your cooperation with theaters, whether it is a costume made of children’s car seats for the show Pink Samurai, or the show La Putyka ADHD. This is such a nice addition to your already varied work.
Yeah, that’s a huge variety. All the projects you listed are in some way related to sports, physics, which is very close to me. These are matters that you go into with great gusto and enthusiasm. This is pure joy. Although it’s not easy either. For example, collaborating with an artist like Rosťa Novák, who often wanders somewhere in his thoughts and picks things up for ideas… You can clearly see that creativity is not free and those around you simply have to be able to understand it. Rosťa often set a mirror for me, and now I appreciate everyone who can stand working with me even more, because it is intense. The ADHD work was incredibly impulsive, up, down and back again… It was a match that created a great bond.
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Given your stunt background, did you tend to have ADHD as a performer?
Of course she had. It hurt me terribly to go to their trainings and just sit there and watch those eight individuals, each of whom does a completely different discipline. One would prefer to be with them and cough up some rags. In addition, Rosťa originally wanted me as a performer in the performance, he wrote to me about it. But when a person doesn’t react to something here and there, then forgets to answer… (laughs) I guess it shouldn’t have been like that, I guess I should make clothes and art through materials.
Do you still do stunt work?
No, it’s actually done by people who have time to train every day. It’s like a musical instrument – if I want to play, I’ll have to practice. Although of course, you learn something and then the body can do it without having to devote hours of practice. So when the opportunity arises, I like to go fall off something and jump, but I’m also happy that I can walk normally, I don’t have incompetent hands and such.
And what are your immediate plans for the future?
Stop fighting with things and do everything much more emotionally – as my inner voice tells me. That’s my most important plan right now: to do what I’m doing without having to tell myself that I don’t enjoy it and don’t get tired. I am currently dealing with collaborations that will help me make another collection – for example, the sports brand Silvini provides me with damaged, discarded sample goods, which I can continue to redo and thus redefine the original use of the material. Cooperation with 3D knitters and 3D printers for the production of my first shoes is also offered. I’m really looking forward to it! I will present the new collection at Paris Fashion Week at the end of February 2023 under the banner Showroom Romeo. Because after all my experience, I believe that just as an artist needs his gallerist, a designer like me needs a background in the form of a showroom.
Petra Ptáčková
She was born in Prague in 1987, graduated from a secondary technical school with a focus on clothing. She then went to Paris, where she entered the fashion school Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. In 2015, Forbes included her in the 30 under 30 list. Her work has attracted the attention of, among others, the Italian, Spanish and British editions of Vogue, as well as Elle and Glamor magazines. She also did a stunt for a film for several years.