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ANDRA CLITAN
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Born and raised in Romania, Andra Clitan is internationally renowned for her unique reinterpretations of tradition and translation of cultural concepts into fashion, merging contemporary design aesthetics with long established techniques of craft and local artisanship. Proud of her roots and committed to promoting authentic design and her cultural heritage worldwide, Andra has firmly established herself as a global fashion and cultural ambassador for Romania. Over the years, she has been involved in various influential cultural projects continuing her mission to support local artisans and craftsmen and create garments that reflect the traditions and values of the community. In 2011, she took part in the “Fashion Road: Dialogue across Borders,” a two-year project initiated by the Union National Institute for Culture aimed at promoting intercultural dialogue and cross-border collaborations with various designers across Europe. In 2013, she was selected to display the “Sola Scriptura Collection” at Mercedez Benz Berlin Fashion Week.
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In 2016, Andra was awarded the CultIn grant by the Ministry of Culture in Romania for the project “Fashion and Crafts: Perpetual Dialogue”, and in 2017, the designer was invited to present her latest collection, “Identity” in a private exhibition at the Romanian Cultural Institute, London, UK. The next year she was awarded a grant by AFCN for the project entitled “Wool Journey: From Fashion to Art Installation,” which was exhibited 2019 in Bucharest, Romania. With an emphasis on sustainability, she founded in 2016 the brand MA RA MI in her desire to merge Romanian traditional art and costumes with different cultures from around the world. MA RA MI contributes to preserving traditional techniques and influences from her travels, and all garments are created with consideration for the environment using eco-friendly materials. Andra Clitan studied fashion design at the University of Arts and Design Cluj Napoca (Romania) and L’École Superieure des Arts Decoratifs de Strasbourg followed by courses at Central Saint Martins in London. She completed her MA and PhD in Visual Arts at UAD Cluj where she further explored her passion for textiles and fashion design. At present Andra lives in Dubai where she is an Assistant Professor in Fashion Design and Textiles, at the University of Sharjah. Her goal is to educate the next generation of fashion creatives about the importance of exploring and nurturing existing cultures and raise awareness of environmental and social responsibility.
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ABOUT THE BRAND
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MA RA MI The Heritage Brand
Created by designer Andra Clitan in her desire to revive traditional crafts and make a fusion between Romanian traditional art and costumes with different cultures from all over the world. See the full story here.
ABOUT THE BRAND
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Discover the craft behind MaRaMi, website here ! The stories we tell, known from our grandparents and their predecessors. The beauty and cultural wisdom of ancestral craftsmanship is no longer explored at its real potential. We truly believe in craftsmanship and we support it by working with craftsmen communities for over 10 years and not just using it’s decorative elements or potential. During this time we worked with over 50 craftsmen, helped to preserve certain crafts (like certain waistcoat embroidery techniques, bead embroideries as each county and sometimes village in Romania has a totally different costume) from different areas in Transylvania, we helped local communities to bind together. We create collections that tells the story of our roots, the legacy of the ancestors, the essence of our identity, worked entirely with craftsmen. We have an important contribution in preserving traditional techniques and influences from any part of the globe, but natively would be elements such as felt production, hand weaved fabrics and different types of embroideries from Transylvania, Romania. At MA RA MI we engage to give our customers a piece of the world, a unique story of design, craft, tradition with a very modern twist. We are proud to have as customers powerful women who bask in their uniqueness.
PEOPLE WE WORK WITH. COMMUNITIES WE HELP 6 OVER 50 CRAFTSMEN IN OVER 10 YEARS
PEOPLE WE WORK WITH. COMMUNITIES WE HELP 7 OVER 50 CRAFTSMEN IN OVER 10 YEARS
PEOPLE WE WORK WITH. COMMUNITIES WE HELP 8 MAGIC HANDS AT WORK
PEOPLE WE WORK WITH. COMMUNITIES WE HELP 9 OVER 50 CRAFTSMEN IN OVER 10 YEARS
Feel the Earth – Latest collection 10
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PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS
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HAND-MADE WITH LOVE IN TRANSYLVANIA SEE THE FULL LOOKBOOK HERE
PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS AW ‘17 COLLECTION SEE THE FULL LOOKBOOK HERE.
