Anna Kalabina - Design

Lukomorye

LUKOMORYE creatures and folk costumes, texture study and initial character concepts. A.K. 2019.

LUKOMORYE is a legendary island in the Russian mythology, and a popular setting of Russian fairytales. The centerstage of the island is an ancient oak tree populated by mythical creatures, and surrounded by magical ocean waters.

Started as a series of quick illustrations and texture studies based on my nature photographs, the project turned into a visual story, featuring costumes and puppets of my design.

A reel featuring the Lukomorye creatures | Concept, design and fabrication by me A.K. 2019.

Pencil sketches of the Lukomorye characters: The Ocean, The Oak and Rusalka the mermaid. A.K. 2019.

The Ocean and the The Oak pose with the puppets of Baba Yaga and Koshei the Deathless | LUKOMORYE by Anna Kalabina, 2019

Punk tale

A short trailer featuring characters of my visual story PUNKTALE, based on A Midsummer Night's Dream | Concept, costumes and videography by me A.K. 2018

PUNKTALE is a visual story inspired by Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night Dream. It reimagines the classical play in a dystopian setting where comedy is reflected through the lens of punk chaos.

Drawing from the post-apocalyptic aesthetic of the Mad Max franchise and the visual language of the eco-punk movement, I designed the dystopian versions of the Midsummer characters with costumes made from trash bags, plastic bottle caps and random found objects (anything a dystopian Hellenistic punk would wear!) and made a short movie of them in action.

An early concept sketch of Hippolyta and Theseus, A.K. 2018

Oberon, the fairy king | Concept and still from "Punktale" by A.K.

Titania, the fairy queen | Concept and still from "Punktale" by A.K.

Theseus and Hippolyta | Photo from "Punktale" by A.K.

Soho Nights

A spread from my Soho Nights sketch book with concept sketches on the left and final photography on the right. A.K. 2017

SOHO NIGHTS is a textile-centric fashion collection inspired by London streets and nightlife. This concept was born after one of my evening walks through Soho while I was studying abroad. I was intrigued with the primal energy of the clubbing crowd surrounded by grimy brick walls, and wanted to explore how that energy would translate into textiles.

The highlight of the collection is a fabric structure I made from shredded tights, crocheted and filled with poly-fill to create bulky claustrophobic structures, resembling Soho's dark narrow alleys lit by neon signs.

A page from my Soho nights sketchbook with references to the Paleolithic Venus as a symbol of primal lust. A.K. 2017

Soho nights fashion illustration part 1, markers on paper, A.K. 2017

Soho nights fashion illustration part 2, markers on paper, A.K. 2017

Costume design

A shot from Jairo Garcia's short film THE TWO (NYU Tisch, 2019) based on the Heaven's Gate movement. Featuring Tom Martin and Laura Frenzer, with costume design by me A.K.

THE TWO (dir.Jairo Garcia, 2019) tells the story of Leo (Tom Martin), a lonely man whose idealized love for Emma (Laura Frenzer) draws him into a Heaven’s Gate–inspired cult.

Designing costumes for this movie allowed me to combine the passion for character study, costume history and color psychology. The story spans across 20 years and references recognizable cult uniforms; My design features Leo and Emma as their younger selves in the 70s, and the full cast dressed in their distinctive buttoned shirts (a reference to the real Heaven's Gate members in the 90s) with an older Leo being the only one to stand out.

Costume design pitch sheet for The Two by J.Garcia, A.K. 2019

The final scene from Jairo Garcia's short film THE TWO (NYU Tisch, 2019) based on the Heaven's Gate movement. Featuring Tom Martin as Leo and Laura Frenzer as Emma wearing the distinct ritual uniforms with a triangular member patch. Costume designer Anna Kalabina | DP Derrik Chen.

Textile and print design

Textile swatches and concept for 1917, a constructivism-inspired textile design project.

1917 is my materiality-focused design project inspired by the aesthetic of the industrial revolution-era Britain and Russian constructivism. I studied the way color, shape and rhythm were used in constructivist and industrialist visual art, and developed my own collection of prints and manipulated textiles.