Juraj Straka : a print for everyone

Juraj Straka : a print for everyone

Category: Interviews
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Print and fashion design have always been intertwined. Several brands have built their design identity around print, making them instantly recognizable. Think of Pucci, Hermès, Versace or Paul Smith.

Dries Van Noten , autumn-winter 2017 (c) catwalkpictures

For Juraj Straka, who works and lives in Belgium, print is almost as important as breathing. He could not, in fact, imagine a world without it, relating it to key notions of creativity, confidence, optimism and self-expression.
Today, his client portfolio includes the likes of several Belgian brands, such as Meryll Rogge or Essentiel to name a few. We caught up with the inventive print designer to discuss Dries Van Noten, launching his line of shirts, and why he believes there is a print for everyone.

Juraj Straka workshop
How would you define your work?

I am a print designer. I’m originally from Slovakia and studied fashion design there, but after 4 years I was no longer excited about garments or shapes. It soon became clear that fabric, print, embroidery and embellishment were more appealing to me.

How did you transition from design into print?

There was a Textile Design course in Bratislava, which I joined after my design studies. I guess it helped that I knew about pattern making and understood specifically how garments were made.

Dries Van Noten , autumn-winter 2017 (c) catwalkpictures
How did you end up working with Dries Van Noten?

If you had asked me as a student what my dream job was, I would have told you Print Designer at Dries Van Noten. So, in a way, I knew what I wanted to achieve, but the actual path getting there was longer -and more complicated- than what I had expected. When I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, I was disappointed with my studies and started applying for any Erasmus exchange or program I could possibly find. I also took part in several international design competitions. One took place in Lyon and I won, which allowed me to do an internship at Hermès, more precisely their printing mill. I first worked for a textile manufacturing company for over 7 years, which was the best school for me. Then I tried to figure out how to transition from the manufacturing side into the high-end creative studios.

Anna Wintur wearing Jason Wu PE24
Were there other fashion houses you worked for before joining Dries Van Noten?

Yes. I was hired by Schiaparelli as the Head of Embroidery and Print Design in 2013. It was a real start-up back in those days and I worked with Marco Zanini, as well as Bertrand Guyon. As creative directors changed, it made the environment quite challenging, but in a rather positive way. I was fairly happy at Schiaparelli when I found out the person in charge of Print Design at Dries was leaving. I interviewed for the position, got the job and moved to Belgium. It really was a dream come true, and I did all the prints for the men’s and women’s collections. In fact, it was even better than what I had imagined.

Dries Van Noten , autumn-winter 2017 (c) catwalkpictures
Did you work on the collection of the anniversary show?

Yes. I remember the development was huge. We did 100 prints for that collection, which was a lot. The idea of layering prints came out of a proposal I had submitted to Dries, and he kept it in the end.

I interviewed him often and he likes being pushed out of his comfort zone. What did you learn from the way he looks at print and fabric combinations?

I’d say our mutual aesthetics overlapped in quite an insane way, which means we understood each other’s tastes almost instinctively. What I did learn from Dries was not to get satisfied with pleasing results, but try to challenge my own aesthetic by clashing it with something I hated instead. Perfect beauty is boring, therefore you need something unexpected to shake things off and make it modern.

Juraj Straka Collection 2024
How long did you stay there for?

I worked with Dries for 4 years and left just before the pandemic broke out. It was a marvellous experience for me and I wanted to leave on a high note. You know that moment at a party when everyone is getting really drunk and things start going sour? I just didn’t want to experience this, and left the party at the right time.

Did you launch your own company after that?

Yes. I left, because I wanted to have a certain freedom. I had worked for 15 years in the industry already and felt that it was time to do something more personal. Even though I loved Dries’ world, you’re always serving another person’s creative vision as opposed to your own. Working for a fashion house full-time is a huge commitment and it’s hard keeping a healthy balance between private and professional spheres. I remember that when I worked for Dries I never had time to do my grocery shopping. The shops were always closed when I left the studio. Now I get to buy my groceries every Monday morning, because I am my own boss.

Why do we wear prints?

Prints require confidence, which is probably why some people are scared of them. Still, I believe there is a print for everyone. Start with color and see how that makes you feel. Then you can experiment with print and understand what works for you. It’s about playfulness really.

Juraj Straka Collection 2024
You launched a small line of shirts for men, which you sell online. Do you intend on turning it into a brand?

No, I don’t. I actually wanted to design a line where I could control everything myself and make it about pure pleasure. It was a very spontaneous thing, mostly because I started making shirts out of printed fabrics I had developed myself. It sort of became a branding thing, too, and every season I wore a new shirt. I am keeping it small and do not want it to become ‘industry work’. Creativity should be about having fun and doing things instinctively.

Interview by

Philippe Pourhashemi

Promoting Creative Minds