Arizona Dream of Krenare Rugova
The famous Kosovan fashion designer moved to Arizona, where's she's teaching at the state university. NYC still reminds her of her global aspiration while Prishtina reminds her of 'love & forever'
If you know Prishtina, you know that the city has a growing fashion design industry, part of the growing creative economy. But if you know Prishtina very well, you’ll also know that Krenare Rugova, a fashion designer, has a very unique place in the urban creative landscape. When we think of Kiki, how she’s known to close friends, we think of her deconstructionist, minimalist approach in fashion in a country that demands flamboyant, oriental explosion of wedding colors; we’re also reminded of her academic background from Parson’s School of Design in NYC and we may well remember her first fashion shows in the immediate aftermath of Kosovo war.
Krenare Rugova thus became a permanent feature of a city that eschewed permanence in anything, from urban planning to size of its population to the very habits we have for the bars and cafés we like to go to. Her annual shows, usually in open spaces with city as a backdrop, have always set the tone for what will the cool kids on the block, and the cool mamas in Prishtina’s gated communities wear. Her laughter and easygoing spirit have always calmed and graced the little islands of Kosovar creativity that are yet to become a sustainable archipelago.
Kiki is now in Arizona, opening a new chapter in her life. She moved with her fam in Phoenix, Arizona and she started teaching at Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts of Arizona State University. She keeps running the business, studio - and presence - in Kosovo. She’s managing this duality or dichotomy currently, but in the long run, meeting somewhere the middle, and somewhere more central, say in New York, would be most fulfilling.
What are you wearing at this exact moment?
Black KR skirt, black japanese kimono top and a pair of black boots that my friend (Linda) gifted them to me.
If you could dress a historical figure in one of your current creations, who would you choose and why?
Kurt Cobain. Forever contemporary effortless, raw emotion with immense attitude and cultural impact.
What is sexy to you?
Knowing what you are talking about while looking effortlessly classy.
What’s your go-to songs on your getting ready to go out playlist?
I am always in a rush when going out but I have a diverse playlist when cooking a feast which i lovee and it starts with the Be There / Unkle feat. Ian Brown
If you were to host a friendly design challenge between your students from Phoenix and Prishtina, what quirky theme would you choose, and what would the prize be?
First I would give a prize of 10m of blue colored conductive thread, Kosovar hand woven textile 🤩 ; whoever creates the best product based on reciprocal pop cultures ...wins more precious fabric for a collection.
If you could collaborate with a non-fashion brand (like a tech company or a food brand), which one would you choose and what would the product be?
What Miuccia Prada did for Nasa. That's it.
You have grown up kids now and have moved to Arizona. You teach there and you also teach in Kosovo online. A ma mirë këtu a atje?
Oh, the Places we go. Arizona🌵 is the new journey. New York is the aspiration. Prishtina is love & forever.
Reflecting on your time as a student at Parsons School of Design in New York, what’s one pivotal lesson that still resonates in your work today?
Have a story. Never stop researching. Be contemporary.
If you could choose one city, one neighborhood to open a KR pop-up shop, where would it be? And who would be your customers?
Meatpacking District, Manhattan, NYC and its new yorkers
Looking at the millions and billions of fashion items and accessories produced every year around the world, can fashion ever be sustainable?
Our brand is built on a sustainable concept, both designing and producing. But, in the grand scheme, we’re just a photon in the midst of millions and billions of items of mass consumerism. Sustainability doesn’t just come from technological innovation, it requires a cultural transformation. And we can only dream of such a world… maybe by 2077. I doubt it. Sustainability is the far future. Whenever that may be.
