FINALIST OF THE 2017 LVMH PRIZE

JAHNKOYby MARIA KAZAKOVA

Born and raised in Siberia, Russia, Maria Kazakova, is a New York based visual artist, whose work is based on the examination of consumer habits with an emphasis on crafts and materials and a focus on the preservation of tradition through sustainability.
The artist's work is a decisive return to craft. She sees fashion as a mode of human togetherness, as a powerful tool to raise questions about the sustainability of the current fashion system, and seeks to bring awareness and raise consciousness among consumers about alternative, more viable modes of production, distribution and consumption. The artist’s predilection for recycling and repurposing, and her appreciation of craft are demonstrated in the intricate and delicate embroidery, beading, weaving and crochet merging traditional craftsmanship into everyday wear and found objects, displacing them from their usual habitat.
A graduate from Parsons the New School for Design with a MFA in Fashion Design & Society, Maria Kazakova also holds a BFA in Fashion Design from the British Higher school of Art & Design, Moscow and a Graduate Diploma in Fashion from Central Saint Martins, London.