Daydremers: Inside Nina Koltchitskaia’s Poetic Designs for EENK

It’s a story of two creatives joining forces to create beautiful clothes, blurring boundaries between art and fashion. When Paris-based artist Nina Koltchitskaia met Korean designer Heymee Lee, founder of the cult label EENK, fot the very first time, they knew they would collaborate one day and turn Nina’s poetic paintings into fashion prints. The result is a series of flowing dresses, skirts and beaded tops adorned with delicate prints in pastel colours - a hint to the artworld of Koltchitskaia, where dreams turn into reality. We had a chat with Nina after EENK’s spring-summer 2025 show in Paris to find out more about this one-of-a-kind collaboration.

What’s the concept behind your collaboration with EENK?

I met Hyemee (Heymee Lee, designer and founder of EENK) and her team a few years ago, in 2021. We wanted to do something together for a long time, and the idea of creating a print based on my paintings, and a runway scenography (stay tuned, Seoul!) together came naturally to us. We wanted to write a poem together, so this project happened, and I am very moved and proud of what we created.

What inspires you? And how do you choose the colours for your artwork?

I have a big tendency to daydream. My mind often escapes, and I visit imaginary countries. So I paint out of my dreams, as a direct vision from my heart and my feelings to the canvas. It’s my « inner world tour ». I paint a world with no walls, where nothing stands really straight, and where everything is possible. A world of possibilities and a world that welcomes the storm, in poetic chaos.​​​​​​

EENK’s Spring-Summer 2005 collection is called A for Aesthetics. What does « aesthetics » mean to you?

I think it’s a way to teach the eye to see the world, not only in the fashion sphere. It’s a way of behaviour, a way of thinking, of speaking, of smiling. A is the first letter of the alphabet - it’s the beginning of everything new. So this collection represents the start of a journey, of a poem, of a story. I am very grateful to have participated in this collection in particular.​

You are one of the most inspiring Parisiennes. How would you define the Parisian style?

Well thank you so much! I think each style, as each culture, is unique, and that’s what makes it interesting. I wouldn’t want to have the claim to know what style means, so I guess to me it’s more of a state of being, it’s very personal. I like the idea of beautiful chaos, where life begins every day!

Have you ever been to Korea?

I had the chance to go to Seoul two years ago, in 2022, for an exhibition of my paintings at the Daelim Museum of Contemporary Art. During the period of the show, I had the beautiful opportunity of staying in Seoul for three weeks, and to discover the culture, the architecture, the beautiful people, and amazing landscapes. The calmness of the rising sun, the endless colours of the sky. I fell in love with Seoul, and can’t wait to go back in November, for my solo exhibition of a new series of paintings called « LE TOUR DU MONDE AVANT LA TEMPETE » at WWF Gallery. Stay tuned!

Courtesy: EENK

Text: Leilani Streshinsky