Dora Abodi is a young woman who found her strength in fashion designing. Her vision took over the world in 2009 when ABODI was established as a brand, and the world fell for the TWIN UNISUS.
Nowadays, ABODI represents the quintessential powerful women who are chic, elegant, unique, and do not believe in patriarchy.
ABODI was also part of the Budapest Select Collective Fashion Show presented during the latest Milano Fashion Week; therefore, we talked with Dora Abodi about this fashion event, her AW21/22 collection, her muses, and the newest trends on vegan fashion the brand embraces.
Keep reading to find out more about ABODI and let fashion release your powers.
Dora Abodi −ABODI | Exclusive Interview
VT: From Transylvania to Budapest, how do you like to express the cultural richness of the most important places in your life?
DA: This is an organic and natural story; for me is just normal. My family is very mixed. I am of Hungarian, Saxon, Dutch, Armenian, Rumanian, and a little bit of South-Italian origin. I use these references in a very natural way, without overthinking, these aesthetics and cultural values are just part of my persona, my art, my brand and way of thinking, my personal and mental freedom…being in constant moving and changing, being a free spirit, but still remembering what is important, what are the main values.
Now you can add Italy to the list. After Transylvania and Budapest, Italy is a kind of third home. A fortune-teller told me I used to live in Florence in my previous life and I am sure it is true…
TWIN UNISUS and vegan sustainability
VT: For those who might not know, who are the TWIN UNISUS? Why are they so significant to your brand?
DA: ABODI’s icon is the TWIN UNISUS, a mystical and powerful creature, a winged unicorn. The Unisus is a unicorn with wings, a hybrid mythological animal. The unicorn symbolizes something that is highly desirable but difficult to see, find and obtain, an extremely wild creature, beyond mere mythical imagination, being able to communicate with transcendental powers.
The Pegasus is a mythical winged divine horse related to Greek gods. ABODI’s Twin Unisus is the offspring of a Unicorn and a Pegasus, a super magical creature merging the ultimate beauty and power.
Each collection is a new chapter in the TWIN UNISUS EMPIRE, and citizens of ABODI Universe are all part of the story: they can be whoever they want, neo-romantic adventurers with an addiction to find the great beauty.
VT: Could you tell us more about your decision of using vegan leather and vegan fur?
DA: The brand is conscious of representing an ethical and sustainable point of view in fashion, not using real fur, exotic leathers, or any materials from uncontrolled origins, and focusing on sustainable fabrics and solutions.
ABODI’s prints, embroideries, and applications are all custom developments. We are continuously experimenting with sustainable fabrics, these can be many types, and vegan leather or fur can be used as an alternative, but we also try to find even better solutions. It is nonstop progress.
Muses and female empowerment
VT: What can you tell us about the fact that international artists like Katy Perry, Barbara Palvin, Saweetie, and Maddie Ziegler are part of your exclusives clients?
DA: They are muses and powerful and free women, artists. They can embody the ABODI women as role models, as they are all super talented, super brave, modern, kind, and independent. But anybody can be an ABODI woman if embraces our values and loves our free spirit.
VT: You have stated that you like to show female empowerment in your fashion pieces; how do you manage that idea during the creation process?
DA: This comes from my personality. I like brave moves, I like to work with other people and see them develop. In my development, both professional and personal, other people’s success is as important as mine; other’s success is an inspiration, adrenaline, excitement. I have never accepted men’s privilege or patriarchy. I see super strong and smart women around, and I like observing them blooming in their professional or private life, and see how they come over the obstacles of society. I wish there would be fewer obstacles, but I see the progress also, which is good, but there is still a lot to do.
COLLECTIVE FASHION SHOW – AW21/22, HFDA & Camera Moda
VT: What is your relationship with the HFDA and the Budapest Select?
DA: I was selected by HFDA & Camera Moda into their mentoring program, which is a very important brand development program.
VT: Let us talk about your collection for the COLLECTIVE FASHION SHOW – AW21/22, what do you like the most about it?
DA: I was deeply inspired by the idea of timelessness, and I was working to create timeless shapes and looks, which are contemporary at the same time. This is a very challenging topic to discover.
The collection has transformed references from the Transylvanian ceramics called “bokály” that are decorated with checks, which are really rare and most of them are decorated with florals, but the checks are rare. In addition, a kind of ’between 4 walls’ state of mind is embodied in the leading patterns, the checks, reminiscent of the different rooms and internal spaces of living in different situations.
The black is symbolizing the endless nights spent with surrealistic dreams or awake. The brown and camel refer to nature and a kind of lure for simple and clean things. Cool lavender lilac and off-white shades are adding a futuristic and modern twist, yet the royal purple is a reference to the ABODI’s values of nobility, power, creativity, grandeur, mystery, independence, and magic. The collection was showcased on Milano Fashion Week.
VT: How about the handbags, stilettos, handcrafted pieces, and other accessories that have been shown in this newest collection?
DA: This season we launched a handbag and shoe capsule. We created minibags with the Twin Unisus symbol, furry clogs, and stilettos using our special fabrics. This is a transition of the brand to expand into accessories as well.
Words to remember
VT: Which advice would you give to all those teenagers who are thinking about starting a career in fashion-related activities?
DA:Listen to your instincts all the time and be persistent.
VT: Anything else you would like to share with Vanity Teen?
DA: Thank you very much for the interview. Follow us on our SM platforms, our full collection, and special videos will be launched soon, we will be full of surprises.
Before we go
Dora Abodi talked to us about freedom, power, modern elegance, and passion; her brand truly represents those values and invites us to find our true selves, follow our dreams and be tenacious through our fashion statements.
Let us pay attention to the message of ABODI; we should never accept to be treated like less in a world in which there are places for our beauty, magic, and uniqueness.