Behind every designer, every creator, every person, there is a special walk of life. Without exception, everbody's story is interesting. Why is it that I am describing Kati Zoób in a more detailed way? Perhaps, because, when I moved to Budapest with a backpack, as a fan of Hungarian designers - before being a fan wasn't even trendy - her name had already become a benchmark of the business. What impressed me most about her, as in the case of most designers I've had the chance to personally talk to, was her personal approach.
She is actually a puppet and toy designer, milliner, interior decorator, costume and fashion designer, art director. She conquered Paris, London, Vienna, New York and Dubai with her clothing collections. She is one of the fifty most successful Hungarian business women.
Kati Zoób has not learnt all of this in school benches. She educated herself. She considers her talent to be a family heritage and she has been sewing since she was a child. She went to high-school in Sümeg, in the seventies. Her self-designed clothes were already a success at that time, even among her own teachers . After graduation she was invited by the local textile-cooperative to design toys from waste materials. A few months later they had to open a separate branch operation: the orders came from all over the country for lens-puppets, ladybug-pillows. Kati Zoób arrived to Budapest at the age of nineteen, alone. On the same day she was hired by a toy company. Her works were soon being shipped to Germany and America.
She also worked for the Puppet workshop of the Hungarian Television, including the creation of the famous Hungarian Süsü the Dragon. When the film about Josephine Baker was shot in Hungary, in 1990, she designed the title character's tiaras and banana skirt. She established her company with one of her colleagues. It was more about historical stage clothes at first, but as she was more excited about the fashion of the present, one year later she opened her own salon in Blvd. Szent István.
She has designed for all ages and all classes, starting from christening clothes to mourning clothes. She prefers the classic style more than the l'art pour l'art extravagance. Yet, she sometimes cannot resist futuristic pieces. One can even find antibacterial bathrobes made of bamboo in her salon. When she became famous in Hungary, she decided to try her luck abroad as well. In 1995, she applied for the Paris Fashion Week. This is one of the world's most prestigious fashion festivals where the jury selects those who get to introduce themselves on the catwalk from hundreds of competitors. She was welcomed with enthusiasm, and she has been participating to similar international events ever since. Her clothes are now being sold in the world's great cities, London, Vienna, Dubai; she even has faithful customers in New York.
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