Photo by Kaitlyn Winston
For months, Angela Bacskocky shut herself inside her North Side home, obsessing over a brush pile that collected in her backyard. "It was so beautiful," the 32-year-old fashion designer recalls. "I loved it, but I wanted to set it on fire."
Bacskocky refers to that winter two years ago as "a period of isolation and depression" that spawned her debut fashion collection, Nest. Bacskocky used only natural fibers, including wool, leather, shearling and feathers; the line features sharp tailoring with attention to detail.
"The collection explores the way we are continuously building up our nests for shelter and security, while that same protective structure becomes a cage that we've created around ourselves," Bacskocky says of the line, which premiered at the final showcase of Richmond Fashion Week on April 21.
The exhibition on April 27 at Candela Gallery that followed the premiere featured statuesque models perched at various points around the gallery, and sculptural nests made from wood, twine and animal bones.
"I'm really good at spotting dead carcasses off in the distance," Bacskocky says of the sculptural elements' creation process. "I'll usually just throw [it] in my car and then it'll end up in the studio, which is kind of like a graveyard."
The self-described strict vegetarian — she hasn't eaten meat for more than 17 years — boiled animal bones and constructed leather garments in her Scott's Addition warehouse space. "It's a dirty artist studio," Bacskocky says. "It feels like I'm in a movie and I'm living with dirty boys and we're squatting together."
Local boutiques, including Heidi Story and Need Supply Co., will carry items from Nest, with prices ranging from $38 to $395. Bacskocky will sell exclusive items that were used on the runway and at exhibition shows on her Etsy site at etsy.com/shop/AngelaBacskocky .
For more information, visit angelabacskocky.com .
