I just dreamed about my magazine, like the ‘ideal’ for me. I made publications with my works and that of my fellows whose art was close to my views and perceptions.

Firstly, there was an idea of merch that turned into the first collection. And then, we discovered that we could put together different things to make collections with our own language that contains not only garments but sound and visual pieces as well.

Thanks! You describe it with the right words. This project comes from different conceptual references and ideas. The camouflage that fishermen and hunters originally used to disguise in the wild is contrasted with everyday clothes that we usually choose to broadcast our social status. In addition, the global instability of the political climate of recent years, the aggravation of relations on military issues with the Western block, climatic disasters of this last summer (floods, forest fires) affect social moods and designate the need for transformation. All these things are the main provisions. I think Spets is the first project inspired by our actual surroundings and social atmosphere.

Well, our offbeat models of different age are associated with the variability of the social spectrum, and this is a universal image. But, of course, we see all these prototypes in everyday life in Russia.

We’re really happy to have had this working experience with actors from Vasya Berezin’s Binary Theatre company. I believe that current beauty cannons are a response to people’s need for something new, and as a result, we see that their focus changes. Alternative models could fill fashion with new social meanings. And it seems that people have learnt how to see new kinds of beauty, which probably has deeper roots.

Yes, I think we started the dialogue about upcycling in Russia before it became a popular topic here. Our friends from different second-hand stores shared their clothing with us and supported our idea. We sometimes use upcycled materials and elements in seasonal collections. For example, in our Intercosmos collection, there is a spacesuit pocket on our hoodies.

Our movie about upcycling was our main statement to the audience and to draw attention to sustainability and giving things a second life/usage. It was also the spark of other projects, like the collaboration with our mates’ furniture brand Loft Designe, where we reworked armchairs and sofas made in the USSR/GDR and gave them a new life. In addition to that, we have an ‘upcycle-atelier’ called Laska where we investigate the principles and techniques of upcycling in manufacturing clothes.

I think Russian fashion is still associated with ‘90s post-soviet aesthetics. We want to show people that there are many other different ideas to refer to in your art, like space, architecture, sport, technologies. Thus, they become the main objects of our research. What’s more, it’s really interesting for us to care about the functionality of our garments.

Yes, Kruzhok is not only a clothing brand – it’s a community. We have a great team and everyone has their strengths. One of our members is an electronic musician and composer, Cotton Pills, who is responsible for the audio content. He also writes all the soundtracks for our collections and fashion shows. Music and fashion perfectly live together. I think it’s important in the 21st century to combine different forms of art because it creates new levels of perception. And we always want to mention the Russian electronic music scene, which is very young, but there are plenty of talented artists.

It’s hard to predict our future movements, but we’re going to broaden the common horizons of how fashion brands could function by developing absolutely different projects. We wanna make more offline events, collaborate with new partners and establish new international communications.