Fashion design student Eleni Oronti places ethicality and sustainability at the forefront of her practice whilst aligning her love for volume presented through a futuristic aesthetic. From a young age, Eleni realised her talent for designing garments and knew she wanted to study fashion design in London. She is currently a student at London College of Fashion where she has been able to develop as an individual designer and also as a conceptual artist. Eleni sees fashion as more of an art form which allows her designs to provoke feelings and emotions. We hear from Eleni as she talks about her journey as a designer and her post graduate plans.

What initially influenced you to get into fashion?

I remember myself saying that I want to become a fashion designer since I was eight years old without really knowing what this was. My mum told me that I was combining and choosing clothes on my own at a really early age and I was sketching garments which were really unique. When I was 12, I started private fashion lessons, where I was influenced even more by my tutor at the time. From that age, I knew that I wanted to study fashion design in London and that happened because when I set a goal, it always comes to fruition because of my hard work and dedication towards it.

You are currently studying Fashion Design Womenswear at London College of Fashion, how has your degree helped shaped your degree?

Before London College of Fashion, my aesthetic in designing was totally influenced by cultures and human rights. When I started studying there, I became more futuristic and found a love for volume because I met this side of crafting and I gained more knowledge in technology. I also developed in terms of the technical parts of making. To be honest, the general aesthetic of LCF is different from mine because they expect you to focus on the details and function but my own perspective of a garment is more of a conceptual art piece that makes you uncomfortable, sceptical and generally provokes feelings. Nonetheless, the fact that LCF’s general aesthetic is different from mine, helps me challenge myself by broadening my skills.

You specialise in designing swimwear - how did this come about?

To be honest, I don’t specialise in swimwear, it is just a side job that I am working on whenever I am back home in order to collect money for my final collection. This actually started 3 years ago when I couldn’t find an ethical-made bikini set to buy and I realised that it would be cool to actually make my own. Then, slowly-slowly, I started receiving orders that are made-to-measure and each set is unique in order to be long-lasting. It is also made-to-measure in order to cover all body types since it is hard to find pieces you like in your size on the market. Swimwear is an empowering garment because through it you embrace your body which is in itself an art piece for me. Also, I come from Cyprus which is an island and the Summer period covers five to six months, so wearing swimwear is a way of living from day to night.

Looking at your Instagram I see your design process is very digitally based which is also an overall aesthetic that runs throughout your work. What inspired this?

This began when I started listening to a specific hip hop artist, called ‘Apethantos’ who talks about anime and video games in his music. From him, I was influenced for a project I did in university based on an anime series called ‘Code Geass’ and a video game called ‘Overwatch’. I developed it to a new project where I created my own vision of a video game and it’s characters. I selected my muses and then I designed them digitally according to the personality I gave them in the game. 3D avatars were made by Central Saint Martin’s fine art graduate, Polar Fantasy. This project will be extended and developed into my final collection and hopefully we will create an actual video game. I view my clothes as something ever-present, existing in more than one form, more than one reality. Creating garments digitally for these characters allows me to explore the possibility of multiple realities, simulations and dimensions, much like a Matrix.

How do you utilise the city of London in terms of aiding your research for projects?

Whenever someone asks me which is the source of my research, I answer simply: communication. Thus, London is the ideal city for my research because it is multicultural and helps me through meeting people from different cultures, experiences and backgrounds. By talking with them, I gain so many influences and ideas. Generally, I am interested in every aspect that has to do with human existence, especially psychology which I use a lot in my work, and human’s rights.

Aside from fashion what other creative outlets do you involve yourself in?

For me, fashion is the product of a combination of different art forms, so I like exploring as many as I can in order to inform my work. Something that I was always doing because of my mother, is writing poetry in Greek (which is a language that I speak and I love). It helps me express myself because I am a sensitive and emotional person. I am also interested in soundtracks of movies and I am experimenting with them through video art and short film-making, direction, filming and editing where I also use my poetry.

Where do you see your career within the fashion and creative industries evolving?

I want to make my own brand as soon as I graduate in order to show who I am and leave my own mark. I want to have 3 lines, my digital one, my art pieces-garments and my wearable one which would have details of my whole green 2000s aesthetic. I aim to show activism and gain rights through my art and show details of my Persian roots. The most important part is being ethical and sustainable because humanity and nature are above anything else in my own opinion.