Interview with Fashion Illustrator Evgeniya Manko

Evgeniya Manko (@eugeniamanko) is a fashion illustrator from Ukraine, who is famous for her beautiful editorial illustrations and style-driven characters.

Evgeniya was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine. When she was still a kid she moved with her parents to Kyiv and that’s where she is based now.  Evgeniya studied fashion photography in Warsaw, Poland, but since childhood, she's been always drawing, without taking it too seriously though. It was Evgeniya's husband who told her one day that maybe she should pursue her real passion and focus on illustration. So slowly she started to develop her own style and now fashion illustration is her full-time job she truly loves.

Below is our quick Q&A with Evgeniya and her beautiful illustrations for Ozero Swimwear's art project #OzeroArt.

• How would you describe yourself in two words? Melancholic, stubborn.
• What inspires you the most? My inspiration can come from anywhere, even from a walk around the city. But music does inspire me a lot, as well as works of different photographers and designers.
• What’s your favorite medium for drawing? I love gouache, especially for its pastel colors, but recently I've started to focus on digital illustrations as well.
• What’s your favorite color? It's hard to choose one color, I guess it depends on my mood.
• What do you love about your job? When I create an illustration, I don't feel that I am working, I see it as a daily meditation.
• One piece of advice for a fashion illustrator at the beginning of her/his career? Experiment until you find your own style.
• Which fashion illustrators you are currently obsessed with? Yuliya Yg (@yuliyayg), Manjit Thapp (@manjitthap), Rosie McGuinness (@rosiemcguinness).
• What's your favorite painting? “Ophelia”  by British artist Sir John Everett Millais.
• Who is your fashion/style icon? Reese Blutstein (@double3xposure).
• A book you will recommend to your best friend? "The Fountainhead" Ayn Rand.
• What do you love most about living in Kyiv? I’m obsessed with the streets and architecture of this city!
• The three things you cannot live without? City, desserts, and family.
• What makes you laugh? My son.
• What’s your secret talent? I can eat and not put on weight.
• What’s the best advice that you’ve received in your life? Never give up! 

Illustrations by Evgeniya Manko for Ozero Swimwear