Camelia was nice enough to let me photograph her studio up in diamond heights, a hefty bikeride into the hills above the city with a panoramic view of the incoming fog. Her talent is apparent right as you walk into her home. It’s impeccably organized and tidy, which is reflected in her garments’ clean lines, bold shapes, and solid colors. Her sketches, on various inspiration boards on the walls, are just as fashion illustration should be: quick, lean, and leggy– and to be expected from a fashion design and illustration teacher at san francisco’s Academy of Art University. She launched her eponymous line this past spring with a collection of expertly tailored dresses paired with leather harness accessories and now she’s working on developing her second collection.

Originally from Romania, she told me stories of her past life studying art under communism the explosion of creativity and production after the wall fell. there was no past fashion industry, so they started from scratch, creativity flowing limitlessly in an industry with no rules.

After quickly skyrocketing to fashion fame in her country, she landed a design job in london after the firm saw her work on europe’s fashion tv. There she learned the business end of the fashion industry, sketching endlessly while trying to learn english and navigate a foreign culture.

Now she is using tokens from her past as inspiration for her next collection. the red kerchief from her childhood uniform hangs in the corner of her studio with an array of Yves Klein electric blue images and swatches. not only is she getting this collection together, she and husband, Greg, are expecting their first baby in a few weeks! Congratulations! can’t wait to see where Camelia goes from here!

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Copyright 2010
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