Murmur is the most provocative luxury prêt-a-porter Romanian brand to come out of the eastern European market. We sent Romanian avant-garde designer Sandra Galan to interview Andreea Badala who is behind these intricate and erotic pieces that have adorned the shoulders and hips of seductresses and strong women everywhere.
Andreea Bãdalã
Beyoncé, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Britney Spears or Kylie Jenner are a few big names to sport this exquisite brand and have consistently touted the beauty of eroticism while being true to their feminist ideology.
Inspired by the 40’s and 50’s silhouettes, Murmur is all about corsets and dresses with bondage details, handmade retro bra cups and a plethora of interpretations of the suspender clip.
Murmur is divided into three lines: Signature (the luxurious core collection), Essentials (an on-going line of basics with the same feminine DNA) and Roleplay (inspired by the games and fantasy of lovers).
Andreea Bădală, the designer and founder of the label, worked with Alexander McQueen, Richard Nicoll, and Emilio de la Morena before establishing her intriguing brand.
Q: What was the most important milestone for Murmur?
AB: I believe that a good project happens with collaboration. Nothing happens in a vacuum. I think that the most important milestone for Murmur so far has been the collaborative process that has come as a result of working with stylists from America. From an individual milestone perspective, I think dressing Madonna at The Grammy Awards and designing dresses for her worldwide ‘Rebel Heart Tour’ has been the highlight.
Q: Who are your most important buyers?
AB: My work is proliferated through various platforms from select boutiques in NY and L.A., to Russia, to lots of high-end shops in Western Europe, including Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany. This year we started taking orders from department stores as well and managed to expand to market in China, Japan, Korea and Singapore. The most renowned online platforms that we collaborate with are Luisaviaroma and Farfetch.
Q: Do you favour any parts of the creative process?
AB: I particularly like the moment when I find the theme, the direction of the collection. This can take a few days, a week, and it may seem like I’m not actively doing much, but in fact I’m subconsciously processing a lot, synthesizing in my mind, making notes, sketching, and, in the end, I decide upon five general directions. I also love the process before that, when everything is possible.
The third thing I like is the transformation into material, the discussions about finishes, trimmings, technology… I like to keep unity in that area as well.
Q: What is the most difficult part of the creative process or production?
AB: I think that the most difficult moment is after I have finished making the pieces and I have to start making the price offer and I realize that for the look of the product I have to have way lower costs in order to be competitive. And then I have to go back into production where I restart the ‘creation’ process, or the ‘micro creation’ as I like to call it, keeping in mind that I need the item to look a certain way, have high-quality finishes, and yet produce it cheaper in order to be able to sell it at an competetive price.
The balance between having an original, commercial, desirable and affordable product is the most difficult and creative part.
Q: What fuels your ideas?
AB: It’s a mix between my collective experiences through the means of art, cinema and conversations between creatives and my own sense of aesthetic direction. I always feel that it is a process and Murmur is a product of many singularities in one.
Q: What’s your biggest dream for Murmur?
AB: My dream for Murmur is that it reaches the level of a truly international brand because I believe it has the potential. It is already a very strong and unique label but i want it to be a global brand.
In the near future, I wish to detach myself and grow a brand that develops with Murmur.
I am a very creative person and I believe that Murmur won’t be my only project in this lifetime. Right now Murmur is my life and I would want people to buy into the idea of Murmur and enjoy every levity afforded by living.
Murmur's newest collection was shown at the pop-up store hosted by Galeries Lafayette on Haussmann Boulevard in February.