Roberta has a story to tell
Continuing our celebration of the STORY edition we asked fashion designer Roberta about her story.
Tell us about your childhood and how you became a designer? What's your story?
I was born in former Czechoslovakia, so I have always been an immigrant. I am not sure if I should call myself a fashion designer because I never officially studied this field (I actually have a degree in American studies as a major and film as a minor), but I always had this peculiar and very niche eye and vision on how to curate things and was always dressed a bit differently than everyone else. I do and don't do it on purpose; it's just how it has always been, standing out with my attire and being very visible.
I wasn't always sure about the name my parents gave me, because, despite growing up after the velvet revolution, no one was named like me. In Slavic countries, we have a calendar with name days. Every day of the year, a different name is celebrated within the nation, and obviously, mine wasn't in it, and kids at school made fun of me. I was bullied a lot, especially during high school and had zero friends, so I turned into a true bookworm.
When I was 18 I visited San Francisco for the very first time, and of course, I ended up at Amoeba, browsing through LPs and found a record there called Roberta for one dollar. I had no idea what it was, and at the time we had no smartphones to look things up, and no staff members knew what it was either, so I bought it anyway because it had my name on it. It turned out to be the soundtrack to a movie called Roberta from 1935 starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, a fictional story about Roberta selling her dramatic high-end pieces in Paris in a fancy boutique, and it was based on a book by Alice Duer Miller, Gowns By Roberta. So that was it. But the brand came years later.
Do you have a favourite story? From childhood? A fable? Or a story that you've never forgotten?
My favourite fable from childhood is The Three Little Pigs because it represents what I do. Two little pigs in this fable did a quick job building their houses, and only the third one built a house that lasted. Same with my clothes. I only use high-quality material that is made into a garment more slowly than high street fashion so that it will last forever. And the designs themselves are timeless. No matter when they are worn, they will look amazing. I always think of that story when creating.
How does storytelling feature in your work?
Every piece I come up with has endless storytelling. All my garments are named and dedicated to someone or something that inspires me. It comes with never-ending references, research and connections between each piece which is over the top sometimes, but it's the way it is. It's really me.
Tell us about your process?
The designing process could be faster and sometimes takes longer than I would have wanted, but things need to be right and perfect. Sometimes an idea doesn't work on the first go, so I need to find a solution, and that's why it might end up in the next collection. All my collections are time and material limited, making them more valuable to collectors. I learn new things along the way. The rest is a secret.
Is there a personal story in your life that was a profound turning point?
Probably meeting my late friend Ivan Kral in real life when I was 18. We connected online when I was about 14, and I was so fascinated that someone from my country immigrated to the USA and happened to be at the right time in the right place, New York City in the '70s, being in Patti Smith Group. That gave me a vision that no matter where you are born, you can still do what you want, despite having an uneasy paperwork situation. Ivan had been my dear friend and mentor until he passed away in February 2020.
The Patti Smith Group: Jay Daughterty (L-R), Lenny kaye, Patti Smith, Richard Sohl, and Ivan Kral. DDFP Archives
Who or what is your greatest influence?
The world of arts. Cities. People. Books. Cemeteries. And places where something I am into happened. I travel solo a lot to very poetic places and organise these trips and I end up having these great stories afterwards. I once went to Lowell celebrates Kerouac, did all the sightseeing there and ended up being driven back to New York City by maestro David Amram who now keeps calling himself my designated driver. And speaking of stories, I am always glued to podcasts such as The Lydian Spin with Lydia Lunch and Tim Dahl and You Must Remember This by Karina Longworth. Really influential on me.
Best Advice you’ve been given?
Always stay true to myself, no matter what and never change. Everyone else is taken anyway, so that wouldn't work. But being Roberta can be really hard sometimes, you know... However, I wouldn't know how to do things any other way apart from my own. Period.
Worst advice?
To make cheap fast fashion and commercially boring designs. If I did it, I would feel very uncomfortable as I would lose my signature and identity because it's impossible to convert what I do into that. Or to sell my custom-made appliques separately. People have various making and sewing skills, and at least once a day I receive a request to sell it on its own so they can attach it somewhere. Would you ever come, for example, to Adidas and ask if they would like to cut out their logo and you purchase only that part of the design so you can yourself add it onto your favourite garment? Of course not.
I am not a haberdashery, not even a custom one. I am really proud of my roses (and others); it wasn't and is not easy to make them. Roberta is a clothing brand. And the roses are the epitome of it, memorable details that make it stand out in the crowd.
Motto to live by?
You can never be overdressed or overeducated and Be yourself; everyone else is already taken, both by Oscar Wilde. Oh, and if I could add one more quote by Vivienne Westwood that is also very relevant to my work...
Buy less, choose well - make it last.
Hat by Victoria Grant
What are you currently working on?
Autumn/winter collection. I am fully aware that big brands have already fully finished and closed on this chapter but I haven't. I might have my own pace, but I am still making deadlines. Stay tuned!