Lauren Kovin, Clothing Designer

12.18.09 — By Monica Khemsurov

Lauren Kovin had one of those creatively privileged childhoods we all dream about: Her father was a graphic designer, her mother an interior designer who stocked their New Hope, Pennsylvania, home with Memphis furniture and modern art. Kovin spent more time in galleries than in shopping malls; an Avedon portrait of a nude Nastassja Kinski hung over the family’s dining room table. Heaven, right? Wrong. “I grew up in suburbia, and it was so embarrassing,” Kovin says. “My mom would come to pick me up from elementary school wearing a Comme Des Garçons poncho and rubber booties. To a six year old whose friends all shopped at Sears, my mom was a freak show.”

Lucky for her, adolescence tends to suck anyway, and we reap its benefits much later: Because Kovin faced her fears of being different early on, by the time she went to Parsons to study fashion, she felt so free to experiment that her professors thought she was “a total weirdo” for basing pieces on John Cage compositions and photocopied Silly Putty. By the time she started her eponymous line in 2008, she had figured out how to skillfully incorporate the inspirations of her childhood (some of which are pictured among the eight here) into her work, earning her a reputation as an up-and-coming new voice in fashion. Oak bought up her first eight-piece collection — and so did her mom, whose closet in turn has become one of Kovin’s greatest resources. But you can’t tell that to a six-year-old.

Lauren Kovin’s clothes are currently for sale at the Areaware Stop Shop at New York’s Port Authority, which runs through January 2. Click here for more information.

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A look from Kovin's Spring/Summer 2010 collection, shot at her parents' house in Pennsylvania. The fireplace in the background was custom-designed by her mother, and the table is by Ettore Sottsass.

Dario Argento: The avant-horror master is Kovin's favorite director. This still is from his 1977 film Suspiria. "I love the supernatural fantasy and the beautiful settings of Argento's movies, and they always involve these pretty girls," Kovin says.

Dario Argento: A still from Argento's Tenebre. "The films I made for my current collection, which my boyfriend Jesse McGowan art directed, have that same dark, mysterious edge," she says. "They don’t even show the clothes that much — they're more about a mood."

Comme Des Garçons: Having grown up around the designer's clothes, Kovin now shares her mother's love for CDG. She's collected dozens of pieces over the years. "I'm most inspired by their pattern-making — they're always coming up with new techniques and constructions," says Kovin. "But I need to start selling some of my pieces on eBay. If I’m going out, I would rather wear one of my own dresses."

Ettore Sottsass: Kovin also inherited her parents' love for Memphis design, of which they own a considerable amount. "Sottsass has always been an inspiration to my design aesthetic," she says. "I try to keep my clothes sophisticated and refined, yet playful. If you look closely there’s always that moment of ‘Wait, why is this here?’"

Franz West: "His work is beautiful and industrial, especially the lamps with the heavy chains," Kovin says of the Austrian contemporary artist. "Simple and modern, but very raw. I also love his multicolored woven chairs. My friends have some of his work, and every time I go over to their place I’m like, wow."

Mini ironing board: When Kovin headed off to Parsons, her maternal grandmother — a craftswoman who specialized in Japanese embroidery and knew Issey Miyake — gave her this diminutive ironing board for sleeves and collars. "I use it a lot," says Kovin. "I wish my grandmother was still living today, because I would have loved to collaborate with her. I could have given her my artwork to embroider."

Granola recipe: Kovin found this recipe on the internet, and she's been making it every Sunday night for the past year. She even considered selling it at the Brooklyn farmer's market. "Cooking relaxes me," she says. "Doing a collection is a lot of pressure. I feel like I’m always thinking about work. My boyfriend thinks I need to join workaholics anonymous."

Kofe: A Russian new-wave band from the '80s, Kofe's been on constant rotation in the Kovin/McGowan household for the past two years. "I always listen to music while I'm working," says Kovin.

Jesse: Kovin's boyfriend, a graphic designer, plays a crucial role in her work. "He’s the phantom of Lauren Kovin designs," she says. Her upcoming Fall/Winter 2010 collection is the first time his contribution will be made visible: A design of his will be digitally printed onto one of the fabrics.

Jesse: McGowan also designed the couple's living room, which is the place Kovin says she feels most creatively inspired, lack of Sottsass furniture notwithstanding.