Interview with Artist Johanna Öst

When I started Evgenia years ago on Etsy (back in the Honey Cooler Handmade days), I managed to stumble across the glorious artwork of Johanna Öst, a talented artist with a personal aesthetic that pays faithful homage to vintage style and fantastical beauty. For years, I coveted her La Belle Dame Sans Merci painting, followed her quietly from Instagram, and just admired her work from afar. And then, suddenly, we connected!

Johanna Ost's La Belle Dame Sans Merci (left) and Sky and Earth (right)

If you've been following Evgenia on social media, no doubt you've seen Johanna's painting of two "allegorical cuties" wearing the Rebelle collection. When Johanna wore her new Rebelle Bralette, Bed Jacket, and High Waisted Knicker for a vampy photo shoot, I knew not only did I have to share some of the shots, but that I wanted to find out more about this very special person! Check out my interview with her after the images below!

EVGENIA: Your work is so fantastical - what would you say inspires you the most? 

JOHANNA: There is so much, but some of the things that inspire me the most are definitely folklore, mythology, fairy- and folktales. I love stories of the fantastic, mysterious and supernatural. 

I’m also very inspired by ghost stories by authors such as M.R. James and older horror films. 

Style wise my main inspirations are probably classic fairytale illustrations and pulp magazine covers.

EVGENIA: I absolutely adore the painting you did of the Rebelle collection! How did you decide on the theme and characters? 

JOHANNA: Thank you! Well, I knew you liked my painting of La Belle Dame sans Merci so I thought I’d make something slightly similar in style, a bit romantic and with a colour scheme that would go together with La Belle Dame. 

I thought the hearts and stars of the Rebelle collection lent themselves quite well to an earth and sky theme, and I love symbolism and allegories in art. That’s pretty much it!

EVGENIA: You recently moved to the UK from Sweden - what inspired the transition? 

JOHANNA: Ever since I left my childhood home I have lived in a flat in a very boring suburb to Stockholm where I have never felt at home. Me and my boyfriend have been looking for a “forever home” for quite a few years now but it never really struck me until recently that we could actually choose to live somewhere completely different.

There were a lot of things that led me to realise that I needed to change things dramatically, but the main thing was a feeling that I’ve wasted large parts of my youth isolating myself due to severe social anxiety.

Moving to the north of England is definitely one of the best things I’ve ever done and my life has changed so much for the better during the last couple of years. 

EVGENIA: What’s been your favorite project you’ve done and why? 

JOHANNA: The project I’m most proud of at the moment is the comic book I’m currently working on. I’ve made a couple of very short comics before but this time it’s an actual full story and it has taken me slightly over a year to finish. I have yet to publish it but I can’t wait to show everyone the finished product! 

Another favourite project of mine has been the series of illustrations inspired by victorian ghost stories I made last year. They were published in a zine called Phantasmagoria which is no longer available, but they are without a doubt the most interesting illustration job I’ve ever done. It’s not often I get to make lavish, detailed illustrations on such exciting themes, most of my illustration work consists of simple black and white drawings for young adult books. 

EVGENIA: Any big art projects in the offing?

JOHANNA: The biggest one would be the comic I mentioned earlier. It’s a ghost story set in a seaside town and I’ve worked harder and spent more time on it than any other project before. While I love creating a narrative in everything I do I usually stick with small snippets. I’m really not comfortable as a writer and putting together an entire story like this is new to me. 

I always have lots of big project ideas swirling around in my head, but most of them will have to wait until I move somewhere with a proper studio space.

EVGENIA: Where can people find your work?

JOHANNA: You can see a large selection of my work and buy originals and prints at johannaost.com

I also have an Etsy shop at johanna.etsy.com where I sell select prints, originals, comics and wearable accessories. 

EVGENIA: Anything else you’d like to share?

JOHANNA: Thank you so much for interviewing me!

Thank you so much, Johanna!

Be sure to visit Johanna's online stores to shop her amazing artwork! And you can pick up your own Rebelle set in the Evgenia boutique.

NYFW Red Dress Diary, Part II: Show Time

It's certainly possible that all the preparation in the world could have been insufficient to tackle my fitting with Carla Hall for the Go Red show. As I mentioned in my last post, my only fittings involved a dress form and someone significantly shorter than my model, so needless to say, I went into my Manhattan appointment feeling a bit beyond my depth. Then there was the issue that the dress I ended up making was somewhat different than my original design and I began to wonder if the final product would still effectively communicate my aesthetic.

Original sketch, second sketch, final gown

On the day of my fitting, I left my friend's apartment in Brooklyn early and braved the snow with my gown. Before my appointment, I made a quick visit to Manhattan Wardrobe Supply where I bought tough-as-nails double-sided tape and a few other last minute fitting essentials. My fitting was at Dani New York, a full service alterations workroom in the Garment District, coincidentally in the same building as my friend Angela Friedman's showroom. Natalia and Joe, the owners of Dani, were so welcoming. It's no secret that the New York fashion world isn't always friendly - Natalia and Joe were incredibly sweet to me, a rare, wonderful treat.

When Natalia asked me if I'd brought extra fabric, I had a moment of panic - What if the gown was too short? What if I had to add extra panels? I hadn't, in fact, brought extra fabric and began to worry that I had made a grave mistake. However, once Carla slipped on the gown, it all became clear: it was pretty damn close to perfect.

Natalia fits Carla.

