Fast confession - Ornella Koktová: I am not a Mass Murderer nor a Former Prostitute!
Fashion Editor and Mother, Ornella Koktová goes to get what she enjoys, regardless of views of others. She revealed to Luxury Prague Life magazine what she would love to change about her husband, that she would like to try the career of a fashion designer and why she would like to get out of the box into which she was pressed by Czech show business.
How often do you frequent fashion shows?
About once a year.
Which of the collections at this year´s MBPFW did you so far like the most?
I must say that I didn´t like any at all. It seems to me that those people are somewhere completely different. They rather seem to be sticking to the credo ´the uglier the more interesting and therefore better´. And that is rubbish.
Would you like to showcase any of the collections?
I would rather like to design one. I think that would finally show it to them all, just as Elie Saab did.
So you would like to be a fashion designer?
Why not. I think that womaén´s fashion should be sexy and flattering. And not those disgusting tracksuits in which everyone looks like an idiot.
If you had to buy something from this year's collections, what would it be?
Perhaps a mink coat because there is not that much that can go wrong with it. It is a safe bet.
What would you never put on?
I think those transparent plastic bags that are in right now. I think that is really incomprehensible.
How do you feel about fashion trends?
Lately I´ve been writing a lot about fashion, I think that I am doing quite well on the whole. It´s just that unfortunately I do not have any time for shopping, time is precious. That is the only downside.
Do you think about fashion differently than in the past?
Definitely. Today I have put on a mesh, which I thought of thanks to the writing. I have seen millions of Fashion Week shows and this really caught my attention the most. So I get a lot of inspiration. For example I like Gucci, but that feminine kind and not those crazy extraterrestrial pieces. Elie Saab is number one for me and I really enjoy her fashion style.
How do you bear criticism of people who do not like that you write about fashion?
I think that they are actually dealing with their own fear. They are afraid of the truth. This is my subjective opinion and perhaps that is what they are afraid of.
People put you into a certain box, why do you think they do that?
That is mainly because of the tabloids. And it is terribly difficult to break the mould. But I believe that gradually I will manage it since I am not a serial killer or a former prostitute; I should not be punished in any way like this. I did nothing wrong after all.
Do you work at it, for others to change their mind?
No, I think that would be too empty. For me to have to look certain way so that others could change their minds. I´d rather do my own thing, and as I change myself, grow internally and then I change outwardly, too. For me that is the way. To deal with things yourself on the inside and after time it will all resolve itself. Then when I talk to someone in person they say to me: "My goodness, but you are not so stupid after all." And then I say to myself: Do I have to come to see personally all of the ten million people?
Did you choose your today´s outfit yourself?
Yes, I put it together myself and all the things are by different designers. But everything is black, so it was easy.
According to what or whom do you dress?
According to myself. And I think that the older I am the better I am at it. For example when I look at my old photos I am horrified how awful my style was. I hope that I will keep on maturing in this direction and that for example in two years´time I will be somewhere different again.
So you think that how you used to dress in the past was dreadful?
Well, it was not completely awful, but some fashion creations were simply crazy. But I think that every girl who is 18, 19 or 20 years old does that.
Have you ever felt embarrassed because of your clothes?
Almost always. I like something at home, but when I go out I don´t feel good in it and I feel like a jerk. I always add some accessory which is extravagant, such as today the mesh. Then when I am among people, I feel quite uncertain. I mostly feel like an idiot dressed in almost anything really.
Did it ever happen to you that you arrived at some event absolutely inappropriately dressed?
Since there aren´t any proper gala events here, it has not happened to me yet. Apart from the Fashion Week and the film festival in Karlovy Vary there aren´t any real events where there would be a strict dress code. Here it is just about grand openings and that is nothing really.
What is the most expensive piece in your wardrobe and how much did it cost?
The most expensive is a red evening gown by Valentino and it was about 90 thousand. I got it for my A-levels and it still fits.
And do you wear it anywhere?
Well, because it is an evening ball gown, not so much. It is difficult for me to wear something repeatedly because then there is always malicious gossip. I prefer to wear it for family celebrations or weddings.
What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion for me means sense of style. I think it is more important than the fashion itself. So personal style is good. I don´t like when people are guided by magazines only and I hope that I will not be inspired after this fashion week to wear only plastics.
Do you interfere with the your husband´s fashion style?
I do, a lot, but because he is older and stubborn it is terribly difficult to make changes to his wardrobe. I like the style of Ralph Lauren or Dior, I enjoy a lot the elegant styling like that of James Bond, but my husband wants to wear a sweater and jeans all the time.
And he would not change that even because of you?
Well, he doesn´t really want to. But little by little I deliberately destroy his clothes and then we have to throw them away. So that is my weapon of changing his wardrobe.
And how is it with your son?
My son is actually so good that in the past he could even stick it to be dressed in girl´s clothes. I wanted to have a girl, so I dressed him into girly clothing. I try it even now when in the shops they have those artificial little plaits. He refused it saying that he is not a girl.
So you dress him into girl´s clothes?
I don´t buy it, but sometimes I try something on. I even put make-up on him; he was about three years old. It was great fun.
What does your husbands say about such craziness?
I always call him to come and have a look and we laugh at it.
You and your husband quite withdrew from the social scene. Why?
Because there is a great comeback to society ahead of us. So we gave it a break for a little while.
What do you mean by comeback to society?
That is still a secret! I can't reveal anything just yet.
I have heard that you got new ´home´ pets. Is that instead of a second child?
No, I think that I have made a lot of work for myself. Now I must take care of a young horse, a five-month old dog and a five-year old child on top of that. So I am probably completely crazy. But I could not help myself. I dreamed about a horse for twenty years and a golden retriever I´ve wished for for twenty years, too. So now I make my dreams come true. Just right now I have to train them all and bring them up, including Pepa.
And how is it with another child?
I would definitely want a second child. I hope that it will finally be a girl and not a boy, whom I would dress in girl´s clothing. And I think that I will fulfil that within two to three years, because I do not want to be that kind of a forty-year old mother. I know how much it has already destroyed me the last time.
How did you manage to convince your husband?
In public he always looks henpecked in that it is my topic, but it is mostly him who talks about it. However, it is also possible that before we have our own child, I will become a step grandmother.
How do you spend your time together?
Mostly I am horse riding and training all the animals and then it is half twelve in the morning and I go and train Pepa.
So he takes care of his son when you train the animals?
No, not that. Quentin is there with me with the horses because I want him to be kind to animals, as well as to people. So he is there with me and he is learning to muck out and such.
So you are bringing him up like a farmer?
I think that it will reap benefits later on.
Is there something that you would like to change about your husband?
I would like him to stop smoking. I am a non-smoker myself and it bothers me. I am afraid that he could get a stroke.
What doesn´t suit you about the relationship?
I live through culture, I would like to be in society and he would like to be by the fireplace at home most of the time. I am a romantic who wants to be surprised and I would like him to take me out on a date. A noncommittal date and a dinner. But he says that that is a matter for lovers and not spouses. But I feel the same way toward him as I did at the beginning.
And how do you deal with that? Are you looking for a replacement?
To resolve it is difficult. Because my mother refuses to babysit. So that is the stupid thing about that. Pepa keeps saying that we will wait for the children grow up, and so on. But I want to live here and now. I do not want to experience this when I´m fifty.
Do you think that a time will come when your husband will not be able to keep up with you?
It is him who threatens me with that, but I don´t feel it like that. And when I mind something I say it straight away. I did tell him now to arrange a date for us or that I will simply run away and get one somewhere else. So we laughed about it and he said that it is being taken care of.
