Guests were totally enthralled by Iva Pfeiffer Creations’ latest collection entitled Belonging at its world premiere at the 2018 Czech Heritage Night on February 25 at the New York Czech Center. The runway featured 28 ensembles that have intensely striking lines and flows, and are rich in colour and detail.
Renowned Czech singer, songwriter and pianist Tomás Kaco provided live accompaniment on a grand piano, his evocative music the perfect backdrop to the collection’s exquisite designs. You can hear Tomás’s music on this video of the runway. Tomás’s music is truly moving – here’s one of our favourite videos of him performing
Belonging incorporates symbols and design elements from multiple cultures, including traditional Japanese kimono drapery and Indian folk art. While all of the garments are made from silk, many of them, such as this full-length gown (right), feature nuno felting, providing added textures, dimensions and vibrancy.
Nuno felting is a technique developed in the early 1990s by Australian artist, Polly Stirling. Derived from the Japanese word for cloth (布), nuno is a wonderfully appropriate name because artists of this technique create a new material by bonding loose fibre (such as wool) to a sheer fabric (such as silk). The loose fibres can completely cover the background fabric, as in the stunning jacket shown left, or be layered to build up colour, texture and decorative patterns to create a unique design, as in the deep red ensemble shown right.
Iva is intrigued by the two meanings of the word “felt” in English: the soft textured fabric that has given Belonging such a distinctive look; and the past tense of feel. “It is always feelings that I am trying to evoke in my work,” said Iva, “and in this collection that combines different elements of different cultures, I want to remind us that belonging is not about place, but about connections with people.”
The featured colours of Belonging (sometimes strongly contrasted against a clear white) are rich purples and deep reds. These colours denote strength and confidence— feelings we experience when we belong.
The last item of the runway was this stunning special-event organza and silver-grey and cream French lace gown entitled Meandering. The hand-stitching of the six segments of French lace was a labour of love, comprising 400 hours of work meticulously undertaken by Iva herself and four of her talented artisans.
Iva donated Meandering to an auction, also held on Czech Heritage Night, to raise money for UNICEF. Read about the auction here.
