Andrey Artyomov Collaborates with Opening Ceremony on Emoji Sweaters

Andrey Artyomov, the designer behind Walk of Shame, was recently approached by Opening Ceremony to resurrect his “Emoji Sweaters” – a staple he created a few years back to commemorate the rise of people’s addiction to Instagram. Together with OC, the two came up with a new set of icons and have created a limited edition collection based on everyone’s favorite App. Here, the designer talks about his brand, Walk of Shame, and the attention he’s been getting due to everyone’s most-used emojis.

Life+Times: Tell me a little bit about your brand WALK OF SHAME. What’s behind the name?
Andrey Artyomov: It’s all about my friends, girls who inspire me, those who I know personally and those whom I would love to meet. Walk Of Shame is not only a cliché about a girl that we all know – it’s about healthy self-approach, about successful laid back girls who have succeeded in both their career and personal life. There is lots of self irony in these girls and they are very sexy and clever at the same time.

L+T: You launched your brand in 2011 to much international press. Why do you think people have taken such a liking and interest to your designs?
AA: I guess people like our approach. Clothes that reflect a certain lifestyle, and also tell a story. It’s like a new uniform where there isn’t a designers face, but there are girls who wear the clothes, thus, creating a band. In some ways, it’s like a private club.

L+T: Since you started, how has your brand changed and evolved over the years?
AA: I am more confident in my designs now, we kept all our strong sides; we continued to make products that have become our signature staples across different seasons – but in new fabrics. I have to say, in my own words, that the collections have become holistic – and, they’re a lot bigger. I’ve become braver in mixing in fabrics and textures.

L+T: You’re a former stylist. How has that helped you design complete collections? Was it a natural transition?
AA: I do have a background in fashion design, but I started my career as a stylist. This allowed me to understand the industry; there really isn’t a connection between these two in Russian universities. It has always been my dream to become a designer – so, it became a logical move for me.

L+T: I first learned about you at Opening Ceremony. Now, you’ve done an exclusive collaboration with them on their emoji sweaters. What was behind this? What did you decide to do this incredible collection?
AA: We made sweaters with Emoji icons in our F/W 2013-2014 collection as homage to Instagram, which became our best advertising platform. These sweaters were very successful and when the team from Opening Ceremony offered to make me a collection. We decided to choose new icons together.

L+T: What are you working on now? What’s in store for the next collection?
AA: Right now, we are finishing AW 2015-2016 collection and it has a very 1970’s vibe – yet told in the Walk of Shame style. There are really odd fabric combinations in the collection and we used Ali McGraw as our muse.