Designer Marjan Pejoski of KTZ showed his FW15 collection for the first time at New York Fashion Week, choosing MADE at Milk Studios for his stateside debut. It was a discussion about the evolution of femininity, history and modernity, high-energy, sexuality, and empowerment.
Conceived in 2003, KTZ is a London-based fashion label under the creative direction of Marjan Pejoski and management of Sasko Bezovki. In 1996, the pair opened the shop Kokon To Zai in London’s Soho, as a hybrid music and fashion store. Kokon To Zai became a platform for creative projects and showcased cutting edge designers such as Jeremy Scott, As Four, Bernhard Willhelm, Raf Simons, and Emma Cook, which ultimately led to the creation of the label KTZ.
KTZ designs men’s and women’s ready-to-wear clothing, but with couture detailing. The label is known for its raw energy and contemporary urban edge, along with its embrace of ethnographic references and multiculturalism.
It creates a dynamic combination of contrasting elements: modern and classic; secular and religious; anarchy and severity; spectacle and depth. These details together create a unique label identity that is widely recognized and is worn globally by pioneering personalities in various creative industries, especially art and music.
KTZ operates two flagship stores in London and one in Paris. The label presents its women’s & men’s collections during London Fashion Week and receives international exposure.
Marjan Pejoski was born in Skopje, Macedonia in 1968. The son of a politician, he went to business school in Macedonia before moving to London in 1989, where he studied jewelry design at Westminster, shoe design at Cordwainers College, and fashion illustration at the Chelsea Art School in London.
In 1999, he completed a BA course in womenswear at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design and delivered a stellar final collection, which caused a sensation when one of the models appeared in a water-filled dress containing live tropical fish!
The same year, he shot into the headlines by dressing Bjork in a pink dress made from 262 feet of tulle, hand stitched to create a three-dimensional sculpture that resembled a lantern. Sharing a similar sense of unconventional attitude, Bjork befriend the designer and has shown great interest in his work ever since. When the opportunity presented itself, she didn’t hesitate to choose Pejoski’s egg-laying swan dress for the Oscar ceremony. The provocative dress captured worldwide attention, both within and outside of the fashion industry. Although the dress was initially received with some skepticism, many people were more impressed than outraged. In both 2000 and 2001, Pejoski was awarded the New Generation Award by the British Fashion Council.
And his recent KTZ collection made me think of how precious an unconventional, fearless approach to fashion is, especially now that many masters of the industry – including Raf Simons – complain about lost originality and boring repetition of the safest trends. Being edgy and pushing the envelope should be reestablished as the true essence of the fashion world!
The show featured music by Nid & Sancy, make up by Gato for Maybelline, nails by Pattie Yankee, casting by Julia Samersova/Cast Inc. and hair by Marc Mena. Front-row attendees included Fabolous, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonny Wujek, Bishop Nehru, Sita Abellan, TK Wonder & Cipriana Quann, Patti Wilson, Ivy Levan, Nini Fabi of Haerts, Miss J Alexander, Lynn Yaeger, and many more.
Just loved it!!!
Elena Sendona