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PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS
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IDentity by MA RA MI focuses on craftsmanship and slow fashion. The local crafts are at the forefront and form the basis of limited edition designs rendered through modern techniques and sustainable fabrics. IDentity contributes to preserving traditional techniques and influences from Romanian culture. Identity is the first project of a series of projects, meant to support and preserve craftsmanship. SEE THE FULL LOOKBOOK HERE AND LINE SHEET HERE.
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PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS
Sola Scriptura CAMPAIGN MBBFW watch the full video here
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SOLA SCRIPTURA LOOKBOOK
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FASHION MOVIE here
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COLLABORATIONS – 100 % RO PROJECT
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STUDIO DIRECTOR Consultant in traditional art and costume. Organised and supervised the collection production process and responsible for sourcing fabrics, accessories, producers for the entire collection. Supervised and assisted collaborations with craftsmen from different fields (embroidery, felt making,weaving, wood carving, fur and leather manufacturing). Proposed new techniques of embroideries, weaved fabrics, wood processing, leather manufacture and accessories.
COLLABORATIONS – 100 % RO PROJECT
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COLLABORATIONS – 100 % RO PROJECT
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FASHION ROAD- DIALOGUE ACROSS BORDERS
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A two year collaborative project that aimed at promoting intercultural dialogue and cross-border collaboration through which fashion designers from Armenia and Europe will look into the past for ideas and inspiration. An EUNIC project, organised by British Council, the Czech Centres, Goethe-Intstitut, the Danish Cultural Institute and ICR. The project brought 10 young fashion designers together, Andra Clitan was the winner in Romania, representing the country in Armenia.
FASHION ROAD- DIALOGUE ACROSS BORDERS EXHIBITION ARMENIA, YEREVAN
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IDENTITY COLLECTION – SUPPORTED BY THE ROMANIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE
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MA RA MI was awarded with a project financed by the Romanian Ministry of Culture IN November 2016. Traditional crafts meet modern design. A micro collection that tells the story of our roots, the legacy of the ancestors, the essence of our identity. The collection was worked entirely with craftsmen from Transylvania and was presented at Galateca Gallery in Bucharest (RO) and ICR London (UK).
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Identity collection financed by the Ministry of Culture. Exhibition at Galateca Gallery, 2016 Bucharest.
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32 “A wool journey: from fashion design to art installation”
A project initiated by MA RA MI, which continues the brand’s mission to promote Romanian authentic design. Our goal is to connect with a public interested in the meeting of traditions, fashion design and the cultural heritage of our times. We started this journey a long time ago: a journey of authenticity where we can connect to our ancestors and rediscover the beauty of the simple things. Our craftsmen from Maramureș taught us all the secrets they learned from their parents and their grandparents. What comes from their hands is pure magic, a real work of art created with love, passion and patience. Today, we present you the result of a conscious research, visually documented and transformed into fashion design. The project, which started at the beginning of 2019, has two main objectives: to create a collection using natural fabrics as wool, adding traditional motifs and inspiration from different parts of Romania, and to document the entire process of processing wool, creating an art installation that follows this journey.
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TESTIMONIALS “Thank you for reaching out! MA RA MI collections are amazing, it’s a pleasure to start collaborate with her this year!” STEPHEN LEDEZMA | PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR | THERESIDENCYEXPERIENCE.COM “Absolutely love Andra’s work, specially the traditional techniques! Looks amazing!” Thespotlightime.com “ Andra is one of my best assistant who I never have until my long professional life, she is so perfect in many function.” Philippe Guilet, Creative Director