For past collections, Vladimir Karaleev kept himself within strict self-designed boundaries that conceptually framed the process of experimentation and inspiration in which he creates intricately assembled sculptural garments. On July 2nd he will present “Untitled Structures”, a new collection of folded and flowing pieces constructed from silk, vinyl, felt and white architectural paper at the Coma gallery. Here we meet to discuss the natural limitations that counterbalance Karaleev’s innate creativity and artistic sensibility.
sleek: Why did you decide on such a restrictive palette?
VK: I started to make everything a strong blue only at the end of my process. You see, the thing is that I am color-blind. It is very difficult for me to see colors. I just like fabrics and then I make stuff according to the fabrics. Then I have another designer friend who acts like a consultant and he was surprised that the colors all came together, even though I can’t actually see them. But somehow it worked. Maybe just by coincidence.
sleek: How color-blind are you? What can you see and not see?
VK: I am never too sure. I couldn’t pass my driver’s license, but it’s not as if I only see in black and white. I can’t see purple, for example. But I can see blue. There is actually a theory that I can see too many colors and it’s overwhelming my ability to distinguish. But that theory seems strange to me.
sleek: Do you think being color-blind has made you hyper sensitive to cut and the feel of fabric?
VK: I wonder about that. I know that people often say that a blind person becomes hyper-attuned to touch or taste. I don’t know what my secret talent is, but I think that I just have been compensating somehow.
sleek: Has there been a downside so far?
VK: Well, kind of. I have had problems with thread before. I don’t see dark red, like Bordeaux. It looks black to me. And I was using a lot of, what I thought was “black” tread. But everyone thought it was like my concept. People were saying to me, “Oh that’s so cool that you have this red thread”, and I was thinking “what red thread?”
sleek: Did you start asking people, “is this like my previous ‘red thread work’ or somehow different?”
VK: It’s true that it took me a long time to be honest and talk about it. As a child, I didn’t talk about colors. But there are colors that I can see, like blue.
sleek: Then maybe whichever color makes itself known to you should be your signature color. On the subject of signatures, your 210 tee-shirt collection was so strongly conceptual, do you feel pressure to keep producing comparably conceptual shows?
VK: People who know me assume there is a strong concept. But I realized after the tee-shirt show that there is so much happening at Fashion Week that people don’t really care that much. They go and see whether they like something and then if they ask, they might find it interesting. But I don’t think rules that I have now would be interesting to people who are unfamiliar with the whole process of making clothes.
sleek: Can you disclose some hints?
VK: I use a lot of technical details and a lot of the pieces are just made from folded squares. You cannot really see the details and I tend to think it is too much information. That is why this collection is called “Untitled Structures”.
sleek: Is there a meaning to the title?
VK: Well the previous collection was based on caows in a cemetery . . .
sleek: Based on what?
VK: Caows, something caowtic.
sleek: Oh… chaos! I thought you were saying “cows”.
VK: What? Oh! Like “mooo?”
sleek: Right, I thought you were saying it was based on cows in a cemetery. I thought that was pretty cool, since elephants have burial rituals but cows tend to just get eaten.
VK: That would be chaos too. No, my theme was that there was no particular meaning. It was like an abstract artist just painting away without a plan. It was a composition but maybe it was also guided by coincidence. My continuous process was guided by detail and construction.
sleek: Do you first do a version in muslin?
VK: No, it is all made with the final fabric itself.
sleek: Then how do you replicate it?
VK: I make a lot of sketches. They are like maps but sometimes I can’t read them. I start by making marks on the dresses. But really I just like to experiment and not have things be so tightly planned. In Japan, people often ask me why I leave the seams unfinished. There are often threads and frayed pieces that remain unattached. I never thought about it too much, but then it started to interest me. And I realized why I prefer it this way. When you leave something unfinished, then it has no end. It can remain endless. And in a way, it can seamlessly flow from one collection to the other. It never ends.
