This year, the FASHIONCLASH Festival offers a long list of activities taking place in the whole city of Maastricht in its “side program.” One of those is the pop-up store OFF Strand, that will be located in the Mosae Forum from the 12th until the 15th of June.
OFF Strand is an independent initiative to create a collective pop-up showcase for young London based fashion, jewellery and accessories designers. Its aim is to offer a place in which designers, bloggers and the general public can meet and communicate. At the pop-up store in the Mosae Forum, the designers will present their current collections that will be available both for purchase and pre-order. We were lucky to get an interview with Anna Pitchouguina, one of the two founders of OFF STRAND.
Hi! Please introduce yourself. Who are you? Where do you come from? What do you do?
I am from Russia, but I grew up in Poland. Emanuele Copioli, the other person behind OFF Strand, is from Italy. We both live in London. I am a fashion designer while he is a graphic and creative mind. So, we are a great team to start up such a project. We both work on numerous projects at all times and OFF Strand is definitely one of our favorites at the moment.
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| Picture of Anna Pitchouguina's work that will also be featured in the pop-up store www.pitchouguina.com |
You started the OFF Strand initiative. What is it exactly?
The idea came from Emanuele who one day, while I was brainstorming about ways to showcase my brand, just asked me, "Why don't you get some other designers and do it yourself?" He also came up with the name for our showcase and we intend to keep it for the next editions. Basically, we want OFF Strand to be a pop-up showcase of London based designers. Of course, we want to establish it in London but also in other cities in Europe with the aim to reach the general public and raise awareness about the brands involved. At the same time, we want to put together an aesthetically pleasing showcase and create a visually memorable space. We aim to build and maintain contacts with industry professionals and ideally, as we are quite ambitious, we would like to influence the recognition of small brands.
What was the reason behind the launch of OFF Strand?
It came from the need to create an approachable and affordable showcase to get people to discover young brands. There is a lot of power in collective and ambitious showcase like that.
How do you select the designers that are participating in the OFF Strand pop-up showcase?
For this edition, we got in touch with the designers we wanted to join us. We wanted a selection of young and active brands that have potential to get people excited about their products. We do receive emails from designers who want to showcase with us as well. So at this point, we use a mix of tools to curate the selection.
What should we expect from OFF Strand in the future?
We are busy planning pop-ups in Italy, Russia and of course London in the near future. So you will surely hear about us and our collaborators more!
The Maastricht edition of OFF Strand will feature many designers. Here is a preview of some of the designers participating and their work.
OFF Strand Maastricht designers: Julie Eilenberger, Pitchouguina, Maud Traon, Lana Siberie, Arlette Ess, Gina Melosi, Francesca Valorsa, Niza Huang, Mury, Myia Bonner, Sara Gunn, Vita Gottlieb, Apujan, Yui Atelier.
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| Julie Eilenberger's work www.julieeilenberger.com |
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| Niza Huang www.nizahuang.com |
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| Lana Siberie www.lanasiberie.com |
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| Pitchouguina www.pitchouguina.com |
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| Mury handbags www.mury.co.uk |
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| YUI Atelier www.yuiatelier.com |
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| Francesca Valorsa www.francescavalorsa.com |
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| Myia Bonner www.myiabonner.co.uk |
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| Arlette Ess www.arlette-ess.com |
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| Vita Gottlieb www.vitagottlieb.com |
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| Maud Traon www.maudtraon.com |
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| Apujan www.apujan.com |
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| Caiti Betterton www.caitibetterton.tumblr.com |
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| Gina Melosi http://www.ginamelosi.com |
If you want to discover more of the work of those young and talented designers, don’t forget to pay a visit to OFF Strand, Mosae Forum, 6211 Maastricht, open on the following days and times:
Thursday 12th of June: 11am – 6pm
Friday 13th of June: 11am – 6pm
Saturday 14th of June: 11am – 10 pm
Sunday 15th of June: 11am – 4pm
In the mean time, like the OFF STRAND Facebook page to stay updated on the designers participating, and have a look at their website!
See you there!
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