Physicist by day, designer by night embroiders her way to wearable art runway
Eve Kovacs approaches her couture runway creations the same way she tackles her scientific undertakings as a physicist at Argonne National Laboratory - with technical precision.
"Both require trial-and-error experimentation, step-by-step evaluation and problem-solving. You need precise measurements in research as well as fashion," said the Woodridge resident. "And you need to try out different variables - whether it's matter and force or fabric, color swatches and cuts. The fields are not so far apart as one might think."
Although Kovacs' analytical mind has served her well professionally, she is beginning to reap the benefits of her creative hobby as well.
Her work will be featured in the 2008 Bernina Fashion Show, the world's premiere wearable art event. This year's show, titled Rendezvous, will bring together garments from 48 different artists for its industry debut Oct. 26 at the International Quilt Market and public opening Oct. 30 at the International Quilt Festival, both of which will be held in Houston.
"This is the biggie most designers aspire to get into, so I'm ecstatic," said Kovacs, who submitted her portfolio for years before being accepted into the select group. "I can't wait to go to Texas to see my piece on a professional model under the lights."
Bernina, a sewing machine company, sponsors the event, and Quilts, Inc., hires models, coordinates the fashion show and sets up the displays for the exhibition, which will travel to other cities, including Chicago next spring. The event showcases ornately sewn, quilted and embellished pieces ranging from street wear to elaborate, fantastical costumes, according to Bob Ruggiero, director of publications and public information at Quilts, Inc.
Kovacs is busy working on her creation, which must be completed by the early June deadline.
"When I heard that 'Rendezvous' was the concept, I thought 'Oh my, what am I going to do to tie in that imagery?'" she said. "So since the meaning centers around meetings, I decided to focus on the meeting of cultures. My parents emigrated from Hungary to Australia, and I moved to the U.S. in 1980, so I'm going try to reproduce traditional, rich Hungarian embroidery with an Australian flower pattern and American-style cut."
The sketches are finished, the pattern drafting is done, and the fabric is purchased. The outfit will be a longer silk charmeuse cocktail dress with an asymmetrical hemline and lots of skirt tiers. Kovacs elected to go with an empire waistline and shoulder straps, which she chose over a strapless style to help support the heavy layers.
The designer is antsy about some technical issues she'll have to resolve - such as how the more delicate fabric will hold up with intricate embroidery - but chances are she'll pull it together, given her vast sewing experience.
Kovacs learned to sew from her mother, and at age 8 or 9, she made her own school dress. Struggling to make ends meet after World War II, the family grew accustomed to modeling their clothes after the high-end designer trends they loved but couldn't afford. With the quilting and wearable art movements gaining momentum in the '80s and home embroidery machines hitting the market in the '90s, Kovacs became enamored with the craze.
"The textile and embellishment side of things was interesting to me, but a lot of the garments that surfaced were rather dowdy and didn't appeal to my fashion taste," she said. "Wearable art started out as more boxy outfits with a lot of patchwork, but as soon as embroidery came on and you could incorporate surface design, I was hooked."
Kovacs began entering contests at sewing shows and started to make a name for herself. But she grew frustrated by her lack of success in the wearable art divisions.
"Usually the submissions are over-the-top Cirque du Soleil-esque costumes with lots of bling and crystals, and I tend to be more understated," she said. "I don't do frou-frou, and I'd prefer to make something that you can actually wear to a wedding or gala."
Ruggiero had a similar characterization of typical wearable art wardrobes.
"We're talking huge sweeping capes and coats. Most garments aren't something you can wear in public," he said. "They aren't necessarily outfits meant solely for pedestrian functionality but something created as a piece of art meant to be displayed."
After several years of Bernina rejections, Kovacs' "breakthrough" came last spring at a Chicago quilt show. Impressed with her work, organizers encouraged her to apply for a spot in Bernina.
"I told them I couldn't, for the life of me, seem to get an invitation, and I asked if they could look at my portfolio to tell me where I was going wrong," she said. "But I think that seeing my work in person made all the difference (to the judges). Pictures can't really get across the level of detail."
That summer, she submitted a garment to a Bernina University convention, where two entries are chosen as honorary fashion show features, and won a place on the runway.
"I was worried the garment would look plain after all of the other ensembles. But the model was so cute, and the piece looked attractive and wearable, so I was thrilled," Kovacs said. "I can't wait until this go-around."
According to Ruggiero, this is an optimal time to be part of Bernina.
"Wearable art has really exploded in the last five years, and there's a ton of crossover appeal," he said. "People are really rising to the challenge of creating amazing art that defies traditional flat media."
Jessica Young can be reached at jyoung@mysuburbanlife.com
Eve Kovacs' Bernina University convention winning garment, featured in last year's Houston debut …
Name: Belladonna
Theme: Diamond Odyssey
Fabric: Burnout silk chiffon skirt fabric with lily pattern purchased in Beijing layered over periwinkle lining with matching periwinkle corset shirt and black gazar jacket.
Cut: Flowy skirts with handkerchief points, which show well on runway. Shirt and jacket have bell-shaped sleeves to echo skirt.
Embroidery: Jacket hemline and sleeves encrusted with art-nouveau pattern, created using design software.
See it: International Quilt Festival from April 10-13 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Visit http://quilts.com/mediapage for more information.