Teodora Serbanescu is an up and coming Fashion Graduate from LCF (London College of Fashion). With the world, and people around her as a big inspiration, Teodora’s designs reflect the emotions of the people she meets, and challenges the world we live in. Starting conversations, and focusing on unrepresented groups is important to her and is reflected in her designs; as shown in her recent collection, ‘20 SS Adaptable Maternity Wear’ which includes stylish, adjustable and sustainable maternity clothing. As well as her Graduate Collection ‘We Belong in the Spaces Between’ which interestingly looks into breaking stereotypes and boundaries.

You mentioned before that you’ve always had a love of expressing yourself, and connecting with those around you. This is shown in your designs, especially in your Graduate Collection, 'We Belong in the Spaces Between'. Can you tell us more about what inspired this project? 'We Belong in the Spaces Between' started as a concept or actually more like a movement which articulates my interest in all that is art and its correlation to freeing our identities from any social constraints. The in-betweenness can relate to anything really from where we come from to how we choose to express ourselves through clothing .

A lot of people that I know have inspired me to start this project, but it was mainly the people around me who are not afraid to speak their truth no matter what. And then it’s all the things with a negative impact that have been happening around us for the last decade: the climate change, the social media impact on our mental, emotional and physical health and unfortunately, the external “validating” voice we are all looking for at certain points of imbalance in our lives.

I translated this urge one more time within the name of the collection as a wake-up call of what can be the transition period between what we know, it’s not good anymore for us or our eco- system and what can be the beginning of a healthy and more caring era.

Why is breaking this need we all have to ‘fit in’ so important to you as a designer? Without sounding cheesy, I think it’s steaming from personal reasons a bit as well, because I never felt like I quite fit in where I was raised, but this is not about me. I am glad because it made me a lot more introspective and I’d say equally patient with trying to understand everyone’s motives for being or behaving the way they do. I’d say the role of a designer is to break stereotypes and ask questions which wouldn’t have the prettiest of answers, but that would have the power to change minds or even an old broken system. As a fresh fashion alumni this is the thing I want to do even if I might upset a few people along the way. I think it’s definitely worth it to not be liked by everybody in the industry if your creative input is helpful to those who believe in your endeavours. I don’t think my battle as a designer with fitting in or talking about it will ever stop, but I certainly feel it does get easier each time and hopefully I'm encouraging others to do the same.

And how long have you been into art, fashion and design? Do you think your background has influenced this career path? I’ve always been into art ever since I was a kid. I was obsessed with dancing and acting and still am in love with dance up to this date. But around the age of 15 I realised I’d feel more comfortable behind all the glitz and glamour rather than on stage. I definitely feel that my passion for music and film are interlinked with fashion because for me they are all about self-expression and freedom, but fashion was the one to reach my heart the fastest I guess.

I don’t think my Romanian background has actively encouraged me to explore design or art in any sense, but I was extremely lucky to grow up in a very open-minded environment. I have travelled since I was 6 and it certainly nurtured my interest in exploring different creative mediums from other parts of the world.

Your garments include digital print, and I know you’ve worked with print designers, and other creatives to make your designs come to life! Can you tell us more about these collaborations? Yes, I’ve collaborated with some really amazing creatives for my graduate collection. Qianru Liu (@qianr_u) is the print designer who helped me bring my ideas to life. We worked together closely and I’d say our craft went perfectly hand in hand with our aesthetics and brand ethos. If I remember correctly, I was the one who messaged her on Instagram and asked if she’d be interested in a print collaboration. We went over a couple of graphics I’ve done, sent her some reference images and started from there.

We printed a few of them on some garments from my collection using our school’s facilities, but due to our spring break when all campuses were closed, I had to outsource an external studio in 5 days to print the rest. It was a completely crazy adventure but looking back, it was definitely worth it.

Molly Balmer (@molly.balmer) is another design student whom I’ve worked with on the Cosmic blue hand-knitted top. Luckily, Molly is really talented and we managed to brainstorm together and adapt along the way. I’ve done the pattern which took me 2 weeks to get it in the shape I really loved and she continued the process by hand-knitting the yarn panels together. At the end I attached the metallic rings and puf, that was it. Another collaboration that went well.

As mentioned before, you’ve also created a maternity collection, with a focus on helping women throughout their pregnancy and afterwards remain fashionable and sustainable, by designing gorgeous adaptable pieces! That’s so incredible! Can you tell us a little bit more about how this collection came about? View Teo’s Maternity Collection here! It all started back in 2020 when I got accepted into my Business Enterprise Placement year. The adjustable maternity wear wasn’t my very first business idea which I came up with, but I’m kind of happy that my first 2 ideas have not turned out to be viable or feasible, because that’s how Moono Studios, my brand, was born.

I’m not a mother, but I’ve seen women struggle with their pre and post-partum period mainly because of how they perceived themselves physically or aesthetically. I’ve always said that even if a designer hasn’t ever gone through what their client once experienced or experiences as we speak, one can have empathy and be the messenger for a good cause.

After a thoroughly planned market research, the results have depicted a significant need of effortless, fashionable maternity attire throughout the age group of 25 to 35, both in the UK and Eastern Europe. The garments we created have the purpose of making the woman who is wearing them feel as confident as ever while pregnant or while breastfeeding. The fabrics are all organic and the clothing comes with specially designed claps and elastic to provide adaptability and comfort, having the possibility to turn into classic staples in the wardrobe of most women.

And where do you source your materials from? For our first garments we sourced our materials locally from a supplier which brings organic cottons from the northern part of Romania. The sourcing process was quite easy at that point because I was studying online back from my home in Bucharest, but now my plan is to start collaborating with suppliers from the UK as I am currently based in London. My plan is to certainly work towards 100% sustainability and transparency, but right now I am aware that I would rather stick to small ethical steps rather than getting trapped into the green-washing syndrome.

You mentioned creating your own brand, Moono Studios, during your Business Enterprise Placement year. What does the future of Moono Studios look like? Well…Moono Studios is a constant work in progress and I want to officially launch the website this year. I sure hope that the future of Moono Studios is bright as I’ve created it from a really close place to my heart. I really want to make this brand work together with a great team of creatives and use it as a tool to make a social difference, whether this is about adaptable maternity clothing or other small projects which are inclusive, creative and modelled after our clientele's needs. Depending on the growing capital of the business, my target is to build a bridge between offline purchases and digital experiences, which would enhance a phygital connection of the client to our products and other auxiliary creative projects.

What’s your advice for other creatives wanting to start their own brand? I think it’s too early for me to start giving advice to others, but I’d say what worked for me is that I came to terms with the fact that there is really no point in time when you feel like it’s the right time to start something new, more so your own brand. I guess my advice is: start before you’re ready but make sure you do something you love, because that always comes through and radiates, no matter how others might feel about your ideas.

I still do not feel 100% ready, but I sure do know this is what I am supposed to do in order to achieve my goal and that is enough to keep me going!