The witty, the WASP-y, and the (luridly) wealthy: Into Laura Andraschko's world

Should fashion be held in close proximity to the discourse happening right outside of its bounds, or should it be reckoned as a means to escape its suffocating clasp? For Laura Andraschko, embracing her sloane rangers or aprés ski fanatics for what they’re worth is the new snide political critique. Having moved to London eight years ago, she innocently gauged interest on the realms in the vicinity of her international bubble, flirting here and there with the metropole’s poshness and class division imbued spectre. Her design practice reads like an anthropological quest, and her silhouettes as case studies far removed from our common understanding of the garishly rich – or, previously, as meticulous restorations of the Tumblr-emo glory era. In spite of our overhasty cynicism, Andraschko seems at ease with engaging with her subjects of interest merely for its own sake, rather than proving a (contra)point. Gnarly, impertinent, and conceited, her models attest that faultlessly. Glancing at us cross-armed – barely hiding their St. Moritz tank tops or ludicrously-sized shoulder pads – they leave us wondering whether they are on a ski trip with their dad, horse riding on their private ranch, or preparing to bully you in a way that will haunt you throughout your life.
In our conversation, we wanted to probe some more the worldview of the designer who’s quite seen it all – as a Berlin-raised teenager freshly landed in New York, an Ann Demeulemeester apprentice in Antwerp, and now as an established force in her homely London.  

Hey Laura, great to speak to you! Are you calling from London? How’s it going over there?
It’s hectic. At the moment, the city seems a bit dead. I feel like everyone is kind of ready to leave London from my friend circle. 

What about you? Do you want to stay?
I’m thinking of moving to Paris in the next couple of months. It’s just so difficult to have a brand because obviously most of our suppliers are in Europe and factories and everything. And Brexit makes it really difficult with the supply chain.

I feel like there’s going to be a full shift in the next few years between/from the major cities. But sticking to Britain just for a bit now – did your boyfriend really go to Eton?
[laughs] Ex-boyfriend.

Okay, so that’s inspired from a true story. Do you want to detail?
I feel like Britain has such a distinctive class system. Compared to other European countries, Britain is on another level, because you also still feel the aristocracy quite vividly, this caste system. I didn’t even realise because I went to CSM. I was only with international people, we just did our art stuff. I didn’t comprehend it. Then I was dating this guy and moved to West London. And I was like, oh, there’s, in fact, this whole thing going on. In the end it was still very fruitful. I was inspired by the barbour jacket and the tailoring. And like Britain has such a vast heritage of clothing. if you go to Savile Row and you see all these tailors doing all these very traditional style pieces for certain events. Like you have the dinner jacket, you have the hunting pieces, you have certain jackets you wear for a black tie – all these different occasional pieces that I just love the heritage of. It’s just beautiful, the craftsmanship. And that’s why I was inspired by it and tried to make it into my own funny satirical way.

I can only assume there’s a really rich world of inspiration. While on the topic, since you have these trademarked, elongated silhouettes (like the bubble dresses for example), I was wondering if it’s only about the societal aspect of it, or if they’re also speaking on body image.
It came about in uni that I first started doing silhouettes like this. And I referenced Tumblr and emo pictures, given they always took their selfies from above. So the angle always made the shoulders look massive. And the back, the feet looked really skinny and small. It all gets distorted, just from the angle. And then I tried to reference that. And then also like when they stand in the classic scene-emo position of the times [imitates on camera], I don’t know, I played around with how this selfie could look from that angle, but looking at it from the front. 

I love it, I can really visualise exactly what you’re talking about. At the same time, I feel like your collection is very cynical apart from being just funny, especially with this snarky outlook on the class divide, and the emo-scene thing as well, more or less. I wanted to ask in what ways are you a cynical person outside of your work? Or if you are even.
I always thought I’m positive, but I don’t think I am. I don’t think I’m pessimistic per se, but I feel like maybe I do see things more from an ironic lens. The world is so fucked anyways that you might as well just have fun with stuff.

How does that tap into the Sloane Ranger criticism – I assume it stemmed from an anti-status quo stance gone witty?
I don’t even know if I am that much of a critic anymore. I am just interested in a certain topic and then I work with it. And then obviously filter that through a funny perspective. But I don’t think anymore that I try to make a political statement of any of the things my collection is tackling. I feel like it’s more playful than that.

Would you then say it is online culture that inspired you or was it direct contact?
More direct, I think. I really dived into that world for a second. But then, I didn’t really realise that  the whole trend online was happening until I already launched that collection. It was like a funny crossover. To see like online TikTok culture and then this happening.

