BLUE NUDE – THE ART OF FASHION
Blue Nude is an East London based slow fashion label which explores the always alluring relationship between fashion and art. Naming the brand after visionary French artist Matisse’s seminal series of collages, designer Katarina Protsack uses that cross-pollination of disciplines as the basis for her own creative vision.
In a month that celebrates Earth Day where we seek to spread global awareness on how we can help to save the planet, this seemed an opportune time to speak to a designer whose work is inculcated with an environmental empathy. Avesso spoke to Katarina about that, the creative and personal journey that’s taken the designer from rural Canada to hurried Hackney and her goals and aspirations for 2025.
Moroccan Inspirations Behind “Raha”
Congratulations on your on-schedule London Fashion Week debut and latest collection “Raha” which was inspired by time spent in Morocco. What is it about Moroccan culture and crafts that resonated so powerfully with you?
I find visual codes artistically stimulating - a fusion of traditions and cultural practices alongside contemporary design and life is particularly exciting for me. Morocco excels at this and as a Creative Director I found it inspiring.
Morocco’s creative traditions and artisanal techniques are rooted in their culture. You can feel they are deeply respected in the country. You can see this in how the artisanal crafts are proudly incorporated into daily life in contemporary ways.
In some parts of the world, cultures can lose touch with their cultural craft and traditions over time, or utilize them only in a tourist-oriented, mass way. In Morocco, this could not be more opposite.
Upcycling Vintage Handbags into Wearable Art
Your collaborative process has included upcycling vintage handbags with Chisara into wearable art. Can you tell us more about that process and if upcycled accessories are something you’d like to explore further?
It was intense! After I sketched some ideas and we agreed on one we wanted to pursue. We experimented for many, many hours and then chose the idea of using a mix of hand-felted and stitched strands of merino wool to give a ‘wild’ look to the bags. We wanted to transform them into ‘comfort creatures’, something very tactile, and unexpectedly chic to have tucked under your arm.
I would engage with upcycling again if the right idea came to mind. It is very labour-intensive, however, and the output is small. My hat is off to designers who pursue upcycled designs on a full-time basis. That level of creativity is incredible, and I admire them greatly. They are sustainability heroes.
I have made some pretty great accessories from offcuts and surplus fabric in my studio. This has suited my creative process and I am going to keep dreaming up ways of making beautiful, high-quality pieces out of my own leftover materials.
The Fusion of Fashion and Art
You previously collaborated with artist James Watkins. How important is that fusion of fashion and art to you?
It is the central soul of Blue Nude. I can’t imagine a future where I don’t collaborate with artists. I am proud of the pieces we make and how peaceful the process has been with everyone I work with. Outside of our results, I have gained wonderful friendships and intellectual exchanges. I teach them and they teach me along the way.
Collaboration with James Watkins
From Rural Canada to the Creation of “Blue Nude”
What was the catalyst for you moving from rural Canada to the creative cauldron of East London and what inspired the highly evocative name “Blue Nude”?
Music made me move to the UK. I wanted to connect with people who loved the same music as me, which, even after 20 years in Canada, I still hadn’t found. I realized a majority of the music I loved was coming from the UK, and I moved to Leeds on a university exchange out of instinct. It was actually quite impulsive! I’m not normally like that. It feels like fate now. I eventually settled in East London after I finished my studies in Canada, as it felt like the best place to pursue a career in fashion. I fell in love with the creative spirit of Hackney, and I’ve never lived anywhere else in London.
The name Blue Nude came from the Matisse paper cutouts series, the ‘Blue Nudes’. When starting my brand, I knew I was going to work with artists, in a colourful style. I thought about art exhibitions that had been highly influential to my creative development, and I immediately thought of the Tate Modern’s Matisse exhibition in 2014. It encouraged me to learn about fashion illustration, which eventually led me to have the confidence to communicate design ideas to production studios in London. I particularly loved the feeling of the ‘Blue Nudes’, how they were free, naked, and dancing. I want people to feel that way when they wear my pieces – joy and freedom. I then removed the ‘s’ from Blue Nudes so it was symmetrical, and Blue Nude was born.
Sustainability Journey: The Low Carbon Transition Programme
That ethos has seen you join the British Fashion Council’s Low Carbon Transition Programme. What are its objectives and how do you hope to play your part in achieving them?
It’s a program that aims to empower SMEs like myself in the fashion industry to learn about their carbon emissions, and what they can do to minimize them. They also educated us on circularity and how we can incorporate this into our businesses. I was honoured to take part, and relieved when I began working on the program that I’m actually doing a good job! I self-educated myself on sustainability, and I was always wondering if I was doing enough, or that I was missing something. It was reaffirming that I am on the right path.
One insight I gained from the program was factoring in carbon emissions into my sustainable decision-making. I had not prioritized it, as I was always focused on extraction-based impact, as well as ethical manufacturing and biodegradability. I was surprised to learn that silk manufacturing, despite being natural and biodegradable, has very high carbon emissions in its manufacturing process. It’s going to take some time, but I am testing alternatives to silk for many products.
Finding Everyday Peace in a Competitive Fashion World
The indirect Arabic translation of your latest collection “Raha” is “everyday peace”. Fashion can be incredibly ruthless and competitive so where do you find everyday peace to help navigate that?
That’s a great question. Definitely in music, it gives me solace.
With age, I have been getting better at appreciating the joy of everyday life, watching the seasons change. A quote I love and repeat to myself often is “beware of the barrenness of a busy life”, from Socrates. Life can pass you by if you don’t take time to stop and smell the flowers, have a coffee in the sun, or lay on a patch of grass and watch the clouds go by. These little moments remind me of how lucky we are to have a chance at life.
Blue Nude’s Aspirations for the Rest of 2025
Having shown on-schedule at LFW what are your goals and aspirations for the rest of 2025?
It’s been a very exciting year already so far! London Fashion Week was an encouraging experience, and I’m feeling more confident to show my philosophies with Blue Nude to a wider audience. I’d love to partner with an established retailer to share my colourful vision of sustainable fashion and creative collaboration with their customers.
I have two collections in the works with two amazing artists. First is a spring/summer collection with Laurence Watchorn, launching in May. We actually just finished our hand-painted pieces at his studio in Chelsea today. They look incredible, we are really excited to release them. They are potentially the best pieces I have made in terms of integrating an artist’s aesthetic and identity into wearable art. They are an undeniable fusion of Laurence Watchorn and Blue Nude’s artistic DNA.
In March I travelled to Svalbard with artist and collaborator Coline L’Achiver, of Studio Cosmogram. Svalbard is the most northern inhabited island in the world. It was the first time I travelled to an area of inspiration with an artist. I’m curious to see how this impacts the creative process and the result of our collection, which will be released for AW25. We will also potentially explore video and sound as an extension of our artistic collaboration⸻
Credits:
Photography: Courtesy of Blue Nude / Studio archive