Draž Knitwear Studio
About
Draž Studio, located in Ljubljana Old Town, was founded in 1991 by Urška Draž and her brother Tomaž Draž. Their mother Karolina bought the first knitting machine in 1988. In 1991 they started to research and experiment with knitting techniques, new ways of using colour, structure and design, and sculptural techniques.
Urška Draž studied at the Department of Textiles, University of Ljubljana and in 1997 took advanced studies in fashion knitwear design at Nottingham Trent University, UK. In 2004 she graduated with a Masters degree from the University of Ljubljana. Tomaž Draž studied design at the Open University in London.
This family business started out of enthusiasm for knitting, creativity and everything beautiful. All Draž pieces are highly recognisable and unique because of the high quality materials used, innovative techniques, distinctive design and long life-span.
Draž Studio also collaborates with other artists: in 2006 a new collection called Inventura by Aleksandra Vajd was introduced, using old elements of Draž Studio knitwear with certain pieces of clothes (coats, skirts, dresses).
Draž produces two collections per year.
Fashion shows, exhibitions, collaborations
Their first fashion show was at the Fashion Bazaar, Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre in 1991, and in 1992 they started to export their products to Ireland and Great Britain. Then in 1996 Urška Draž participated in the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean in Lisbon. Their collections regularly appear in Ljubljana Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and other fashion shows.
Draž Studio has created costume design for numerous dance and theatre performances, including Ladomir Faktura directed by Marko Peljhan (1995). Their creations also received the highest awards at Fashion News in Opatija, Croatia in 1995, and at the Eastern Europe Designers Competition in Budapest in 1997.
In 2007, their work was selected as the Best Design Product 2007 at the Month of Design in Ljubljana. Draž Studio also won in the category Best Designer of the Elle Style Awards 2013 in Slovenia.
In 2013, Draž Studio started an important collaboration with Alpina, a development-oriented footwear manufacturer in Slovenia with a long and inspiring tradition. Their collaboration started by designing footwear for the Draž Diatome shoe collection (Spring-Summer 2014). The results of this continued cooperation were first introduced at Ljubljana Fashion Week 2014.