I remember seeing the collection around a year ago and being quite fascinated. I also got to understand your brand through the CSM aspect of it – I feel like there’s a very specific category of its own of CSM graduate designers. That’s how so often designers are ultimately categorised.I wanted to ask if that is also your experience with your own public perception?
I think people do box people like that. But I feel like I was never really boxed into that category. I always felt more like a loner in that sense. So many people who went to Fashion East have a very distinguished aesthetic, which I can’t identify myself with. Maybe I’m delusional, but I don’t think I had that.

You’ve moved quite like a lot –  you grew up in Berlin, and then you moved to New York at 18, right?
Correct.

I’m just checking if my research is accurate. Then, it was Antwerp for Ann Demeulemeester, and then finally London. That’s a lot of impressions to have at such an age, at such a continuous speed. How did that inform what you’re doing now?
It’s really good to try out new places as a young person as much as you can. Although we have the internet and social media, in each city, you still have these different bubbles. And it’s really interesting to explore different aesthetics, different ways of youth cultures. You broaden your horizon a bit. Like how certain cities work. I was really happy I could do that. I also went through different stages aesthetically with each city. For example, when I used to live in Antwerp, I was more into really dark fashion and avant-garde stuff. And then I evolved more in London. I was more interested in being more ironic and funny and lighthearted. And I feel like my obsession with tailoring came from being into dark fashion and all these tailoring brands. I definitely feel like I can see where my influences came from and backtrack them now.

Do you have a favourite?
I mean, London is my home and I will always love it. I feel like, I mean, I’ve spent so much time here now… I need to calculate. I’m not good at math… I think almost 10 years. It’s my most comfortable city.

And a least favourite?
I would not want to live in Antwerp. It’s a very serious place. Maybe I was just at the wrong place. It’s very boxy.

What are some things you hate about fashion or at least the industry?
It’s very clicky, I guess, that I don’t like. I don’t like the whole commercial side of it, it’s draining, always being aware that you have to make pieces that work in a commercial way. And then you have to balance things. 

How do you feel about our current era in fashion and culture in the digital world?
I really feel very nostalgic towards the 90s and earlier periods, because I do think TikTok and Instagram destroyed our industry, with all these short-lived trends which are not sustainable. You have all these cores, blah, blah, blah. People don’t have their own style anymore. They go through little snippets of trends, micro-trends, nano-trends, it all happens too quick. And I feel like that’s not a sustainable way to consume fashion. It’s not at all organic anymore. There’s no more real fans of a brand, like back in the day, when people simply stuck with it. It’s very difficult for young designers, especially with a limited budget, to produce so many shows and so many seasons. Like I’m struggling to put two seasons out a year. The industry still wants that, otherwise we’re irrelevant. All of us young designers are trying to catch a breath and we can’t. And it’s really difficult, this climate. You’re just continuously feeding this big industry.

It feels like a vortex sometimes, on every side of the chain. If you could then live in another era, do you know which one it would be?
Am I still a fashion designer or can I be whatever? Maybe like a hat maker in the 20s would be cute. And if it wasn’t for fashion, I fantasise about living in the countryside, but I don’t want to have these old times diseases either. Maybe like the 1890s in Paris would be cool, with all those opium bars.

Hell yeah. My next question actually taps into this. Like, what would you be doing if not fashion design?
Yeah. I always joke about my friends. It’s like, am I becoming a cheese farmer now? It’s probably that. I really enjoy cooking. So maybe a chef or something. 

Are there any pieces of media that shaped how you create?
I love old magazines. Obviously. Like the editorials were so much better back in the day. Actually, not true. Maybe because it was in print and people really took the time. And it was just such a big production. And there were maybe 10 shoots and not 50,000 shoots happening. 

Any movies or music?
I love a lot of music and I really go through different things. Like favourite movies, whatever I watched recently. I like the- I like all Jim Jarmusch movies. Permanent Vacation, Last Night on Earth are really good. Van Wissem made the soundtrack with Jim Jarmusch for the second one, which I really love. And then the albums between classical music or weird Eastern European chanting stuff really calm me down.

If you could dress one person – alive or dead or mythical – who would it be?
It’s very difficult, there’s so many great women out there. Alive, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Chloé Sevigny. Otherwise, Audrey Hepburn. 

I would love to see Audrey Hepburn in the boots you make. It would be great.
What do you think we need more of and less of?
We definitely need to be less on phones and more in the real world.

My last question is, what are your fears and your dreams for upcoming times?
Fears are quite like tied to our state we have right now in the world. It’s really intense when you watch the news. So that’s definitely out there and seems a bit hopeless at the moment. As for my dreams, just being able to continue what I’m doing. That would sure be my dream for now.