Raw Talent: Markoo
Exploring the Fusion of Old-World Romance and Modern Chic with Tania Martins and Mona Koochek
When we set out to photograph Tania Martins and Mona Koochek, our goal was to capture the essence of their womenswear: a mash-up of old-world romance and modern silhouettes. Sure enough, the designers behind Markoo showed up to the shoot personifying their label to the nines. Martins chose ankle-baring leather trousers, with a pleated front and drop crotch, which she paired with a loose-fitting viscose tank. Though the top has a conservative neckline, side slits lined with scalloped Japanese lace offer a glimpse of skin. Koochek donned a fitted leather crop top over a circle skirt made of swishy raw silk. Her oversized linen dinner jacket with three-quarter sleeves and jetted pockets is a casual addition. Both outfits are laid back and pretty, but also embrace a surprising blend of biker chic and solemnity. It’s unusual, and it works.
Markoo represents an amalgam of their last names and their styles: Martins’ feminine and sexy aesthetic and Koochek’s self-described boyish-boxy tendencies. The women have distinct personalities, but they wholeheartedly agree on leather. Martins loves how it feels to cut, sew and wear; Koochek appreciates its durability. “Leather is badass,” Koochek says. But mixed in with the rock ’n’ roll taperings are ruffles and slip-like skirts, a feminine touch with an unlikely inspiration: the 2000 film Malèna, starring Monica Bellucci. The movie prompted Markoo to delve into ’40s Sicily – when all materials, including textiles, were rationed and women proved their mettle in the workforce. Defiantly feminine, these wartime women made the most of the fabric restrictions: skirt lengths rose, suits became slimmer and separates transitioned into evening wear. War set women’s fashion on a divergent path to meet modern times, and it did so with elegant results.
Now in its second season, Markoo is rooted in mix-and-match basics in black, white and nude, with a few pops of red “like a touch of lipstick,” says Martins. And each ready-to-wear garment is named after a friend or influential woman the designers have encountered, a nod to those doing battle of one kind or another here in Toronto. markoostudios.com
Originally published in our Spring 2014 issue.
