Artist, Katya Krenina
When I design, I did not plan to create a collection. The garments exist independently from each other - if it is a scarf, then it does not have to become a dress. But it so happened that the works that I present looked very harmonious. I am interested in the use of accessories as a form of clothing. The scarf can be a headdress, or you can tie it around the neck. Elements from nature were the connecting thread of my drawings.
A person who uses accessories mindfully to some extent is a creator.
I have never been a fashion designer and stumbled into this profession quite unexpectedly. In Soviet times, before immigrating to the United States I lived in Lviv, Ukraine and dreamed of becoming an illustrator. It was very difficult to enter the book illustration department in college in those days, so after completing 8th grade I went to study at the Ivan Trush Lviv College of Decorative and Applied Arts. After four years of study, I spent another year at the Lviv Academy of Arts. While pursuing my studies, I fell in love with textiles, fabrics, and learned to weave.
If you have two scarves, you can create a myriad different looks. Unlike, say, a dress, which you can wear a few times, but then get tired of it. My mother has always been an example for me. Not every woman in the Soviet Union could afford beautiful, elegant things. My mother didn't have many of them, but she knew how to skillfully create beauty from the accessories that she had at hand. She taught me that you can surround yourself with beauty, no matter what. I believe that a person who uses accessories is to some extent a creator itself.
We create our own style and an aspect of self-expression. I believe in the future of accessories. From luxurious silk scarves that whisper tales of nostalgic botanicals to bohemian dresses that dance with the wind, Silk & Soul garments are more than just clothing; they are wearable pieces of art that speak to the soul of those who wear them. Join us on a journey where luxury meets storytelling, whee every thread holds a memory and every design is a celebration of beauty that surrounds us.
My favorite pastime was sketching at the Lviv Museum of Ethnography and Crafts. After moving to the USA, I initially hand-painted silk scarves and sold them in Ithaca NY boutiques. I proceeded with my art education by studying illustration at Syracuse University and began to teach drawing and painting at Le Moyne College in 2008. I Illustrated fourteen children's books, but my passion for fabrics and fiber arts kept helding me captive. The desire to return to this dream lingered in my subconscious. I aspired to design clothing and accessories that would seamlessly merge my love for illustration, textiles, and storytelling. This is how “Silk & Soul” was born.
I have always been interested in combining different disciplines - putting illustrations, stories, textiles into one whole, giving it the shape of a scarf... I even received a master's degree in interdisciplinary art. (Interdisciplinary Arts). The scarf is the same illustration, only on a different canvas. Inspiration can come from a variety of sources, mainly from nature - leaves, tree bark, what I find while walking the dog. I accumulate it all on boards that I call inspiration boards. Then it results in some compositions. One day a fox came to our house, and I wanted to make a scarf with a fox. My kimono-style garmentsfeature the “Tree of Life.”