“Being a designer to me, is being able to find how you would like to work and create, because once you find that answer, everything just falls in to place, and the ideas just come naturally. You enjoy it 10 times more this way”— Dinara Jurat
Let's start with a little personal intro. Tell me about yourself and your design journey.
I guess you could say I am a multi disciplinary designer. I have recently completed my Bachelor of Fashion Design and I have been practicing photography on the side for a couple of years now, as a hobby, and have taken classes to help throughout my creative process. This becomes very useful when you have a specific vision you want to achieve and you can just do it yourself.
What's the message that drives your student collection, 'State of Mind'?
The objective that made me create 'State of Mind' was this idea of finally coming out my own self sabotage shell, and slowly accept what I can do with my full potential. I can say with confidence that this is the first collection or even piece that I made that i’m truly proud of and will always go back to it to see where I truly found how I like to design. To be honest, I didn't really know how to design clothes, I just had to try out methods and techniques that suited my work aesthetic and I came up with this.
Tell me about the design and production processes behind the collection.
The production process behind the collection was absolute chaos, which is always the case for me because I always make things difficult for myself. This collection, especially as the whole idea was to destroy the fabric - in a controlled way - to create a design. The process of fraying the fabric thread by thread, took me a hot couple of hours, and days, to achieve exactly what I wanted and to be honest, I didn’t really do trials or samples, I kind of just prayed and frayed that it worked.
Is sustainable production and ethical processes a factor in your process?
Sustainability for me comes in a big umbrella and sometimes it is hard to pinpoint what is sustainable and what is not. In terms of material sourcing, I used all local bought materials.
But as a student, ethical process is a bit hard because in my case, I have been a very driven person when it comes to my practice and I will sacrifice sleep and food if I need to to get it done, so I am not sure if that is a sustainable way of production, but hey when you need to meet a deadline, with such a heavy hand treated method of making, that just got to do what you got to do!
What was the inspiration?
Honestly both of my collections throughout my third year came from a personal anecdote and my mental health journey.
Studying and designing in Naarm, has the city/culture here influenced your work?
I think studying and designing in Naarm is one of the best things I have done. The culture around young creatives here is absolutely amazing and the amount of inspiration and drive you see through creatives helps me to do better, get myself out there and to produce something different, or something that makes you think and tinker.
What does being a designer mean to you?
Being a designer to me, is being able to find how you would like to work and create, because once you find that answer, everything just falls in place, and the ideas just come naturally. You enjoy it 10 times more this way.
How would you hope your peers and audiences would describe your work? (What's the message you're trying to convey through your work?
The message I am trying to convey is not being afraid to try something, to just go for it no matter how big or small it is because you'll always have that thought in the back of your head lingering- what if you did and what would happen then?
That's why the garments in this collection slowly which looks like its falling apart but actually a way to represent you walls coming down and becoming vulnerable again to experience new comings in life which can scary but that is what you need to progress and expand your knowledge as a person.
3 biggest fashion influences/role models? Who do you look up to within the industry?
It constantly changes, because I always need something new to drive me to create something. One brand that has been lingering in my 'inspo' boards is 'Ottolinger'. I just love how they are in their own world, doing whatever they doing, because it’s working for them. I love the way they design, and their vast range of designs, which inspires me to do exactly that.
What's next for you?
For now, I am enrolling into my honours year in fashion design and I am excited, but super nervous, knowing this is the year where I need to make something I absolutely love, but also look back at it and still be able to build on it for my future creations.
DESIGNER: DINARA JURAT
PHOTOGRAPHER: JOSH NAI
MODELS: BIANCA SCHRAGGER & RENATA LIU