In what way does your work reflect your own world-view and philosophy about life?
Quite a lot. Through my work I’m always questioning the meaning of life and trying to understand why we are placed on Earth when we are going to die anyway. At the same time though I’m always in my own craft, my clothes-making, searching for a magical moment. The way I see the world is always a huge inspiration for me, but whether other people understand my point of view is less important. I want people to reflect on their own.

Tell us a bit about your most recent project ''Only Angels Have Wings''. What does it consist of?
''Only Angels have Wings'' is a story about a city where people have forgotten about the reason of their existence. They have destroyed all nature, and the Earth is coming to its end. But in the city there is a scientist who has built a machine, with which he fabricates artificial nature as a way to legitimise humans’ existence. In my project I try to visualise this artificial nature with clothes and dolls.

You have called the mannequins in your recent exhibition ''your androids'': do you feel a bit like Dr. Frankenstein when creating these imaginary characters?
It might sound a bit strange, but it’s always funny to cut into a humanlike doll. I guess you get used to pretty much everything when you do it often.

I was impressed when I read in a previous interview of yours that your creations are not meant to be worn, which makes them more like visual art objects than garments. How does it feel working on the borderline of different disciplines such as fashion, design and the visual arts?
It feels good! I like working without any compromises and focusing instead on developing my work all the time. I find it very inspiring to mix different medias. I’ve always painted and drawn a lot, so it makes complete sense for me to mix that with clothing. Moreover, I like creating sceneries around my clothes and displaying them together with dolls, installations, music, poems and other things.

Who are the people around you? How do you collaborate in order to materialise your ideas?
My company is as small as it can be; I’m more or less the lone soldier. But I collaborate a lot with my husband, Christian Kornum, who is also a designer. He is my right hand and often an essential part of the process. It’s essential to have someone to discuss your ideas with.

To what extent do you think fashion design can be political?
When I start with a project I always write a little story or a poem. It might be political, for example it could be about a way we live that can have negative consequences for other people in the world. But mainly I write stories such as these in order to inspire me in terms of the project itself.  If people understand this story through looking at my works, that’s great – but I mainly want people to draw their own conclusions.

Can you tell us a bit about your collaboration with Saga Furs? How long have you been working with the brand? Have there been any other collaborations or commissions that have had an impact on you?
My first contact with Saga Furs was in 2006, when they sponsored me for my graduation. Since then, they have sponsored me several times. I have also worked on a freelance basis for them, developing sketchbooks for new ways of using fur. I love making sketchbooks – they are like bibles to me. In fact, only a couple of weeks ago I won the Gold Award at Remix 2014 in the ‘Pimp my Coat’ category, which was again, a collaboration with Saga Furs. Regarding other collaborations I’ve done, Hindsgaul by Retailment has been sponsoring me with its mannequins for several projects. I really love working with these beautiful figures, and the people at Hindsgaul by Retailment don’t seem to mind the fact that I alter their mannequins completely by cutting them, painting them and giving them new joints – actually, they seem to like it!

You dedicate a lot of time and effort in making your elaborate designs. Which is the most complicated garment you’ve ever made?
Everything I do is time-consuming and detailed. I don’t know why I always fall in love with complicated and time-consuming techniques, but I really love sitting there for hours and hours working on things with very delicate details. I have eternal patience when it comes to working with something I believe in… I could never have a job just for the sake of making a living. One of the most complicated garments I ever made was a dress made out of bristly nails. It was really difficult to sew together and you had to be very aware of the order of steps in the process. Another complicated dress was a big black, red and white dress made out of 45,000 straws.

Do you think there is a distinction between art and craft – I mean, between the art we see in museums and the crafts that we find in fashion studios, furniture workshops etc?
There is a huge contrast between art in a museum and design in a store. Design is related to functional matters, while art has to, let’s say, ‘reflect’ in some way. I know that I’m working in between these two worlds: when people ask me if I am an artist or a designer, I tell them that I’m a designer, simply because I’ve been educated as one. But I’m aware that I treat clothing more like an artist than a designer. To be honest, I think that too many people call themselves artists. For me, that’s a rather serious thing to say, it’s a title that you have to live up to.

So, what’s next in your agenda?
Right now I’m working on something for a big Danish event that will be taking place in May. I can’t say anything else about it right now, but you’ll be able to see more about it on my official Facebook page and Instagram as soon as it’s published. My new solo exhibition at Horsens Art Museum, Denmark will also showcase in May.

What do you like the most about what you do? What keeps you going?
As I mentioned before, I’m always searching for a magical moment. It is often a moment in the experimental part of the process where even though I find what I was searching for, I didn’t know how to get there when I started. Once you get started you can’t stop.

{YatzerTip} Check out the mini version of our interview with Nikoline Liv Andersen in ‘Ventura Lambrate Today’, the official daily tabloid of Ventura Lambrate by DailiesOnTour! Ventura Lambrate Today is freely available at all the locations of Ventura Lambrate, and contains daily reports, interviews, columns, lots of on-the-spot images and – last but not least – the official Ventura Lambrate map to help you find your way around the exhibition district.