THE BRAND
Kata Szegedi and her best friend Daniel Benus met in 2002 while studying at ‘Kisképző’ Secondary School of Fine and Applied Arts Budapest. Their aim is to create pieces full of passion, Objects of Desire.
Founded by Kata in 2009, Kata Szegedi is one of the most important Hungarian brands in the contemporary fashion scene. The independent, Budapest-based label's vision contains innovative, modern design for a cosmopolitan individual who is self-assured and proud of their individual image; the one, who values the expression of originality in her day-to-day life. The love for contrasts is reflected throughout every single piece, experimenting a lot with silhouettes, shapes, textures and colours creates an eclectic, visual statement. Inspiration drawn from contemporary art, youth culture and urban lifestyle is combined with an emphasis on tailoring and the use of custom-developed fabrics. The interesting marriage of streetwear influences, Hungarian sensibilities and global motifs presents a playful and fresh attitude to the effortless 21th century 'power-human'
Collections were featured in Milan, Helsinki, Berlin, Paris and Budapest, Fashion Week, worn by celebrities like Róisín Murphy, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Rowland, Eniko Mihalik, Vanessa Axente, and Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano. Appeared in magazines like Vogue Italia, Schön, The Room, Marie Claire, Elle, Glamour, InStyle, Sleek, and Indie. The duo is on the right track to sharing their powerful and vibrant creations with a wider audience.
Kata Szegedi is one of the emerging designers in Hungary, she came to the spotlight before she graduated in 2009 from KREA Contemporary Arts Institute Budapest. That year she became the top young fashion designer at the Fashion Awards Hungary. Kata plays an important role in the Hungarian contemporary fashion scene, she won the Best Fashion Designer Award of Glamour Women of the Year in 2014. After graduating, she founded her namesake brand and opened her showroom in the heart of Budapest. This is the 4th year she is a lecturer at KREA, teaching contemporary art and fashion to the next generation of designers, stylists and make-up artists.
She describes herself as a passionate dreamer, who is in love with contrary, weirdness, honesty, freedom, and the colour black. Her main inspiration comes from art, music, and her friends whose continuous success motivates her every day. Her aim is to create memorable moments for the ones who wear the label’s pieces and believes in the importance of feeling constant desire. She is obsessed with people and their stories, fleamarkets, niche perfumes, neverending spring nights, Chopin, Jackson Pollock and all the crazy minds. She creates wearable, living sculptures with her best friend, Dani.
Daniel Benus is known for his amazing talent in creating the perfect cuts and geometrical lines. After finishing the textile faculty at ‘Kisképző’ Secondary School of Fine and Applied Arts Budapest he attended MOME- Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. His first experience was in womenswear and a short period with leather goods when he produced handmade shoes for Kata’s first few collections. He was always very interested in the heritage of the old couturiers, like Christian Dior and Cristóbal Balenciaga. All the shapes, cuts, and movements, the experiments with different kinds of textures and fabrics, and creating the perfect volume and form are his biggest goals. Right after university, he ended up as an intern at one of the city’s best bespoke tailors, shortly he got impressed by menswear so he started his own line, with a strict, geometric, and powerful aesthetic. In 2011 he won the prize of the top young fashion designer at the Fashion Awards Hungary.
He is really fond of Asian culture, for example, Japanese traditions and Vietnamese lifestyle, gastronomy, contemporary art, architecture, all kind of street art, urban lifestyle and big city spirit. He describes himself as a calm, tendentious mind who is the down-to-earth one in the duo. In his free time, he loves to travel, and take care of his dog, Rolf, and he is always up for discovering new music in every kind of genre. He took an important role in the brand’s evolution from the beginning, since 2015 he became a full-time member.
THE COLLECTION
The SS25 collection is characterized by cool elegance, openness, and pushing boundaries. The collection is made up of seemingly mismatched textures, bold fabrics, and pieces featuring the signature Roads style. Focusing on upcycled and printed denim, sheer layers are paired with heavy canvases to create a soft yet architectural silhouette for the Spring-Summer season.
The collection is inspired by music and art; this time, the runway track was created by the duo’s longtime friend Peter Hencz, drawing inspiration from hip-hop and techno beats, perfectly complementing the big-city attitude. The main elements of the collection include custom-developed, locally made 3D prints and hand-woven denim. In terms of textiles, the collection features tasseled surfaces, impregnated fabrics, and colors such as midnight black, camel, navy, charcoal, Klein blue, and ivory.