Anita Steinwidder: Deconstructing Fashion, Reconstructing Art
Anita Steinwidder isn’t just an artist; she’s a visionary excavator of forgotten things. Known for her label STEINWIDDER, for which she has been turning discarded textiles into story-laden garments, Anita now sculpts immersive art from the objects she finds. Each piece is a radical resurrection—a whisper from fashion’s past reimagined with daring vision. In this interview, we dive into Steinwidder’s relentless journey, exploring how she spins abandoned relics into boundary-pushing art, giving a new life to the forsaken.
Photo: Klaus Fritsch
WALK US THROUGH THE BIRTH OF YOUR FIRST ART PIECE AND STEINWIDDER
To explain my artistic journey, I have to start with the very beginning. Born and raised up by my grandparents in a very small and secluded village in the countryside of Austria, the manual skills, traditions and values of the grandparent generation had a very strong impact on my personal development and later on my artistic language. I can’t say that it was poverty that influenced my childhood – it was more the attitude of my grandparents stamped by war and postwar-traumas and their awareness that times could change again, that gained a very strong esteem for everything needed for live: nature and living creatures, food, clothing, work and efficiency, a healthy environment, etc. And so, the awareness for the worth of things and their repair and reuse was consciously present in my mind from the early beginning.
The first tribute artwork I did for my grandmother was an installation made of her used tights - some mended over and over again - till she couldn’t wear them anymore, but still kept them.
Anita Steinwidder: Deconstructing Fashion, Reconstructing Art
Anita Steinwidder isn’t just an artist; she’s a visionary excavator of forgotten things. Known for her label STEINWIDDER, for which she has been turning discarded textiles into story-laden garments, Anita now sculpts immersive art from the objects she finds. Each piece is a radical resurrection—a whisper from fashion’s past reimagined with daring vision. In this interview, we dive into Steinwidder’s relentless journey, exploring how she spins abandoned relics into boundary-pushing art, giving a new life to the forsaken.
Photo: Klaus Fritsch
WALK US THROUGH THE BIRTH OF YOUR FIRST ART PIECE AND STEINWIDDER
To explain my artistic journey, I have to start with the very beginning. Born and raised up by my grandparents in a very small and secluded village in the countryside of Austria, the manual skills, traditions and values of the grandparent generation had a very strong impact on my personal development and later on my artistic language. I can’t say that it was poverty that influenced my childhood – it was more the attitude of my grandparents stamped by war and postwar-traumas and their awareness that times could change again, that gained a very strong esteem for everything needed for live: nature and living creatures, food, clothing, work and efficiency, a healthy environment, etc. And so, the awareness for the worth of things and their repair and reuse was consciously present in my mind from the early beginning.
The first tribute artwork I did for my grandmother was an installation made of her used tights - some mended over and over again - till she couldn’t wear them anymore, but still kept them.
Photos: Paul Pibernig (Vienna, 2011)
Photos: Paul Pibernig (Vienna, 2011)
I think I have always had a strong, rebellious mind that helped me to go my own way, which was different to what was expected from me. Curiosity for the unknown, creative talent, and audacity which are my genetical gifts and trained discipline, awareness and manual skills led me to my working method that combines my education as an architect, with my approach to fashion and textiles as a fashion designer (STEINWIDDER) for 15 years, impacted by my origin, surrounding and culture and at last the transformation of all my creative output to art.
Photos: STEINWIDDER; Edit Robert Oberzaucher
Talking about fashion design, I don’t want to withhold my first national and international successful fashion series - made of used socks (first release in 2005) - which was the beginning of my work with used textiles and textile waste - over the years honored with shows, exhibitions and projects in Shanghai, Beijing, Havana, Colombo, London, Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Vienna and 3 Fashion Awards.
IS THERE AN ART PIECE THAT HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN YOUR HEART (AND WHY?)
Well, every art piece I do, has a special place in my heart, cause my objects, assemblages and interventions are an overall expression of my personality, of the journey to my inner-self, of my relations to and experiences with people I meet or lack on my life-journey, but also an expression of the changing culture of time and social culture we are all facing.
