Essentials: Valentin Ozich of I Love Ugly

This installment of Essentials presents the curious and colorful belongings of Kiwi fashion label I Love Ugly‘s founder, director and designer–the highly talented Valentin Ozich. Having summed up his personal style with the three words for an assignment in a university before, Valentin still feels that “I Love Ugly” resonates him: “I see beauty in the ugly and that’s what I try to glamorize in the work I do… To be honest I am not the best person in the world at explaining what my label means conceptually, instead I try to create something that evokes thought and let whoever owns it create their own meaning.”

Drawing his design inspirations from a variety of influences including music, films, blogs, magazines, vinyl art, interior design and special herbs (which explains the rolling paper and Altoids), this trained illustrator is perpetually doodling his thoughts (which explains the pen and notebook). He has a young daughter and watches a lot of classic Walt Disney cartoons because of her, and claims that those inspire him too (which explains the Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket).

I Love Ugly began mostly with T-shirts but has since become a fully-fledged menswear label. Valentin also plans to release more capsule collections from here on consisting of vinyl toys, clocks, watches and stationery that will reach a wider audience. We like his style, but still haven’t quite figured out what the clothes pegs are for.