Becoming Patient Z, with Zlata
Finding the Patient Z atelier tucked away amongst other studios owned by artists, puppeteers and makers and we were greeted by smiling Zlata, wearing her own designs as she welcomed us into the space. Amongst sewing machines, well organised patterns and a big pattern cutting table on wheels, we wandered around being shown the different areas and tools that bring her work to life.
Zlata didn’t follow a traditional route into the industry but spoke about with the vigour and confidence of someone who has obviously dedicated a lot of time to learning her craft. What started as upcycling leather jackets grew and grew.
“I wasn’t necessarily a designer yet, but I was trying to think of a cool name for what I do. My name is Zlata, it starts with a Z so I wanted to work that in, but didn’t want to just name the brand after myself. Patient Z came from patient zero, you know, for the person who is, like, a trailblazer, and who gets the virus first, and then he kind of spreads it.”
In this case ‘the virus’ is the process of questioning our consumption and shopping more sustainably – whilst looking fucking cool.
Zlatas first iteration of Patient Z was inspired by post-Soviet brutalism, with a mixture of punk and experimentation explored through that lens. Wanting to avoid confinement in her designs she then branched out, but continues to feel that she sees the world through that post-soviet lens.
“Now I look more into things like Slavic folklore and mysticism. Like, the collection that I did for London Fashion Week last year, it was all kind of based on Slavic mythology – my culture will always be a part of the brand because it’s my source of reference.”
The witchy, draped collection developed for LFW in 2025 was a middle ground between Zlatas own life and experiences at the time, and the folklore she grew up with. Grounding the present, in the past. Costume designers have always been a big inspiration for the same reason, growing up attending the ballet and studying the intricate costumes in period films Zlata developed a love for the idea of character that can be carried in our clothes, and the power of a good outfit to change how you feel inside.
“I think the, the thing that the direction of the brand heading into is that I want you to feel almost like you're putting on a character, but it's in your everyday life. You don’t have to wait for a costume party, and it doesn’t have to feel like fancy dress - I like to get inspired by fantasy worlds, but make the clothing into something realistic 'cause you wanna wear it and feel comfortable in your day to day. I want people to live in my clothes”
Living in London for the past 14 years Zlata finds joy in reconnecting with her culture through her work.
“London can, like, suck you in, and you just try to kind of adapt to it. I came when I was 15, and it felt so uncool to be foreign, it was before a time when, like, having an accent was, like, cool and sexy. I really tried to incorporate myself into the British culture. Then when I hit my 20 years, I was like, ‘Huh, I think this is what actually makes me rooted in this world, this is what actually makes me special, and this is who I am.’ So I think I started to reclaim my culture.”
Trying to fit into the London creative scene is something I’m sure all young creatives can relate to, and after realising how shallow some circles were Zlata became very intentional with her friends. Picking creative, interesting friends who she can collab with, feel inspired by and truly feel close to.
“In fashion sometimes, it's almost like a given that you just kinda have to be a bit of a cunt. And I’ve always been like no.. .you really don’t.”
Around the studio we looked at incredible cropped fur sleeve sets, studded leather jackets and even a wall where new tips were being trialled, decorated with dangling gem stones and chrome shapes. Where Zlata has been toiling with her team to develop customisable options to even the smallest and most practical of details.
“To me, fashion is a language it's the way you communicate with the world, and whenever I design something, I think I'm just trying to communicate - I love to see how people will style any given piece. When I was starting out people would try on something that they wouldn’t usually wear, like a jacket with big studs, and would go ‘I feel so badass’ – and that’s the point.
My greatest joy comes from seeing someone feel really confident in their own skin when they wear something that I've made. When it gives them that kind of boost, and helps them kind of almost, step into their own fantasy.”
Discussing just how powerful fashion is, especially fashion that aims to help you express – rather than the mainstream fast fashion brands who push conformity on us, Zlata gave the example of the boots she was wearing, which give her a life every time she puts them on and turn her into ‘a witch on business’. Or the example of her Carmilla dresses, draped, sheer, spooky pieces – one of which she wore to a rave, and floated around amongst the other ravers in harnesses and bras just absolutely feeling like herself despite not adhering to the ‘rave uniform’.
You wouldn’t think it from a glimpse at the Patient Z Instagram, or even from our conversation so far about expression and identity – that this is a sustainable brand, purely because so many sustainable brands put that at the very forefront of their aesthetic and marketing - but Zlata also designs with careful attention to the longevity of her designs, working with deadstock fabrics, making items to order, working with seamstresses to reinforce seams and ensure long lasting garments and developing her skills through upcycling.
“I was really worried about people not wanting to buy pieces because they're gonna have to wait like two weeks for them. But if people really like something then they’re down to wait. I keep trying to become more sustainable, and after my trip to Antarctica I kind of have this feeling that environmentally we’re fucked.”
This voyage was an unplanned side quest which postponed our interview, and gave Zlata an even bigger push to what she believes about how we produce.
“It’s untouched by humans, it was so beautiful, and the contrast of like how much we have fucked up our world after seeing a place that doesn’t belong to people, I was like, "Wow." It is inspiring and devastating at the same time. We’re at a point where recycling another plastic bottle isn’t going to help – there are microplastics in penguins… I don’t think as indipended designers we can genuinely create enough change to fashion.
We can recycle, we can do our best, but it’s not gonna be enough we’re past the point where that helps. We need to actively reverse the damage rather than stop polluting it as much now. I’m always becoming more mindful of that, like I won’t use faux fur or leather again, I’m looking at other options like waste leather from the food product industries for example, or use fur from a vintage jacket. Nothing is perfect but I keep doing my best and know that I’m doing my best because even if I was perfect one big drop from Zara would overtake all that progress… times a million.”
Zlata truly cares about the experience of wearing her clothes, but also the impact they have on the world around their wearers. And that passion drover her to learn the technicalities of sewing over the course of just a few years. Rather than work soley as a traditional ‘designer’ and send sketches off to a factory, she knows how to construct a garment, and is heavily involved with her seamstress, as well as running the classic founder combo of accounting, admin, marketing, etc. alongside designing, as well as creating social media content for her pages.
“I do think it would be great to see more education about what it takes to make a garment, I think it would be helpful for everyone involved and justify higher price points to customers. Sometimes the amount of work and hours and materials that go into it – people don’t get it. But why would big brands want to show the process that they use? When the process they use is exploitative. Ultimately they don’t want their customers to be educated and making better decisions.”
