KZ_K Studio celebrates 15 years of circular and sustainable design as one of the NY fashion designers poised for a better industry.
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Clean, modern, and minimal, KZ_K Studio embodies the bold lines of the city its studio calls home. Also woven into the clean lines and structured fluidity of its pants, blazers, and pleated dresses is a mentality that looks to nature and designers’ role in preserving it. Other NY fashion designers might lavish in the pomp of come-and-go trends. But, for 15 years, KZ_K Studio Creative Director and Co-Founder, Karolina Zmarlak, has been crafting multi-functional pieces meant to stand the test of time from innovative materials that minimize waste by taking into consideration a product’s end-of life..
NY fashion designers with more than a decade in the industry under their belts have a reason to celebrate. As trends come and go, maintaining longevity in the concrete jungle is not an easy accomplishment. To be a luxury slow fashion brand that has made conscious sustainable design choices since its debut collection more than a decade ago- now that’s an even bigger occasion to celebrate. To usher in 15 years of sustainable design, KZ_K Studio celebrated with a first. The label became the first luxury women’s ready-to-wear brand to use cycora®, a regenerated material, in their iconic techno jacket.
To celebrate the collaboration and 15 years as a sustainable fashion brand, KZ_K Studio threw a bash at the Knitting Factory for an evening of Japanese Sake cocktails, a musical performance by Miss Grit, and a live visual arts performance by ballerina, Lilit Hogtanian for the unveiling of the Techno Jacket. After all, iconic fashion deserves an iconic party.
The Event
KZ_K Studio celebrated the launch of the redesigned, iconic Techno Jacket and Trench in partnership with Cycora® at the Knitting Factory in New York City. The new styles were unveiled during live visual and musical performances by Lilit Hogtanian and Miss Grit. Guests included actresses Katja Herber, and Geneve Carr, costume designers Dan Lawson and Danielle Hollywood, stylists Wilfred Vasques Torres, and Hattie Doolittle, Lindsay Christinee from The Wellness Feed and more.
“Our first collection in 2009 featured our Techno Jacket… a multi-layerable piece meant to integrate into… a women’s complex wardrobe and life,” explained Karolina Zmarlak about the mainstay piece. “Fifteen years later the design, reenvisioned with… Ambercycle, (re)presents KZ_K’s design discipline: a personalizable piece, to be used for a lifetime of modernist uses.”
The Techno Jacket
“The attempt to integrate fabrics of environmentally responsible origin is daunting, it wreaks of greenwashing by its very intent.” Co-Founder Jesse Keyes shares his journey to find a truly sustainable material. His search led him around the world scooping out a circular fabric that was not only better for the environment but would also uphold the brand’s standard for luxury, quality, and durability. “When we found that Ambercycle had innovated a method to break down garments otherwise meant for landfills to a molecularly regenerated natural resource, and I saw in person their vision and their intent in LA, I was hooked,” he said. From there a partnership was born that saw the brand’s signature jacket reimagined in the material. “True circularity in fashion must start now,” Jesse explained.
Speaking about the collaboration, Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle, re-emphasized Jessie’s message about quality, sustainability, and the the present moment. “In order for decarbonized materials to be easily adopted by the luxury sector, it is crucial that next-gen fabrics perform at the same, if not higher, standards compared to what is currently in use,” Shay stated. “Our partnership with KZ_K STUDIO demonstrates that it is possible to create circular, regenerated fabrics without compromising on product integrity. Reinventing a staple piece from their collection is especially exciting because it shows that future products are only getting better both on a quality and environmental level.”
*The KZ_K_TECHNO 15 Jacket will be available beginning in the Fall of 2024.
