We talked with digital fashion developer Zhanar Abrayeva about virtual fashion, love for diverse music and video games, potential and what we think about the future of digital fashion.
Zhanar, why digital fashion?
ZA: for me, digital fashion gives me the opportunity to reproduce all my ideas that come to my mind and allows me to unload my imagination, thereby, I really like to visualize, create and share my art with my subscribers.
I really really love playing video games, these graphics, these incredible worlds, costumes, characters, music – I am attracted to all freedom, self-expression + I read that digital fashion is the future, which has actively begun to develop and has become embedded in our activities. I mean the CGI specialist. And this area will gain momentum.
You told me that at the age of 12-13, your mother gave you individual lessons to a Georgian artist. This is where your love of art. What are your favorite artists?
ZA: This is quite a difficult question! Because I follow many artists, from that young age I started studying classical artists, and to this day I study contemporary artists.
Why do I watch everyone – they all fascinate me. everyone has their own style, handwriting, how masterfully they give out an idea, a concept.
I can’t single out, there are really a lot of them.
For example, today I watched Kazakh artists of the USSR and chose “Kazakh waltz” by Gulfarum Ismailov. That’s how I try to study one or two artists every day, but I focus on foreign artists.
Since they have aesthetics, the same Italy is the country where art originated.
In parallel, I study contemporary artists from digital. There are a lot of really cool artists.
Have you already created traditional clothes with national ornaments, are you planning to build your own brand?
ZA: Yes, I have already worked with national Kazakh brands, as I am engaged in illustration with our national ethnicity.
Of course, if I have such an opportunity, I will take care of my own brand. I want to focus here on jewelry, prints, patterns, illustrations, but I want to combine this with CGI, 3d graphics – this gives ample opportunities for the implementation of fantasy.
What kind of music do you like to work with?
ZA: In the morning I like to work to dance music: hip hop, R&B, techno sometimes, where there is a heart rate.
This one liberates me so much that I dance and work in parallel.
In the evening, classical or jazz. This music inspires sculpting, modeling. Yesterday I listened to Beethoven.
You have collaborated with such big companies as Malivar, Adidas and Nike, Glyph, BuroCode, VOGUE. Is there a goal (dream) with whom you want to work?
ZA: My goal is development. This mechanism works – you will connect to the necessary and exactly the same companies for which you will be useful to each other.
But I would like to work with RTFKT studio!
Please tell us what project you are currently preparing for Unreal Engine.
ZA: in Unreal Engine, I create my own projects, and then I put art on social platforms so that clients, customers, partners can see that I own this program to create something cool together.
What do you think about fashion in the metaverse? Will we get to a level where people will also care about which brands they like to buy and put on an avatar?
ZA: one of the companies I have worked with is Auroboros. They already have their own boutique and collection for the metaverse.
If this is already normal there, then we will also come to this step by step.
When the metaverse penetrates into all our gadgets, where there will be a need to dress your avatar to go to events, then of course people will think about the style and look for clothing brands for the avatar.
Check out the arts below for some insight in this projects.
