How are you?

I'm doing well, thank you for asking. It's the playoff season in Miami, and I'm a big fan of the Miami Heat so I'm happy to follow the team especially at this time of the season. 

Interview with Radmila Lolly

1. Please tell our viewers how it began. How did you end up being a fashion designer?

I would create my own dresses and gowns for my  performances and different galas. For years I would not tell people I was a designer. I didn't want them to think about whether I'm a designer or an opera singer because I feel like ten years ago people were only respectful of one career. Nowadays, you can do many different things as an artist, so I'm excited that one can express oneself through different artistic mediums in this era.

2. Are you self-taught or did you study fashion design?

I did not study formal fashion design, but my grandmother was a dressmaker and my mother is an artist and a dress maker herself; so growing up, I knew how to sketch, know the fabrics, and know how to make clothes. It's completely in my genes and also through  observation for years.

3. What does fashion mean to you?

Fashion is a language. You express yourself how you feel that day; we all express ourselves through fashion. The first reaction when you look at someone you see their style you probably can tell that individual's character by what they are wearing.

4. What does the brand Eltara Casta mean to you?

It means a lot to me because EL stands for Elizaveta, who is my grandmother, TA stands for Tatiana, who is my mother and RA stands for Radmila. So, it's three generations: my grandmother, my mother, and me, and I feel honoured to finally showcase my family as a three-generation of designers.

5. We have seen your amazing work. What or who is your inspiration for creating such marvellous and unique designs?

It has colours, textures, and volume, and I hear music when I look at the fashion design.

6. What is the most critical element in your designs?

I'm not so much a fan of using different fabric prints. It's all about the designs and engineering of the couture piece and being unique.

7. What are your proudest moments regarding Eltara Casta?

I think I had a few proud moments. When I see women wearing my designs, they feel great about themselves, and everyone compliments them. I take pride in that. 

8. How would you define the aesthetics of your brand?

The aesthetic of my brand is a musical composition of a couture piece.

9. Where do you see your brand in the next 10 years?

In ten years, I see my brand doing a lot of costume designs for movies because my business model is based on one-of-a-kind pieces only. I don't do high volume production, each piece is unique, and it's a piece of art.

One day I would love to have an art exhibition at a museum, where my mother's painting is next to my designs. 

10. You are a versatile celebrity. You are a singer, model, fashion designer, and now a writer too. How do you get time for yourself?

Time for myself is creating all those things. I feel at peace when I'm creating, so to me that's finding time for me.

11. OK, last question. What is it that we will see next in Eltara Casta?

Eltara Casata is the collection for my novel, an audiobook, a film, an album and show "DIVA." So that's my next collection, and I can't wait to showcase it with a big launch as a 6D project.

Check out my Instagram @radmilalolly.