From Survival to Style: How Designer Rina Wolf Transformed Trauma Into Fearless Fashion
- Dennis Nichols
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
In this fearless interview on Comfortable Conversations with Melissa Cardoso, designer Rina Wolf opens up about trauma, transformation, and how upcycled fashion became her emotional armor.
Comfortable Conversations' Melissa Cardoso interviews Rina Wolf, the unapologetic custom designer splitting her life between Miami and Germany. What starts as a conversation about fashion quickly evolves into emotional survival, identity, and raw creative energy. Unfiltered.
Rina’s pieces aren’t made for the masses. They’re for people who perform, who survive, who stand out—rockstars, models, tattoo artists, and anyone bold enough to wear their story on their sleeve.
-The Rina Wolf Comfortable Conversations Interview w/ Melissa Cardoso
How did you start customizing such unique and personal designs?
"I started 2019 out of emotions. In times of an abusive relationship it became my mental escape to put powerful statements on fashion items. I never planned to start with fashion design or art. It just happened, starting in one night, in a moment that my body and mind couldn’t bear. I suddenly found myself painting a leather jacket with the words: 'Hell was boring.'"
"The upcycling philosophy developed through the fact, that my ex-boyfriend ripped and cut up my favorite fashion items and accessories... " @rinathewolf
Is there a specific moment that sparked your interest in reusing materials?
"The upcycling philosophy developed through the fact, that my ex-boyfriend ripped and cut up my favorite fashion items and accessoires... I wanted to show him that he couldn’t break me, so I built something new out of the scraps of clothing. This is how my denim jacket design 'NEW YORK' came out, which I actually sold pretty fast."
Where do you draw inspiration from for your personalized designs?
"My inspiration is always the current life situation around me. So it’s all about love and pain, career wins and failures, friendship and competition, or the place and surrounding I’m at..."
How do acrobatic figures influence your work?
"I usually model my fashion. I am my own muse... I have a passion for strange figures, perspectives and angles, as well as for heights or depth. It gives me something to see bizarre shapes and make people wonder."
How do your travels influence your creativity?
"To change the place where I create at makes a big change in the look of my art and designs... The biggest impact I experienced was my roadtrip alone (with my dog Bella-Ciara) from Milano, down to the beaches of Grado, Italy, along the coastline to beautiful Portofino, where I painted in a small private hotel villa up in the hills."
"F*CKBOY-CULTURE impacted my designs and art the most of all cultures!!" @rinathewolf
Which cultures or experiences had the deepest impact on your art?
"Besides what I described above I have to admit that the F*CKBOY-CULTURE impacted my designs and art the most of all cultures!! Forgive me my honesty (-; I experienced big influences through fake love and unhealthy connections."
Can you walk us through your process for selecting and reusing materials?
"At its core, upcycling is about making new, highly individual products from used materials... Objects and materials from household, the automotive sector and garages, from nature, from carnival boxes and children's rooms... Everything that is no longer loved, can be repurposed."
"Given the fact that there are many limited resources on this planet, upcycling is setting the course for a sustainable value chain... " @rinathewolf
What motivates you to focus on sustainability in fashion?
"Given the fact that there are many limited resources on this planet, upcycling is setting the course for a sustainable value chain... Making textile finishing sustainable is one of the biggest challenges on the way to environmentally friendly fashion."
How did your upbringing influence your personality and artistic path?
"My grandmother was a seamstress... My dad is an engineer with a huge passion for developing products... No wonder that I got very creative. I‘m proud of my family."
"I’m actually more an introvert, but constantly mistaken for being very extroverted..." @rinathewolf
Which aspects of your personality are most reflected in your designs?
"I would say the fact that I’m actually more an introvert, but constantly mistaken for being very extroverted... I always do what it takes to live outside of my comfort zone, because everything I ever wanted is on the other side of fear."
What’s been the biggest challenge in your creative career?
"To find genuine love and to not present a false impression of my appearance and personality to business partners... I always lead a more or less secret double life... haha :-)"
And what’s your most gratifying achievement?
"Clearly that I was chosen by an employer to move from Germany to the US, Miami, Florida, to open up the American market for German sliding door systems in the premium segment..."
What advice would you give to aspiring artists and designers?
"Don’t fear to be a bit delusional. Be a pimp with vision and always follow the motto: More is more!"
What are your future goals and vision?
"I want to go back to Miami with my collection... I also see myself executing at events in New York, my favorite city in the US... RINA WOLF is my passion, not my business."
"I’m happy to be able to be the voice for some which lost theirs..." @rinathewolf
What do you hope people feel when they see your work?
"I want them to reconnect to their feelings and rewire their brains! I’m happy to be able to be the voice for some which lost theirs... I want to make people stand tall and strong and be courageous!"
Is there a person or moment that had a special impact on your career?
"I met Laura Bruckmaier (@madamevintour) in 2023 at a Fashion Event in Germany... Only two days after the event I found myself and my fashion designs in my first own (shared) boutique... Laura made me do it... Thank you for always supporting me."
Want more bold fashion, raw expression, and behind-the-scenes looks into Rina’s creative world? Follow her on Instagram @rinathewolf and explore her designs at rinawolf.us today.
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