“Nietzsche once said ‘that you cannot judge someone, because every person has his own morality’. This is my main inspiration and idea which I try to express in a collection”.

Olga Ochkas

If you’re looking for clothing that makes a statement or tells a story then look no further than Moral Standards. We had the great opportunity to meet with Olga Ochkas and talk about her artistic designs. We first encountered Moral Standards during Paris Fashion Week where we had the privilege of seeing her clothes up close but once we spoke to the mind behind the designs we realized that there is more then meets the eye to Moral Standards.

Olga is originally from Ukraine but attended school in Florence, Italy where she received her master’s degree from Polimoda. She started working for a designer right out of school while also launching her own clothing line, Moral Standards. We asked Olga what it was like working for other brands while launcher her own and if she found it challenging to generate creative energy for her brand during her free time. Her response is “Not really. Fashion is my hobby and my profession, its a great blessing when you can earn money doing something that you love. It was always a pleasure to come home and draw for myself because I can finally do what I want to do. Its something to express yourself and do something that is inspiring to you”.

What we love most about Moral Standards is how well she tells a story with clothing. Olga’s most recent collection, Decay, tells a story about the transformation of a young woman’s personality under social standards. She explains “I try to find first, the character, which I try to develop and create a story around”. When speaking about the storyline of Decay she elaborates further “It is the story of the transformation of a young girl from the Victorian era, I picked this era because I love fashion from the Victorian Era. A young woman with an open mind, a fresh view of the world and a lot of expectations but then she is facing a lot of judgment from society. [Judgement] from her teachers or people who are very religious telling her she is not right or not correct. But people on the other side can do whatever they want and it may even be worse than her. In the end, she loses her personality and becomes very cold and ignorant of the world. Those who tried to create the right person, in the end, just kill the right person. In the end, they kill her personality.”

We asked her if the story of these garments were a direct reflection of what has shaped her character and she responds “Yes, I think so. I face some situations, which we have all faced, where someone can judge you although they are doing the same thing or something worse. Nietzsche once said that “you cannot judge someone, because every person has his own morality”. This is my main inspiration and idea which I try to express in a collection”.

Olga also talked to us about her show during Paris Fashion week and she states that “This was my first experience with a runway show so I didn’t know what to expect. It was scary but it was exciting at the same time”. Every detail of her show was intentional from the music down to the posture and gait of the models. Towards the end of the show, the models became more stiff and rigid which was intended to visually indicate the decaying personality of the young woman in our story.

We asked Olga what she wanted people to feel when they attend one of her fashion shows and she responds “That there is something more than just clothes. Fashion is a good instrument to bring good ideas to society, not just to make clothes. I think fashion and runway shows can be a little bit more than this and bring messages to society. [Shows] can push to make them think about something more than just a beautiful picture”.

Olga chose a very intriguing logo for Moral Standards which is an image of two fingers crossed. She explains “Sometimes when people say “I swear”, they cross their fingers behind their back so this is like our moral standard in society, we are saying “yes, I am like that” but you’re really not. There is also a victorian cuff around the wrist and a small number 17 but I am keeping that meaning a secret”.

We encourage you to visit Moral Standards website to view the full Decay collection and read further about what inspired this line. Olga is a true artist which is clearly visible when viewing her clothes and discovering the stories behind her designs. There are references to theater throughout Moral Standards website which according to Olga has influenced the design of her line. “Theater is also a thing that connects fashion and art so again, you have to dress a character and this influenced me a lot”.

If you are interested in purchasing items from Moral Standards you can look for their designs online through multiple platforms in the future. Due to setbacks from the current COVID-19 pandemic, there have been some delays in production. To keep an eye on when these beautiful items will be available follow Moral Standards on Instagram or email them at info@moral-standards.com. We cannot wait to see what this young artist does in the future and look forward to following her career in the fashion industry.