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While too discreet to identify individual clients, Ms. Ilincic suggested that a reason high-profile women may warm to her clothes is because her aim is always to make a wearer feel powerful yet protected. “I think a lot about duality in my designs: How a piece can simultaneously make a statement but also offer a sense of shelter,” she said.
A constant consideration during the design process, she added, was physical comfort; any hard or crispy fabric must have a soft lining; corsets or tailoring should never feel too constraining. “My clothes are like an armor — but a soft, intimate armor. I want a client to feel shielded from society, her confidence boosted, more self-assured because she is in that dress,” Ms. Ilincic said. “And that’s important when we tackle moments of intense attention or are in difficult surrounding environments. All women encounter those moments, whoever they are and wherever they are in life.”