Roxana Ostroveanu is a name that Romanian haute couture enthusiasts know very well. But few know that she is the first fashion designer who had the courage and inspiration to use the decorations of the Ceaușescu House for the photo session dedicated to the new collection she launched.
Roxana Ostroveanu, Romanian designer PHOTO: Personal Archive
Reporter: How did you choose this location?
Roxana Ostroveanu: We looked for an iconic landmark and compatible with Imroska’s values, because this brand is much more than luxury clothing: it is a concept that promotes as much attention to detail and quality as it does to human relationships. The beautiful energy with which the products are created in the Imroska workshop, the exclusive culture that starts from the hangers created by the most famous manufacturer in Italy, labels woven in London, textiles and laces from France, used in unison by the biggest brands in the world of fashion: with Imroska we align ourselves with European demands. Even though we as a people lack history in fashion, we still have consummate talent and enormous creative potential. That’s why I chose the Ceaușescu House or the Spring Palace, as the building is also known. Uniqueness, originality and exclusivity are revealed here, characteristics that surprise and inspire: interior decorations, furniture and architectural details are proof of our creative potential and inclination towards luxury.
Reporter: How do you see this effort of aesthetic recovery and revaluation of an objective that was and is strongly associated with the communist regime and especially with the Ceaușescu couple?
Roxana Ostroveanu: The relationship between art and authoritarian regimes has been a taboo that European democracies have long overcome. It is time for the Romanian society to do this as well. In fact, neither the mosaics, nor the arrangements, nor the architectural details of the Spring Palace were made by Ceaușescu. They were made by the artists of that era, very talented people and very dedicated to their work and art. It is normal to recognize and appreciate the artistic quality of the space, but at the same time to understand and affirm the fact that the communist regime was a dictatorial regime. They are two realities that are not mutually exclusive.
Roxana Ostroveanu, Romanian fashion artist PHOTO: Personal Archive
Reporter: I don’t know of any promotional campaigns that used images from inside the Ceaușescu House. Is Imroska the first brand to do this?
Roxana Ostroveanu: As far as I know, we are the first to bring to the public space, in a commercial interpretation, photos from inside the Ceaușescu House. And this is an achievement not only for the Imroska brand, but for the whole world. I am convinced that many of those who read this interview or who enter the imroska.com website and see the photos will want to visit the Ceaușescu House, if they haven’t already. In fact, the Spring Palace is not only Ceaușescu’s former residence. It is also the place where you can see the artistic reality of an era.
Reporter: Did it matter to you that the most visited tourist attraction in Bucharest is the Ceaușescu House?
Roxana Ostroveanu: Not. I wrote an article about the Ceaușescu House many years ago, when it was less known, encouraging people to go and visit this masterpiece. Today the situation is different, many foreign tourists have already heard of the dictator Ceaușescu, and visiting his former residence is an objective they do not want to miss.
Reporter: What are those details that you found artistically special?
Roxana Ostroveanu: Everything is particularly harmonious, even grandiose, from an artistic point of view. You may or may not like the style, but no one can deny that a lot of money, work and talent has gone into it. I was most inspired by the mosaics, especially those with peacocks, especially since this bird represents, along with the Merkaba star, one of the two fundamental concepts of Imroska. The peacock was and will forever remain a symbol of beauty, of positive change, the earthly manifestation of the celestial Phoenix Bird, and for Imroska it is the dream of eternal beauty expressed in dozens of shades, colors and hidden symbols.
Reporter: Please elaborate, because I find this association between a peacock and a fashion brand very interesting.
Roxana Ostroveanu: Luxury and opulence are admirable, as long as they come naturally. If they are mimed, if they are artificial or inappropriate, they slide into kitsch. A peacock does not want to appear to be something it is not, it does not want to shock or attract attention at any cost. He is simply unique and different from everything around him in a natural way. It is the symbol of a genuine work of art created to delight the gaze of the spectators, without necessarily intending to do so, without pretending, without playing a role. Connoisseurs make the difference…
Reporter: Do you find yourself in this image or this concept of the peacock?
Roxana Ostroveanu: This is the Imroska ideal! To create clothes that highlight the unique characteristics of those who choose to wear them: authentic women who exude femininity, women with an exclusive vibe, natural, without excess and without anything fake in their behavior and attitude. Beauty and naturalness. To be attractive without becoming vulgar, to be feminine without seeming frivolous, but still to come out from under the “herd” effect: in an era of a consumer society, the energy of clothes becomes superficial. But why do we have a full wardrobe and yet only wear one pair of jeans more?
Roxana Ostroveanu, Romanian designer PHOTO: Personal Archive
Because everything is energy. The subject is very complex, because it’s not about affordable clothes to look good in a hurry – it’s produced with effort by people afflicted by circumstances and less fortunate. It’s a whole culture that fashion-educated people with material possibilities have long learned, that’s why they choose clothes created by designers they empathize with or choose products created by responsible people. An “instragrammable” moment for us can be a painful wound for the Planet and for those exploited by big industries focused only on their own gains. Any choice of a clothing item is a manifesto.
Reporter: What reactions did you get after the launch of the collection and the photo shoot?
Roxana Ostroveanu: The feedback was very good. We had a presentation at the Venice Film Festival, then we had the launch of the collection on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week and we just came back from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Everywhere, apart from the creations, people could also see the images from the photo shoot. Beyond the success enjoyed by the collection as such, we also received many appreciations for the promotional images. Especially for the international audience, this style is very authentic, very fresh and comes with something that those in the industry have not had the opportunity to see elsewhere.
Reporter: What future plans do you have? Will you continue to look for new landmarks in contemporary Romanian art to reinterpret in your creations?
Roxana Ostroveanu: I am in a constant search. There are many things that deserve to be brought before the public, either as such, as art in itself, or reinterpreted including in this fashion area. But I know for sure that the values of genuine luxury, of natural, original exclusivity, will not change. And there are countless works of art, trends and styles older and newer, including in Romania, that express the same thing that I support, through the creations of the Imroska brand.