There were, of course, minor adjustments that needed making, but nothing Natalia seemed to think was anything more than no big deal. It was satisfying to see that all the adjustments I'd made in San Francisco were the right moves to make. Carla is longer waisted than her measurements implied, so adjusting the bodice and yoke had definitely been the right move. The most significant change we had to make was to the length - the extra 6" Dorothy and I added were mostly lopped off in the front. When Carla told me she felt beautiful in my gown, I finally felt like I could breathe. All my hard work was paying off. Not only was Carla the perfect model, but she was gracious and sweet - such a delight to work with.

Lincoln Center, inside the fashion tents

And then the night arrived. I showed up at Lincoln Center with my heart in my throat. Navigating the fashion tents proved to be a little more complicated than expected, though I did end up getting some high fives from the gorgeous male models from the Band of Outsiders show. Once I arrived at the Go Red backstage area, I was blown away by the hustle and bustle of it all. My gown was ready for Carla and the celebrities were out in full force. From Laverne Cox to Hoda Kotb and Thalia to Ciara and Rosie O'Donnell, I was a little taken aback by all the familiar faces I'd only before seen on TV.

Carla and yours truly backstage

And before long, the other Incubator designers from Philadelphia and Chicago and I were ushered through the red carpet area, interviewed in a hurry and then sent to the front of the house to watch the show. And what can I say? It was amazing. Carla in particular had so much wonderful attitude and energy - it was a wonderful experience seeing my own work on the NYFW runway on such an amazing woman. See the whole show here on the Go Red site.

Carla on the runway

NYFW Red Dress Diary, Part I: Drape, Sew, Fit, Repeat

When the board of the San Francisco Fashion Incubator asked me to create a gown for the prestigious Go Red for Women runway show at New York Fashion Week, I initially didn't know what to say. As the only lingerie designer in a program mostly populated by womenswear designers, this amazing opportunity was quite the surprise, and, frankly, a challenge I was at once thrilled and a little nervous to take on. While Evgenia's focus is lingerie, I'm not a stranger to making dresses and gowns - in fact, my education at FIDM was in womenswear.

Initial sketches, preparing for the first drape, padding the dress form

I was asked to submit three initial designs, the first of which was my absolute favorite - a 1930's-themed bias cut gown with star lace appliqués throughout. After some celebrity changes (my first assigned celeb had to back out due to schedule conflicts), I was eventually assigned to dress celebrity chef Carla Hall, a former model who stands at an astonishingly statuesque 6' tall. I was told that she loved my first sketch, was given her measurements and got to work preparing to drape my gown. Because the mannequin I was working with was scaled for a shorter woman, I had to pad her out a bit to fit one considerably taller. With the help of FISF's resident sewing, pattern making and apparel construction expert Dorothy Yuki, I created a totally new form on which to drape.

Photos via Kelly Puleio Photography

Carla had requested that I pare down the star detailing on the dress, something I was more than happy to do. My first sketches were on the more fantastical side and after some thought I wasn't sure how they would translate to the runway. A more measured approach to embellishment seemed to be more fitting for a Fashion Week show, so I removed the center sash star and a bunch of the star appliqués throughout the top portion of the gown. Because of Carla's past runway experience, I thought adding a sweeping skirt would create a beautiful motion during the show for a confident walker.

First bodice mockup

I actually did two separate drapes, one for my first assigned celebrity who as 5'2" and the second for Carla Hall. In all, I sewed the bodice four separate times, three times for Carla's gown. Many of the design elements I dreamed up proved to be a bit more complicated to execute than I'd initially thought. For example, the gathering at the bust caused some issues with the waist seam (see above) which I had to allow extra ease for. The hip yoke was cut on the bias to allow for maximum fit flexibility, but as any dressmaker knows, bias is a whole different ballgame and can be quite a challenge to work with. After meeting with Dorothy to make the proper pattern adjustments following my first draft, I figured it was time to move into my final fabric with only 12 days to go until New York.

Second bodice mockup with skirt

The second draft of Carla's bodice was a million times better with some minor, easy-to-fix issues. At that point, I drafted the skirt pattern and tried it out in some extra silk I had lying around. Dorothy and I agreed that we should allow an extra 6" for the bottom hem to allow for the possibility of sky high shoes.

Star appliques and snips

Once I was happy with the final skirt shape, I began cutting in in the final fabric and adding the star appliqués one by one with the help of my intern, Lux. Each of the four panels of the skirt had between 12 - 15 stars on it, each hand-basted, appliquéd by machine and snipped by hand with sewing scissors.

Second bodice mockup (left), fitting with Michelle Byrnes, final gown before finishing

Once the skirt was finished, I was desperate to try the gown on someone with similar proportions to Carla, but I didn't know anyone 6' tall with shared similar measurements. Then a friend suggested I call up 2013 Designer in Residence and kickass designer in her own right Michelle Byrnes. She's not 6' tall, but she's pretty darn close, and pretty close to Carla's body measurements. She came by the Incubator and we tried on the gown. There remained some small fit considerations, but it was clear I was getting a lot closer to the final product! I ended up lowering the waist seam, lengthening the bias yoke and extending the shoulders which yielded…

The final gown

…the final product! Per Dorothy's recommendations, I left large seam allowances at the side seams to manage any potential fit issues that would pop up. Remember, I didn't have a chance to fit Carla in person until my arrival in New York, at which point any major alterations would be out of my hands.

Next up, my final fitting in New York and the NYFW Go Red runway show!