SOBOTKA + Megan Marie Dodge

“When it’s the end of the world and there’s nothing left but dusty mirages… what does it mean to be a modern woman? Who are we going to become? Where can we go from here? And most importantly, what are we going to wear when we get there?” questions designer Megan Marie Dodge. As the creative force behind Sobotka, Dodge interprets this motif with a chromatic, hypnotic collection aptly titled: What We Leave Behind. two + seven caught up with Dodge, exploring not only what is in her past, but what lies ahead for this talented designer.

two + seven: How did you start designing? Did you go to school for fashion design?

Megan Marie Dodge: I started designing because I wanted my clothing to have meaning. I went to Parsons.

2+7: We are dying to know… where did the name Sobotka come from?

MMD: It was my great-grandmother’s last name. If there’s anything that I’ve done to make my grandparents proud in an industry that is so difficult to understand- it is this singular decision.

: Oli McAvoy

2+7: Are you planning on launching an e-commerce site?

MMD: Yes, and right now pieces can be purchased at my shop on Wondermode: sobotka.wondermode.com/shop

2+7: Where do you find inspiration?

MMD: It’s a complete synthesis of my world in a period of time- linking everything that happens to my heart to the things my friends like to the things the world is worried about.

: Oli McAvoy

2+7: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

MMD: Blonder.

2+7: Are you working on anything special?

MMD: Right now, I’m just wrapping up pre-fall. It was based on studies of Victorian superstitions, the Phantom of the Opera, and that creepy erotic vampire fanaticism. It’s less cerebral than my previous collections, and more artistic. I’m making art to go with it. So that it’s more like, here are the objects to go with the clothes. My horoscope keeps telling me to stop thinking and start feeling, so I’ve been trying to do that. It’s a collection that addresses heartbreak. And being haunted. There are so many people in this city being trailed by living ghosts.

: Oli McAvoy

2+7: What has been your biggest challenge as a young designer?

MMD: Making myself heard, seriously.

2+7: What advice, if any, would you give to aspiring designers?

MMD: The best advice I’ve ever been given: whatever you have to do, do it right now.

: Oli McAvoy

2+7: If you weren’t designing, what would you be doing?

MMD: I’d be in law school.

2+7: Do you feel that your clothing reflects your personality?

MMD: Yes.

2+7: What do you think when you get dressed in the morning?

MMD: I like choosing a theme or a color or a shoe and go from there.

: Oli McAvoy

About your newest collection:

2+7: The designs are so unique and different. Can you tell us about the concept?

MMD: I’ve been really concerned with 2012 predictions for a long time now. My spring collection was a continuation from the last one, but was more focused on current geographical and socio-political destruction than on the myths themselves. Prints this season are based on screenshots of Cesium, Iodine, and Xenon nuclear radiation. These heat scan shots were taken of the atmosphere directly above the United States. Similar to brain scans, they bring to mind associations between the collective mental unconscious viewed through a scientific lens. The scans were then coated with the reflections from oil slicks in American waters. This is a very real way to view the beautiful in the destructive and to glean hope from catastrophe. Emergence is possible if attention is paid.

2+7: What do you want people to take away from your work?

MMD: I want my beliefs and enthusiasm to be contagious.

2+7: What is the vision for the collection?

MMD: SS/2012 is “What We Leave Behind.” When it’s the end of the world and there’s nothing left but dusty mirages- what does it mean to be a modern woman? Who are we going to become? Where can we go from here? And most importantly, what are we going to wear when we get there?

2+7: During Fashion week you had a fashion show at the Jane hotel. How did that go?

MMD: I was completely surrounded by the people that I love the most. It’s euphoric, that kind of support from friends.

2+7: How do you feel you differentiate from others?

MMD: I’m trying to design honestly. These clothes really are simple things. They happen when I make what I see through myself.

2+7: Does your collection tell a story?

MMD: It’s an invitation to come join me in a world that I’ve created- let me dress you up and set the stage and paint your face, join my tribe- that kind of thing.