Denmark native Camilla Stærk draws on dual legacies of Danish visual heritage in her work as a fashion designer - the fluid lines of modern design, and the haunting fog brooding over Prince Hamlet's Elsinore Castle - and blends them together in creating a unique and deeply personal vision of dress that has drawn worldwide acclaim.
Trained in London, Stærk found immediate positive reception: Her graduate fashion show at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication caught the eye of both the International press and buyers at the boutiques Browns Focus in London and Maria Luisa in Paris. She went on to be awarded Top Shop's New Generation Award three times, and her collections in London marked Stærk as "a future fashion star," according to British Vogue, and immediately garnered reviews in publications such as Women's Wear Daily, New York Magazine and Elle Paris. Camilla's distinct collections also quickly developed a devoted celebrity following, with fans including Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Liv Tyler, PJ Harvey, Connie Nielsen, and The Raveonettes. Model and photographer Helena Christensen proved so devoted to Stærk's designs, she stocked them at her shop, Butik, but also hosted Stærk's debut presentation in New York at the store, and threw an A-list fashion week party for the designer to celebrate her first runway show in the city. Publications that continue to support Stærk include Vogue, Nylon, ID, The New York Times Magazine, Allure, W, Women's Wear Daily, Style.com, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Another Magazine and Elle. In 2006, Camilla Stærk relocated to New York to launch her current brand, STÆRK. Embracing her new home, she channeled American influences such as Twin Peaks and the sculpture of Louise Nevelson into collections that are distinctively hers; darkly romantic in mood, sharply cut, and notable for the designer's innovative working of leather and jersey. The STÆRK brand currently includes apparel, swim, shoes and bags and sunglasses, and is noted for its regular collaboration and one-off projects with other design houses and partners. STÆRK Signature, a reinterpreted capsule collection of Camilla Stærk's most popular pieces, was launched in New York in July 2009, and now retails alongside STÆRK collection. STÆRK has been included in the roster of designers for the MAC/Milk sponsored New York Fashion Week presentation list since its inception. "Camilla Stærk, a Danish designer with a downtown base, refined her tough-girl aesthetic by treating leather in a way that was both sleek and elegant. Adding black lace gave the outfits that push-pull quality. Ms. Stærk, who said she was inspired by the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe, showed only a dozen looks, including a long, reedy trench coat in mannish gray wool tweed with leather insets. What was underneath? Did it matter? She makes you wonder about the woman." Cathy Horyn, The New York Times, February 15th 2009.
COLLABORATIONS
CONSULTANCY WORK
"Watch impossibly lithe Royal Ballet dancers swirl about in STÆRK's spring fashion film, made in
collaboration with avant-garde filmmaker Barnaby Roper, and composer Sune Rose Wagner of
The Raveonettes. For the collection itself, Camilla Stærk found inspiration in the haunting work of the late Danish painter Hans Henrik Lerfeldt."
-Fashion Copious, August 20 2011
"Taking the work of famed French interior designer Andree Putman as the jumping off point for her spring/summer 2011 collection, Camilla Stærk presented what is quite possibly her strongest collection to date"-Lauren David Peden, Vogue.com, September 13 2010
"Camilla Stærk, a Danish designer with a downtown base, refined her tough-girl aesthetic by treating leather in a way that was both sleek and elegant. Adding black lace gave the outfits that push-pull quality. Ms Stærk, who said she was inspired by the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe, showed only a dozen looks, including a long, reedy trench coat in mannish gray wool tweed with leather insets. What was underneath? Did it matter? She makes you wonder about the woman."
-Cathy Horyn, The New York Times, February 15 2009
"Camilla Stærk's work is beloved by strong, sensual, balls-to-the-wall women, and that may well be because the Danish-born designer is almost always inspired by strong sensual, balls-to-the-wall women, (artist Louise Nevelson, experimental filmmaker Maya Deren) and because she is one herself"
-Lauren David Peden, Vogue.com SS09 Runway Review
"With each new season she shows in New York, Camilla Stærk's vision becomes more refined"
-Romney Leader, Style.com SS09 Runway Review
"Stærk's fall collection, called Black Bride of the Moon, came together so beautifully, intertwining the twin darknesses of her own vaguely perverse, modern vision and Nevelson's angular and textural 'assemblages'. It should help lift her from under the radar into the mainstream of New York talents, where she belongs."
-Meenal Mistry, Style.com AW08 Runway Review
"What Danish designer Camilla Stærk can't do with a piece of leather ain't worth knowing"
-Elle UK, News page, June 2004
AWARDS & SPONSORSHIPS
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CAMILLA STÆRK BIO DESIGN CONSULTANCIES+COLLABORATIONS CRITICAL RECEPTION AWARDS |
