IN CONVERSATION WITH EVELINA EPP

Evelina Epp is more a story teller than a young fashion designer, born in Germany and raised in Kazakhstan. Her formative years were marked by frequent relocations, attending eight different schools across three continents. This ever-changing environment instilled in her a profound understanding of connections and relationships, which deeply influence her creative vision.

Evelina’s work elegantly reflects her creative process through different shapes or create physical distance from the body. Her focus on silhouettes, textile exploration, and draping techniques achieves a striking balance between structural design and emotional expression. Evelina Epp invites us to experience her designs and the deep meaning behind them, encouraging us to connect emotionally with the garments. Evelina Epp’s work is bout transformation and reinvention, reminding us that our paths, no matter how uncertain, can lead to profound self-discovery:

Hello Evelina, welcome to 33 Magazine. Your childhood involved moving across three continents and attending multiple schools. How have these experiences influenced your design aesthetic and approach to fashion?

Growing up across different countries and cultures made me very aware of contrast and adaptation from an early age. Moving often meant constantly adjusting to new environments, people, and ways of living. That experience shaped me to observe closely and stay aware. In my approach to fashion, I carry that sensitivity forward by listening closely to people, how a fabric feels, whether the design is comfortable, and how it fits into their lives. Ultimately, I design for people.

Your early years involved a lot of change and adaptation. How do you think this nomadic lifestyle has shaped your perspective on the fashion industry today?

It changed the way I view connection and networking, which is often highly prioritized in the fashion industry. I’ve learned that when you approach people with respect and are genuinely invested in the connection, a few meaningful relationships can take you much further than many surface-level ones. In an industry that moves quickly and demands a lot, depth and sincerity tend to stand out and last.

You draw inspiration from your experiences with distant relationships. Can you share a specific design or collection that embodies this theme, and what emotions it evokes for you?

One of my designs explores the idea of repeating and breaking cycles within relationships. It reflects two individuals who feel bound to each other, repeatedly drawn together by a sense of destiny, yet unable to truly unite – expressed through the space between them.

That space is shaped by ego, dishonesty, and pride, forces that prevent either from taking the first step. A zipper appears as a quiet symbol of choice: the possibility to break the cycle, turn away, and move forward. For me, the piece evokes the frustration of wanting to merge with someone but being unable to do so, creating a constant push and pull dynamic where one steps forward as the other withdraws.

The interplay between structure and emotion is central to your work. How do you approach the creative process when developing a new silhouette or piece, and what role do textiles play in that process?

I begin by choosing a theme and writing down the emotions and key words that come up. From there, I start draping and considering materials and initial textile ideas. After draping, I create what I call “shape drawings”, where I translate the lines and forms I see in the drape onto paper to develop silhouettes . From that point, silhouette refinement and textile exploration happen side by side, with multiple versions evolving as the process unfolds. Once the rough ideas are established, and the initial sample is sewn, I refine the look further by placing the textiles onto the garment to see how form and emotional response actually come together.

Fashion can sometimes be driven by fleeting trends. How do you maintain your unique vision in a landscape that often emphasizes quick turnarounds and immediate consumer appeal?

My main goal is to create pieces that become a customer’s favorite not just for a season, but for a decade. That starts at the design stage, carefully choosing materials and blends that ensure comfort and longevity, and carrying that intention through the entire fitting process.

I work closely with fit models, paying attention to how garments feel in real life, when sitting, moving, and having them place their personal items in the pockets to understand real daily use. Those practical details are considered alongside visual aesthetics. In a trend-driven landscape, it’s nearly impossible to work with this level of care, which is why I choose to design slowly and intentionally, allowing every element to be carefully curated.

As you look to the future, are there any particular themes or questions about connection and distance that you’re excited to explore in your upcoming collections?

In the future, I’m excited to explore connection as a moment of full merging, where staying is no longer a choice, but the only natural outcome. I’m interested in expressing what connection and structure looks like once tension dissolves and stability, presence, and trust take its place.

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