It all started with a move to London (doesn’t everything?) in the ‘90s for Macedonian pals Marjan Pejoski and Sasko Bezovski. There, invigorated by English couture, streets and air, the duo birthed KTZ, the label that’s been all of colour-mad, print-demented, cut-crazy and fashion-frank – not for one moment will you be bored. Now more than a decade old, KTZ counts the likes of Lady Gaga and La Roux as part of its cult, as its imaginative and individual vision endures into its Spring/Summer ’10 range – where the tribes of Papua New Guinea meet Studio 54 (who wudda thunk it!). As the collection made its way down the recent Audi Fashion Festival catwalk and into the Blueprint Emporium, we joined Sasko on the KTZ playground…

Are you happy with how far KTZ has come so far?
Yes, thanks to people like Lady Gaga and Björk, we’re getting a lot of followers and I feel confident that we’re in a good direction. We want to bring some more colour and variety into people’s wardrobes ‘cos at the moment, I feel the young generation is really missing that. That element of fun is always in our collections.

And we’re noticing a fusion of tribal and futuristic elements on your latest one…
That’s a good description! The inspiration came from the tribes in Papua New Guinea and we wove that into the modern world. We took the Papuans’ jewellery, look and make-up, and brought it into the world of Studio 54, New York. It’s this interesting vision, like Grace Jones goes to Papua New Guinea. The key aspect has always been fun, which is really what makes us different.

KTZ for the future…
We just want to keep things as playful as possible and keep bringing it closer to the younger audience, especially the one JUICE caters for. We always bear in mind this youthfulness to keep it fresh in every season. So we’re always learning.

Read on and see more of KTZ’s latest collection in the June issue of JUICE, now out at all these spots.

www.kokontozai.co.uk

Text: Min Chen
Images and interview courtesy of: AFF and Blueprint