Introducing WEAR WOLF by the young and talented FASHION DESIGNER ANIDA KAPO

By Anida Kapo

If I had to describe my clothing brand Wear Wolf (more at http://www.wearwolffashion.com/) briefly, I would use three nouns: leather, fashion and studs. Here is the story behind my brand...

Me Presenting My New Collection
at an Independent Fashion Show on April 27, 2013.

It All Began...

It all began at University of Sarajevo's Academy of Fine Arts, where I obtained an undergraduate degree in product design, and afterwards obtained a master's in graphic design. At first, I never thought about using fashion to design clothes for others to wear; I only used fashion to express myself as an artist. 

Since I attained a lot of praise from my professors and my peers for my talent in fashion design, I began to gravitate into this world. Bit by bit, designing became my must because many, like me, who are into the field of aesthetics attempt to reorganize and reshape the world around them. Hence, my outlet became fashion design.

My Inspiration...

My inspiration? The images from the American comedy-horror-fantasy film Beetlejuice and the band Prodigy. My inspiration was not momentary or seasonal; rather, it was a permanent residue of my perceptive experience and individual emotions. 

I adored the perpetual themes of darkness and mystery, which have just recently entered the mainstream culture with the rise of studs and spikes. What happened to me as a designer was just like what Nietzsche said "I have transformed my fear of the unknown into curiosity." Although for many, wearing leather, spikes and studs on a daily basis is fairly unusual and perhaps "too much," for me, it became a norm to wear this "dark" (so to speak) style.  

My Current Collection...

My design has been evolving since 2010 because I am careful not to take a superficial approach and want to give meaning to my brand. In fact, my collection tells a story about a wolf- a dangerous, beautiful, and a wild creature- which hides in sheep's clothing. Thus, my aim is to design a collection for all the wild, unusual and interesting people. As a citizen of the world, I tried not to pay too much attention to my immediate surroundings; otherwise, I would have been discouraged from the extravagant and extraordinary in fashion design.

Why Leather...?

Leather is a timeless piece, which one wears for a long time; sometimes, leather pieces are even inherited. Therefore, making leather pieces and focusing on their quality was my primary goal. 

Moreover, leather jackets are timeless pieces because most are not susceptible to being labeled as "out of style" by various seasonal fashion trends. Hence, I decided to focus on leather jackets; my aim was to make them more modern so that their design would be very edgy and unlikely to be surpassed by seasonal trends.  

Why Black...?

I was inspired by some individuals who are edgy and set trends like  Nicolas Andreas Taralis, Gareth Pugh, Rick Owens, and Damir Doma, who are all loyal to black and simple shapes. The aforementioned trendsetters do not see black and simple as grungy but rather as high-end luxury fashion.  In fact, Yves Saint Laurent designed this season a black collection, which is stunning. 

For me, black is a color that inspires many; it is the sum of all colors. Thus, I would not call my collection black but the sum of all colors. 

Inspiration for the Cuts and Shapes of My Current Collection... 

When I draw the designs, I usually imagine superhero costumes. Along these lines, I think that every individual could become a superhero (ubermensch in German). Above all, I always keep myself in mind and design a piece which I would personally wear...

For details of my collection, please see the photos below. Please feel free to leave a comment below and visit my website at http://wearwolffashion.com/. 

My Brand's Logo 

In Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian:

Studirala sam produkt dizajn, nakon toga magistrirala graficki dizajn, moda je za mene bila samo mali segment prezentacije sebe kao dizajnera, nikad nisam razmisljala o tome da oblikujem odjecu za druge. ali kako je to ocigledno bio moj najveci talenat u polju dizajna uvuklo me u svoj svijet. Malo po malo to je postala potreba, mislim da svako ko je u domeni esteckog oblikovanja tezi da uredi svijet oko sebe. Mislim da inspiracija nije nesto trenutno i sezonsko, vec je to talog iskustava dozivljaja i osjecaja pojedinca. Tako su mene od malena privlacile stvari poput beetlejuica ili muzike prodigya koje kad danas vidim jesu mracne, misticne i morbidne i mozda tek danas ulaze u prostor mainstreama. Kao sto bi rekao nietshe pretvorila sam svoj strah od nepoznatog u radoznalost.

Za mene je vec godinama normalno nositi siljke i kozu, iako je i danas u svakodnevnoj nosnji taj stil prilicno ekstravagantan.

konkretno ovu kolekciju radim od 2010, iz razloga jer ne zelim da modi pristupam povrsno i mislim da je to jednako pravac umjestnosti koji treba da ima dublje utemeljenje. Kolekcija prica pricu o vuku, opasnom preljepom i divljem stvorenju, koje se "krije u janjecoj kozi" tako doslovno sam htjela da napravm nosnju za sve te divlje i zanimljive ljude. osjecam se kao gradjanin svjeta jer da sam mislila previse na okolinu u kojoj rasten nebi modu ni uzela da radim, pogotovo ne ovako ekstravagantno. 

Koza je nesto sto se nosi jako dugo, cak se nasljedjuje tako da je jako bitan kvalitet izrade i dizajna sto je meni i bio cilj. kozne jakne su vecinom slicne u kroju vec godinama i nepodljezu modnim trendovima tako da sam ja poksala da napravim jakne koje cu dosta modernije ali ipak nisu strogo u nekom trendu tako da nece biti iduce sezone demode. dosta me inspirisu ljudi koji namecu ove nove talase u modi kao sto je nicolas andreas taralis, gareth pugh, rick owens, damir doma, to su sve ljud koji su odani crnoj boji i jednostavnim oblicima ali in nevide kao alternativu nego kao visoku modu. preljepo je i ysl i njihova crna kolekcija ove godine. mislim da je crna boja najinspirativnija, ona je zbir svih boja, tako da svoju kolekciju nebi nazvala tek tako crnom, vec zbirom svih boja.

Kada radim kreacije zamislim cesto kako su to kostimi za superheroje a mislim da svaka indivudua moze postati "superheroj" (ubermensch), a prije svega nastojim da je svaka kreacija nesto sto bi ja nosila.