TATJANA ANIKA INTERVIEW
Tatjana
Anika
Handcrafted in Italy. Founded on the female form. A brand born from a conversation in Paris and a sketchbook that never leaves her side.
A conversation in Paris, a sketchbook full of wallpapers and tribes and flowers — Tatjana Anika on building a swimwear brand from the female form up, handcrafted in Italy, one individual piece at a time.
It feels like it was just yesterday when I met Tatjana in Paris, telling me about her plans to start a beachwear collection — and here I am, so incredibly proud to feature not just a collection but a beautiful brand.
Tatjana Anika is founded upon a philosophy that focuses on the female form. Especially attentive to contours, cuts and design, the result is simply elegant and stunning. Each piece is individually handcrafted in Italy — the kind of garment you feel before you see it.
Her path here was not a straight line. After a BA in communications, she studied French, Contemporary Art and Interior Design — all of which, she says, have contributed to the collections in one way or another. Fashion came last, but it came with clarity. "I realized that the ever-changing faces of fashion would create a constant flow of new ideas and new ways of expression."
"The greatest inspirations can come from anywhere," she says. "That is why I always carry around a sketchbook so that I can keep these images logged easily." It is a discipline disguised as a habit — the trained eye that never stops collecting.
The greatest inspirations can come from anywhere. When it comes to the textile designs we use, the inspiration can come from a wallpaper that I saw in a friend's coffee table book two years ago.
Tatjana Anika
These upcoming collections are all about the Maasai tribe and their unique use of primary colors in their beadwork and jewellery, which she tried to translate into the patterns of the new collection. Along with that, the African daisy helped create another of the patterns — nature as print, culture as structure.
The person I have in mind is the style-conscious modern woman who is confident in her style and can dress her looks up or down according to the situation. She is easy going, does not fuss too much about her look and wears the simplest, classiest looks in her own way.
Holidays are the ultimate relaxation. Otherwise I love to be completely lazy and will sometimes just lie in bed with a book or a movie.
"A bracelet my father gave me
at the millennium."
It has been in his family for generations. Beyond stunning — and it shows it was made in another age. "I absolutely adore it."
I would love my brand to be recognized as one of the main contenders in swimwear, eventually selling to all the key stores around the world. The dream is to have my own store one day — a girl can always dream.
Tatjana Anika — on ambition
