Vancouver Fashion Week FW 24 Interview with Designer Lisa Grodek (Germany)

All runway images courtesy of @mikefotowerksca. See more on his IG page!

From the VFW Website - 

Lisa Grodek, born in 1987, is a German-Polish crochet designer and artist, living and working mainly in Berlin. Growing up in the torn beauty of the Brandenburg Oderbruch and influenced by the rural colors of this original landscape, she came into contact with traditional crafts and handicraft skills through her family as a child. At the beginning of the 1990s, Lisa Grodek discovered crochet for herself, which she has been exploring in many different ways since 1997 and has since presented in publications and own exhibitions all over Europe and first places in design awards in Dortmund and London.

The clothing of the fashion and design brand Lisa Grodek is the sensual expression of feminine grace and classic elegance. The meticulous workmanship, the passionate attention to detail and the deceleration of the creation processes as well as the materials that guarantee sustainability and longevity are essential design features of each of the unique garments and accessories. The Lisa Grodek brand represents innovative crochet in the classical period and takes a revolutionary approach to the crinoline fashion of 1842-1870 in combination with elements from the late Renaissance, early Baroque fashion and design elements from the 1920s to 1960s. Lisa Grodek replaces the fabric materials originally used in these fashion eras exclusively with high-quality yarn.

Interview - 

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career. Why did you choose to work with crochet?

I first encountered the art of crochet when I was three years old. At that early stage, my future passion for crochet was already evident. I learned how to crochet at the age of nine and have practiced it almost daily ever since. Through relentless perseverance, hard work, great patience, and a passion for experimentation, I entered the business world as a crochet designer and subsequently the fashion industry. Over time, more people began to take notice of me through the publications of my garments and the new paths I explored in crochet.I chose to work with crochet because I love creating something out of nothing, beginning my work with just an idea in my head, a thread, and a crochet hook in my hands. This allows me to embark on and complete the creative journey of my own designs.

How did you learn your skills?

In July of 1997, my family was evacuated due to an impending flood. This provided me with the opportunity to learn crochet from my mother. At 16, I began to develop the idea of crinoline dresses made of fine crochet lace. This process, involving testing kinetics and physics, took about 10 years until my design concepts could be implemented technically in a way that made them lightweight, stable, functional, and ultimately usable. From that point on, I continued to develop my ideas and techniques, working on new shapes and design elements.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

The stylish classics of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, combined with known design elements from the 1920s to the 1960s, are important style elements for me as a designer. I currently only create the intricate dresses for clients on direct request. The Lisa Grodek brand stands for meticulous attention to detail, 100% handcrafted work, innovative and classic fashion, sustainability and durability, delicate elegance, and robust quality.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest? Do you make all garments yourself, or do you have help?

Talking about my current collection, what was easiest for me as a designer was generating ideas. The hardest part, though still cherished, was the execution of this collection, as I created the dresses entirely on my own. Each dress, every stitch, and every meter of yarn did pass through my hands. Given that some of the dresses each contain up to 30 kilometers of yarn and up to 4 million stitches, this was quite challenging.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is color to your design process?

I often find inspiration in my memories. Growing up in a pre-digital environment in an old farmhouse from 1890 with old wooden furniture and many wonderful items and garments from different decades, I was influenced by a high quality of craftsmanship and aesthetics. I've always loved old movies and their set designs. I also prefer classic, subtle colors like gentle nature and earth tones, which harmonize with my designs. However, I also enjoy experimenting with bright colors from time to time.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you showed on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week FW 24. 

I worked on the collection for Fashion Week for over a year and it was amazing to see each of my dresses on the runway with great models. Beauty, clarity, quality and stubbornness - these attributes characterize my current collection - "Delicate Mesh." The urban diversity of Berlin and the pristine nature of the Oderbruch were sources of inspiration. The blue of the river Oder, the earthy colors of brown fields and sandy soil as well as the light tones of the morning fog can be found in the designs as well as the pompous and opulent forms of lavish metropolitan beauty and the extravagant elegance of a never-ending golden Berlin ball night. 

All the pieces in the "Delicate Mesh" collection were created by hand using a variety of different yarns. Even the characteristic skirt frames under the dresses were made from yarn instead of the fabrics usually used. This combination of pompous, opulent dresses and fillet crochet was brought to perfection in a development process lasting over 10 years through physical and kinetic testing.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

Currently, this is only possible through personal inquiry via email. In the future, I might consider working directly with boutiques or intermediaries, but nothing is set yet.

In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

I was very pleased with the positive response and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped and supported me so wonderfully in Vancouver! Meeting great people and seeing such amazing work there, I'm so glad I had the chance to be a part of Vancouver Fashion Week. I also read every post on Instagram and really appreciate it. Thank you all so much!

Website - www.lisagrodek.com/
Instagram - @crochet_designer