Designer Stine Goya. Photograph: Petra Kleis.
Not only is Stine Goya a decorated fashion designer whose eponymous brand showcases her personal approach to living, she’s also an art lover, curator, and collector. In fact, her lauded exhibition If You See What I See — Stine Goya x Kunsten is currently on view through January 2026 at Denmark’s Kunsten Museum of Modern Art.
We recently caught up with the designer in London ahead of our Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale to get her insights on living with art, finding inspiration, and collecting with purpose. She also selected a captivating curation of her favorite works on offer, which can be discovered, along with much more, at 30 Berkeley Square from 19–26 June.
PHILLIPS: Between art and fashion, which drew you in first? Do you recall your earliest experiences with them?
STINE GOYA: Fashion came first. I was about ten when I became fascinated with clothes — I started making outfits for myself and even for my mother. It was a way of expressing myself before I had the words. Art came later, as I began to reflect more deeply on identity, belonging, and community. While I was initially drawn to the aesthetic of art, its ability to express complex ideas and values has become increasingly meaningful to me over time. Today, I can't imagine life without it — both in my work and in my personal world.
P: How does visual art influence your approach to fashion design?
SG: Art is at the core of every collection we create. I honestly can't think of a season that didn't begin with an artwork, an artist, or some creative movement as a starting point. Our design process always builds around a visual narrative — something that feels rich with emotion, meaning, and aesthetics. This storytelling layer is essential. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to design. It’s our DNA.
Stine Goya. Photograph: Rasmus Weng Karlsen.
P: When you're curating or hanging art, what are your guiding principles?
SG: Aesthetics guide me first — my eyes lead the way. But mood plays a big role, too. I tend to be drawn to pieces that feel emotionally resonant in a particular moment. I don’t always need to understand why right away. That reflection often comes later. There’s something intuitive and deeply personal about the way I connect with art — like it finds me when I need it.
Stine Goya’s home. Photograph: Irina Boersma.
Stine Goya’s home. Photograph: Irina Boersma.
P: Which works from our upcoming Modern & Contemporary Art sale speak to you most and why?
Amoako Boafo, Purple Jacket, 2019. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: That jacket. I could have chosen that colour. Beautiful. But it’s the eyes that captivate me. I feel like they’re searching for me. And asking me: Are you okay? There’s something expectant in the attitude. I’m okay. I think. And I enjoy the composition as a whole.
Tracey Emin, But Yea, 2005. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: The master of neon, if you ask me. I’ve always been drawn to neon. Bent into messages or graceful forms. Like handwriting or a brushstroke. Clear, luminous, and fragile.
Martha Jungwirth, Ohne Titel, 1987. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: I can clearly feel the energy from all the colours, shapes, clashes, and especially from the spontaneity in the composition. Is it falling apart or coming together? I don’t know. It shifts and moves. What energy — a poetic explosion.
Robert Ryman, Manual, 1993–2004. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: So simple. So monumental. Is there even space for me, I wonder. I search into it. Enveloped by the colour, the warmth, I come to rest. There is no sound here. Only the space created by the light and the surfaces. This is my place.
Wolfgang Tillmans, Wesen, 2001. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: Organic and sensual. Soft-toned colour scales reflected in light and shadow. Is it moving? Yes, it’s moving in its own unique way.
Ron Gorchov, Haydée, 2014. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: It demands attention. Wants to have a dialogue with me. I’m up for that. I like our dialogue. It’s about form and colour. About standing out and being present in your own right. I’d like to have a chat with Haydée every day.
Andy Warhol, Dominique de Menil, 1969. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: For me, this painting gives a new dimension to Andy Warhol and the portrait genre. Not much is revealed here, but it opens up the imagination for interpretation. Who was this Dominique de Menil, what was their relationship, and why did this particular portrait become so subtle and different? If I were Dominique, I’d be especially fond of this portrait.
Anastasia Bay, A Song of Love (3), 2021. Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale.
SG: It’s so human. Naked and fragile. The way she lies there. Holding herself. And taking care of herself. I think we all know that feeling. To love, to lose, to grieve, to gather yourself, to rise, and to meet new love.
P: Considering these works, how might the artists’ creative process differ from your own?
SG: I think we share more than we differ. All of us start from emotion and try to transform it into something physical — something others can feel too. That said, fashion is more collaborative and often bound by seasonality, practicality, and wearability. Some constraints push creativity in different directions. Artists might have more freedom in their mediums, but in the end, we’re all trying to tell a story through form, colour, and composition.
P: What is your personal approach to collecting?
SG: I gravitate toward works that make me feel something — whether that’s calm, joy, nostalgia, or even discomfort. I collect pieces that reflect where I am emotionally or creatively. There’s no grand logic to it — just a desire to live among objects that feel alive and speak to who I am, or who I’m becoming.
Stine Goya. Photograph: Petra Kleis.
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