BALTIC CONTEMPORARIES
Katrin AAsmaa
SEASON ONE
FOUNDING PARTNER LHV Bank
Creative Direction & Production
Silver Mikiver
Created by TRACE in collaboration with LHV Bank
Veronika Veskimets, Anni Metsak
Special thanks
Marché Dauphine, KENZO
TRACE Original ©
How could more people listen to their hearts and choose their own path?
I would say: move into environments that develop and challenge you.
That doesn’t necessarily mean moving to another country but surrounding yourself with people who teach you new things.You also shouldn’t live too much according to other people’s opinions. You must live your own life.
One of the reasons I set the goal of living boldly is that I never want to lie on my deathbed and regret something. I always want to know that I gave my maximum with the resources and skills I had at the time. Regret feels like the most frightening thing in the world.
I like the feeling of knowing I gave my best. Because even when things don’t go according to plan small professional setbacks are much easier to deal with when you know in your heart that you truly gave everything you could.
Then you simply try again next time.
How much can we can shape our own lives?
I believe equally in coincidence and destiny.
Life is in our own hands, but chance can play a very big role in taking you to places you could never have imagined yourself. But generally it seems to me that for chance to work in your favor, you still have to be actively working toward some kind of goal.
People always say “grab opportunities,” but you can only truly seize an opportunity if you know where your goals lie. A clear example is my move to Paris. I came with a goal, even though I didn’t know exactly how things would unfold here. I changed my life completely. But this kind of risk-taking lifestyle also pushes you to act more toward your goals and ambitions.
Where do you think your passion for fashion comes from?
My passion for fashion is probably connected to my mother’s words: become somebody. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do in life — the important thing is to do it with passion and to do it well.
How did you got your first job in Paris?
How I went from intern to employee is a perfect example of goals and chance working together. I knew that if there was even the slightest possibility of being hired directly, I had to be the first one there and the last one to leave. Whatever anyone needed I was there to help no matter the amount of work. I was very cooperative and flexible. I was also proactive in creative tasks and always proposed multiple options.
I was ready to help every team member.
Naturally that kind of attitude gets noticed. At the time the team itself did not expand, so they couldn’t create a new position for me but one of my colleagues left. It was a wonderful coincidence that everything aligned and I was hired.
Have you always lived boldly?
I think I have, because I have always tried to follow my intuition and my inner voice. These aspects have guided many decisions in my life and helped me distinguish what feels right or wrong.
Where are you from and where are you now?
I come from Tallinn, more precisely from Mustamäe.
I have now been living in Paris for almost five years.
Fashion has long been the only logical choice for me. I grew up surrounded by clothing from a very young age, so studying fashion was a very natural decision. In Estonia I mainly worked as a freelancer and had my own brand. About five or six years ago I began looking for a new challenge and set myself the goal of exploring what my international potential might be. And somehow I ended up in Paris.
In Paris I first went to school, more precisely as an exchange student. Then I got an internship, worked extremely hard there, and after that I was hired by the fashion house Givenchy. I worked there for some time and later moved to the fashion house KENZO. Within the fashion system it may be interesting to mention my exact specialization — just as I worked with menswear in Estonia, I continued.
At the moment I design men’s suits and formal clothing at KENZO.
Where does your courage come from?
Starting in the 7th grade I studied in a German-language program, which meant all subjects were taught in German. My mother immediately said: “I can’t help you — I don’t speak German. If you want to do this, you will have to manage on your own.”
Later this expanded further. When I began working on fashion collections in school, she told me that the creative field is unstable, but if you want to succeed in it — become somebody. Figure out what you want to do and become somebody.
Do something, invent something.
“Become somebody” has literally been ticking in my head for almost 20 years. Of course the definition of “somebody” changes over time. Goals and ideas of success change but “Become somebody” (Hakka kellekski) is something my mother, Tiina Aasmaa, said that has stayed with me.
What are you moving towards?
The first serious step was entering the Estonian Academy of Arts, where my professional journey began. It was a logical step for me and I still deeply respect and love this field.
In Estonia everything was working very well for me, so the decision to move to Paris was actually quite bold and unexpected. I decided that I wanted to challenge myself and see whether I could manage in a completely new context — how my skills would translate in an international environment. That personal challenge felt the most important.
By nature I have always been quite ambitious and courageous. In what I say, how I dress, and who I am as a person. If someone asks for volunteers, even back in school I was always the one raising my hand and saying I’ll do it. It may seem like a frightening decision, but actually moving to Paris was a very natural for me.
What I am moving towards now? I think quite often about how I could connect these five years of experience in Paris.. not only visually and technically but also the systems, the way things are organised, the broader context. Also how one day I might bring that knowledge back to Estonia. But I still don’t know when or how that might happen.