But to pick at least one, I’d like to show you THE SECRET BEARING MOTHER, an assemblage dedicated to my mothers, made from a deconstructed pair of historical female shoes. And the question of the WHY is evident: To understand the circle of life, you have to go back to the very beginning – as I said in my first sentence of this interview. THE SECRET BEARING MOTHER is my mystic piece of seek and hide.
From the series REBUILDING: “Mother and Father” (2020)
Photo: Klaus Fritsch
TELL US MORE ABOUT SOURCING OF THE MATERIALS FOR YOUR ARTWORKS AND THE CREATION PROCESS
Since 2014 I worked as a textile artist and created three-dimensional mixed media artworks and textile interventions on found objects. My inspiration comes from an intense involvement with the finds, which are related to my rural origin, as well as other items that correspond to my very unique meaning of something being “valuable”. Actually, I don’t even search for material – it simply finds me.
AFTER TRANSITIONING FROM FASHION DESIGN TO THREE-DIMENSIONAL ART, DO YOU FEEL YOUR CREATIONS GAINED A DIFFERENT VOICE, OR IS IT AN EVOLUTION OF THE SAME VISION? WHAT WAS THE REASON TO MOVE FROM FASHION?
I think that the transition between design and art is fluent in my case, cause in my fashion series I tried to test the limits of wearability. Additionally, I always saw and created clothing as a three- dimensional wearable sculpture – every piece is unique and handmade by myself with support of a small team of co-workers in my studio in Vienna. So generally the move from fashion to art was the next logical step in my development – and I also think that my artworks still carry my personal recognizable artistic language.
HOW HAS FASHION IMPACTED YOUR CURRENT WORK? IS THERE AN INTERSECTION BETWEEN THE TWO?
The intersection between my work as a fashion designer and my work as an artist now is sustainability, by using existing resources in form of textile waste or found, used things. And for sure I gained some textile processing techniques in my time as a fashion designer, which I simplified for my artistic works, cause now I do everything with zero power consumption by sewing, knotting and weaving everything by hand.
From the series RENEWAL: “Unknown Human”; Photo: Klaus Fritsch
IS THERE A PARTICULAR MATERIAL OR OBJECT THAT YOU HAVEN’T WORKED WITH BUT FEEL DRAWN TO EXPLORE AS PART OF YOUR CURRENT WORK
Yes, I thought about doing a series with used, discarded high heels and already started collecting some.
IF YOU WERE TO DESIGN A PIECE THAT CAPTURES THE “SPIRIT” OF VIENNA TODAY, WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE?
Well this question is not so easy to answer – probably this would be a multi-layer piece – some of the layers are rough and not comfortable to touch, some are bright and refurbished. The deeper you source, the darker the soul of the object; a lot of dust and historical precious material; and then also some layers which are touching the soul with their soft, familiar surface. Everything fixed together with a lot of stitches.
ARE THERE ANY ROUTINES OR RITUALS YOU HAVE BEFORE STARTING A NEW PIECE?
Before I start a new series I always clean my space perfectly. And before I start working with a new object, I normally put the thing on my working table for some time, which can be a day, a week or sometimes even months. I try to understand the object with all my senses, before I definitely know how the right intervention will look like.
IS THERE A PLACE THAT INSPIRES YOU THE MOST IN YOUR CREATION PROCESS?
I live and work with my animals (a cat and a dog) in my studio, which gives me the comfort of a flat and working place in one. This is also the place where I store my material, and due to the fact that the main inspiration comes with the finds, this is currently the best and most inspiring working place for me.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
Currently I am working on the continuation of my series TROPHIES – TROPHÄEN, which are textile interventions on either found, dead animals, prepared by nature, or stuffed animals, which are part of hunting traditions, I know from childhood on.
This series is a homage to life and death, a critical statement to the power human being exercise over living creatures and it includes my topics like preservation and conservation of something which is very valuable to me.
From the series TROPHIES: (left) “Max the Marten” (right) “Ruff The Duck”
Photos: Klaus Fritsch
From the series TROPHIES: (left) “Max the Marten” (right) “Ruff The Duck”
Photos: Klaus Fritsch