VARVARA: Patterns Inspired by Women of the Avant-Garde
Studio Concept Lab*
Creative Idea & Design: Kato Trofimova (Hey Kato Studio)
2022
VARVARA is a series of textile patterns inspired by twelve groundbreaking women artists of the avant-garde—the ones who have shaped our visual language and creative instincts in countless ways. Each design is named after one of these remarkable figures: Varvara Stepanova, Anni Albers, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Hilma af Klint, Aleksandra Ekster, Gunta Stölzl, Natalia Goncharova, Lyubov Popova, Sonia Delaunay, Maria Likarz-Strauss, Benita Koch-Otte, and Olga Rozanova. These patterns are not stylistic imitations—they are quiet tributes. Every piece is grounded in deep visual and conceptual research, with a heartfelt nod to each artist’s unique language, rhythm, and spirit.
*Studio Concept Lab showcases self-initiated work and visual explorations where we play with ideas, styles, and metaphors—beyond briefs and boundaries.
VARVARA
Varvara Stepanova (1894–1958)
A pioneering Russian avant-garde artist and designer, Stepanova was a key figure in Constructivism. She brought bold geometry and clarity to textile design, treating patterns as systems shaped by function, movement, and everyday life. Her work redefined fabric as visual structure, not decoration, but utility with rhythm.
ANNI
Anni Albers (1899–1994)
A Bauhaus weaver turned modernist legend, Albers fused craft and clarity. Her textiles were quiet revolutions — grids, threads, and structure made poetic, endlessly exploring the rhythm of the hand.
SOPHIE
Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943)
A true shape-shifter of modernism, Sophie moved fluidly between textiles, dance, architecture, and abstraction. Her playful geometries brought joy and precision to everyday forms.
ALEKSANDRA
Aleksandra Ekster (1882–1949)
A fearless force of the Ukrainian and French avant-garde, Ekster blended futurist speed with theatrical flair. Her designs for stage and fashion were full of dynamism, light, and electric color.
GUNTA
Gunta Stölzl (1897–1983)
The only woman to head a Bauhaus workshop, Gunta rewrote the language of weaving. Her abstract tapestries were structured, spontaneous, and deeply modern — textile as visual thinking.
NATALIA
Natalia Goncharova (1881–1962)
Bold, wild, and unafraid, Goncharova fused Russian folk with futurism. Her work spanned painting, fashion, and design, full of earthy energy and fearless ornament.
LYUBOV
Lyubov Popova (1889–1924)
A master of rhythm and structure, Popova moved from painterly abstraction to radical fabric prints. Her forms pulsed with energy—strong, graphic, and built to move.
SONIA
Sonia Delaunay (1885–1979)
Color was her native language. Delaunay painted, dressed, and lived in vibrant rhythms—blending art and life through simultané patterns, fashion, and radical joy.
MARIA
Maria Likarz-Strauss (1893–1971)
A designer of elegant understatement, Maria Likarz-Strauss shaped the visual voice of the Wiener Werkstätte. Her patterns were refined, abstract, and quietly confident.
BENITA
Benita Koch-Otte (1892–1976)
A Bauhaus weaver and thinker, she championed simplicity with purpose. Her textiles were modern, minimal, and deeply attuned to the human form and space.
OLGA
Olga Rozanova (1886–1918)
A bold experimentalist of Russian Cubo-Futurism, Rozanova broke forms apart to find new rhythms. Her work was raw, poetic, and always in motion—a short, bright flame in the avant-garde.
Other stories: