In conversation with Kenza Iatrides

Kenza let us in on her design process, “punkette” ethos, and the newest collab collection she’s cooking up. 

Kenza Iatrides is one of those up-and-coming designers whose work makes you grit your teeth for not discovering her sooner. The Paris-based designer is our favourite fashion magician, shapeshifting upcycled lacey intimates into pieces fit for our everyday wardrobe. Entering her atelier with a D.I.Y. approach, traditional design rules are resculpted, for Kenza: the under goes over, the frivolous becomes casual, the coreseted goes comfy. Her iconic spray-painted lingerie prints live in our head rent-free, letting us honour lace in a way that’s softer, sexier, and just the right amount of trouble. With her pieces now gracing the shelves of Glamcult Store, Kenza let us in on her design process, “punkette” ethos, and the newest collab collection she’s cooking up. 

Hey Kenza! To start off, how did your journey into fashion design begin?
I’ve always wanted to do fashion, but I guess it all started when I started my fashion design study in the Netherlands at Artez. When I graduated, I started being part of The Patchwork Family, a collective my friends started after we graduated. I started performing with them, and we created a webshop, so I put some items on there and saw that it got a positive response. Additionally, I realised performance/ fashion shows were quite stressful for me, but I started loving seeing people buy and wear my designs, so I decided to go my way and give this a try. Plan A was to find a job once I graduated and create my brand later, but after struggling just to find an internship that would potentially lead to a design job where I would have to work loads and be paid little, I thought I would rather do it for myself. 

You describe your pieces as “punkette” or “coquette punk”. Can you expand on what “punkette” means to you?
I think it’s just my own feminine approach to punk; it’s a world where the rough D.I.Y. meets the soft and delicate, both versions of which are part of me. I think punk is also about D.I.Y. When I first did the spraypaint print, I had just graduated, and I wanted to find a way to make a bra print on a T-shirt without having access to any of the utilities I had at school before. And I feel when you’re a small brand, the do-it-yourself becomes your motto, having to figure out everything by yourself and start with very little.

Was there a moment that you would say sparked or inspired your most recent collection?
Honestly, it’s been a lot about repetition. When I like a design idea or when I get a positive response, I just reuse it in a slightly different variation. I also use deadstock fabric and vintage items. This means lots of the time, the fabric I source inspires me to create the new item. It’s never about a theme or a subject, but rather an extension of what I’ve started or what I want to wear. Like recently, I just found some prom dresses at the vintage store, and I just thought it would be so fun to upcycle them with something that is the opposite, like an old metal T-shirt.

Favourite piece in your closet?
At the moment, a Harley Davidson vintage tee with a skeleton riding a motorcycle. 

How would you say your design language has changed from now since you started the brand?
I think it’s been maturing in ways; I feel my designs are getting closer to what I want to wear in my 30s, more than my 20s. But also, there is a certain comfort in getting more visibility and customers; I have more freedom to try more designs, more money to invest as well in sourcing fabrics/vintage pieces, which I used to be very limited on. I think I’ve also learned to translate my design language not only in clothes but everything that comes around building a brand ( social media content/branding, ect which has sharpened my fashion design because I’ve learned to translate it into other mediums.

Dream collaboration?
Tati x Kenza Iatride because it’s the next one coming! We’ve translated the lingerie print into knitwear, and it’s my favourite one yet. 

What are you excited to work on next?
I guess the new collection, we always have quite a big period of production once the new collection is out, so now we’ve been making, but very excited to get into the creative process again. l usually built it up slowly, one item at a time, in between the production period, when sewing/printing on repeat starts to drive me mad. 

Most recent source of inspiration?
Vintage wedding dresses!

Piece you are most excited to stock at the Glamcult Store?
The buckle dress! My personal fav.