Origin

DoviArt is a child of a life long dream. I was born in Lithuania and cannot pinpoint the exact time when l first felt the love for fashion design, but it was really early. By nine l was a budding paper doll and their exuberant outfits maker, selling them to my classmates for the price of cinnamon bun. While other children were waiting for animations on tv, I was glued to tv watching runway shows from Paris, very rare occurrence btw. In my teenage years I realized that I can transform my appearance with clothes, accessories and makeup. I started sewing when I was thirteen. I got tired to wait when my mom will finish my clothes and asked her to show me how the sewing machine works. That was magic, I still remember the first dress I made for myself.

Beginnings

I never got the proper fashion designer education, but l do have several degrees in Textiles - engineering and art. Mid-nineties life just threw opportunities to test myself as fashion designer into my hands. For a while l was creating stage costumes for my friend, ballet dancer and her troupe. When l first tried my hand at fashion designs commercially I sold a children’s FW95 collection to one of the biggest Lithuanian apparel factory, same year I my first runway collection was accepted at juried fashion show “Woman and Fashion” juried by French. It was a big deal, but the collection was never finished, because l doubted my skill and entrusted sewing to professional seamstress. Everything was going my way, but I decided to postpone everything and leave to Chicago to learn English. 

Creative Process

When I work on new designs, I feel alive, I can finally breathe. I cannot honestly say how I create, to me it feels that it just happens. Sometimes it’s a dream, sometimes I see a fabric and design just pops in my head. The more I work the more interesting ideas I get. I would describe what l create as wearable art. I start from a regular street outfit, make it from unusual fabric, then l add lots of details, textures, etc. I like transparent fabrics, because when l layer them, I get very interesting effects. Recently I started experimenting with thermal memory on synthetic fabrics and it opened infinite possibilities. I am still exploring where this line of creative thinking will lead me. Recently I noticed that I am leaning towards avant-garde high fashion, but what I really want is to make it wearable, comfortable, user friendly. I want the person wearing my clothes to feel special, one-of-a-kind, someone, who stands out of the crowd and makes immediate and unforgettable impression. What l show on the runway is the extent of my imagination and skill, but when l work with my clients, l listen, because it is not what l want, but what we create together. 

“What l show on the runway is the extent of my imagination and skill, but when l work with my clients, l listen, because it is not what l want, but what we create together.” 

Dovile Pareika