I am from Riga (Latvia), which is a European city but lacks global dimension. It’s good yet sometimes frustrating to be here, especially if you want to move faster and more powerfully. At the beginning of my path, I tried to find myself by studying music but I left after finishing half of the studies. My circle of friends changed then and I started to actively participate in the alternative art scene. This was in the wild ‘90s, when Latvia was still part of the Soviet Union – an entirely different reality.
For example, the beginning of the 1990s was similar to what is happening now in any rural city, where there are still no solid social structures and everyone is just hanging around at bus stops, killing time, and partying with their squad. A life with no plans; not being subjected to aggressive marketing. Money was irrelevant back then. Artists and other creative people lived in a system where they suddenly discovered they were not needed anymore – quite a schizophrenic scene, I would say.
My path in fashion started with Fashion Design studies at the art academy. As a costume designer I have collaborated and created two fashion short films – one of them, titled Lust Lust, was awarded the Grand Prix in Paris in 2009 at Diane Pernet's fashion short film festival ASVOFF.
I have authored fashion installations and also participated in international fashion exhibitions with a couple of objects. One of the most noteworthy ones I was invited to was the exhibition A Queen Within, curated by Sofia Hedman at the World Chess Hall of Fame (Saint Louis, United States), in 2014. At the moment, my work in my label Keta Gutmane is playing a big role in my life.