THE DESIGNER
Enamoured by folk dancing, the designer Dora found herself immersed in the world of Hungarian folklore at a young age. Over the years, her infatuation with traditional costumes grew into profound respect, and by the age of 21, it became her mission to find a way to preserve her heritage in the fast-paced world of today. Thus, ZSIGMOND was born as her reinterpretation of Hungarian peasant culture in a modern context.
THE BRAND
Dóra Zsigmond founded her eponymous brand in 2014 as a way of preserving fragments of the rapidly disappearing rural Hungarian culture. With the motto of “Inhale the past, exhale the future”, ZSIGMOND brings the disciplines of pre-fast-fashion garment-making back into contemporary design. The resulting pieces are gender neutral in nature, dark in aesthetics, and entirely unique in execution.
Less than 10 years into the brand’s existence, ZSIGMOND pieces have been acquired by the Museum of Applied Arts Budapest. Described by Forbes reporter Hiroyuki Anzai as “the direction where the luxury created by the new generation is headed”, the brand’s garments also got into stores in Berlin, Milan, Rome, Tokyo, Shizuoka, New York, Portland, Boston, Ontario, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Valencia, Moscow, Perm and Krasnoyarsk.
Each ZSIGMOND collection consists of three lines. The all-black CORE collection of essential pieces and the REMADE line crafted from upcycled vintage fabrics are continuously present throughout the year, while the biannual seasonal collections are available for limited time periods.
THE COLLECTION
Inspired by word-of-mouth stories passed down through generations, ZSIGMOND’s AW24 collection is an homage to rural lore. The catalyst of the collection is an elderly lady, who shares her encounters with witches from her home in the Hungarian countryside. Her disjointed account of the events paints a vivid picture of the paradox inherent to folklore. The tales of witches are as unsettling as they are tranquil in their unquestioning acceptance of death as part of life, of witchcraft as part of nature. The collection takes its visual cues from witchcraft: gray smoke swirls as green and purple poisons brew in large cauldrons between moss-covered trees, all safely hidden behind the black veil of the night. The textures alternate in harmony; from velvet to fluid, soft to rigid, smooth to blistering, the fabrics envelop their wearer in a tactile experience.