When Lorena Pipenco and Gwyneth Giller sit down for a drink, Girl Talk turns a little bit (okay, very) chaotic.
There are some people who walk into a room and you immediately know they’re going to be the most entertaining person there. London-born designer Lorena Pipenco is one of them. She is equal parts glam, humor, and sincerity framed by bangs and lingering fragrance of cigarettes. Her brand has become a cult playground of oversized tailoring and cheeky silhouettes.
We sat down for a drink before Lorena met up with a Hinge date. We talked about delusion, heartbreak, and romance like they’re all part of the same messy, beautiful ballet. Our conversation is equal parts hot-girl chaos and brain-rot realness. Like honestly, if you get it, you get it.
Gwyneth Giller: What were you doing earlier?
Lorena Pipenco: I was cleaning my apartment. Found a lot of weird things, like broken cigarettes. I don’t know why that’s in my studio. I mean, I do because I smoke, but broken? I don’t know.
GG: There’s always loose tobacco everywhere.
LP: It’s dusty, girl.
GG: I was going to ask you what your drink order is. I guess now I know.
LP: Yeah, gin and tonic. Skinny.
GG: So skinny.
LP: No, you know what? I’ve been drinking gin and tonics this whole time and then my friend was like, “Vodka soda is actually the skinny option.”
GG: I’ve heard that tequila on the rocks was the ultimate skinny drink.
LP: Yeah, but that’s crazy.
GG: Tell me about your big hats. For all your big ideas or?
LP: In my process I want to start designing from the most fun things. So I always design my hats and accessories before anything else because it excites me about the collection. Because then when you start looking at clothes, you have to think about wearability which isn’t so fun. I mean, I guess my stuff’s not that wearable, but I’m trying to find a balance.
GG: Well, everything on your website is pretty wearable. How does someone get their hands on an oversized dress? Are they just for runway?
LP: You can do a custom order on runway pieces. If someone wants it, we can custom make it.
GG: How many people are on your team?
LP: Well, right now it’s just me, my interns, the PR team, and an accountant. And Leon (Lorena’s friend and producer for Elephant)—he’s like my right-hand man. He gives me a lot of lectures. Basically, I’m surrounded by a lot of straight men that give me lectures all the time.
GG: Oh, who doesn’t love that? Do you have siblings?
LP: I have three brothers, two sisters. One older sister, one younger, but the oldest is kind of immature. So, I’m the oldest technically.
GG: Did you have dolls growing up?
LP: Dolls? Yeah. I played with Barbies, Bratz, and Sylvanians.
GG: What are Sylvanians?
LP: Those are like tiny little fluffy animals, but they’re hard. They have little cute dresses and they can be hairdressers. They can be anything really.
GG: Oh wait, I think I’ve seen those unhinged videos on TikTok.
LP: [laughs] Polly Pocket too.
GG: Do you think those influence your design at all?
LP: No. But it probably did push me towards fashion because I used to love doing little fashion shows with my friends with the dolls.
GG: Are you dating anyone?
LP: I’m actually going on a date after this.
GG: Oh my god, exciting. Where are you going?
LP: Somewhere he recommended. Bonus Room.
GG: At least he’s a planner—that’s a good start.
LP: No, literally I had the worst month of dating. Right, because there was that guy I told you about, and then I had another guy potentially, and they both failed.
GG: Are you on dating apps?
LP: Hinge.
GG: Thoughts and prayers.
LP: Yeah, actually this guy that I’m going on a date with—we met on Hinge four years ago. But we never met up in real life until tonight.
GG: Wait, can I see a photo?
LP: Yeah, he’s so bad.
GG: Oh he’s fine. What’s your type?
LP: My type is like Arabic-looking men, Latino… just a fusion of something.
GG: Do you love Bad Bunny?
LP: Yeah, I do. Bad Bunny is my type.
GG: Same.
LP: And I like them a little gay as well.
GG: [laughs] Me too. I love a femme-boy unfortunately.
LP: That’s actually probably the number one thing that I love. I want to question if they’re gay or not, you know?
GG: What’s something that a man can do that loses him aura points?
LP: When they say their ex was crazy.
GG: Such a red flag.
LP: Because it’s like, one—you chose her, so if she’s that crazy, you’re dumb. That’s on you. But two—you can explain things in a way that doesn’t disrespect them.
GG: What’s something that you’ve done that lost you aura points?
LP: I can’t even say it because it’s so bad. My mum would kill me if she knew. But I’ll tell you.
(Redacted)
GG: Oh my god. Nightmare.
LP: I don’t know. I guess I lose aura points all the time because I am literally the least chill person. I say what I feel and sometimes it comes off a little bit aggressive. I’m just very expressive, I can’t keep it cool.
GG: When was the last time you cried?
LP: So, I was telling you about that guy who did something kind of nasty and mean to me, and then I went to the bar with my friends—to a dive bar—and I told them about it, and they’re just going in on me. They’re like, “Well, you shouldn’t be so available. You did this to yourself.”
GG: Maybe you weren’t ready for that kind of honesty. Sometimes the homies need to lie a little.
LP: I have a bad cop and good cop in my friendship group. So Leon was being bad cop, July was being good cop. July was just like, “It doesn’t matter how beautiful, how talented you are—a guy is just going to do you bad. Some men are just like that.”
GG: I mean yeah, look at Emrata. She’s beautiful-sexy-awesome and her baby daddy did her so dirty.
LP: Yeah, so they’re like, “Don’t even take this personally because men just be doing that.”
GG: I heard crying releases so many endorphins in your brain. It’s actually so good for you.
LP: I felt really relieved.
GG: What’s your favorite unhinged song?
LP: I don’t listen to music.
GG: What?
LP: Yeah. I mean, I will know most songs when I’m out. I just couldn’t tell you who sings it. I couldn’t tell you the name of the song. So when people ask me, “What’s your favorite genre?” or “Who do you listen to?” I literally just blank. And then I just say, “I’m not really a music person.”
GG: Do you have Spotify?
LP: Yes. One of my ex-boyfriends that was a musician forced me to download it. But I literally listen to like maybe 10 or 15 songs just in a cycle—and it’s like Lily Allen.
GG: The new album?
LP: No—like, *sings* “Fuck You, Fuck You Very Much.”
GG: Have you listened to the new album?
LP: No.
GG: Okay, finish my sentence: Hell hath no fury like a woman who…
LP: Needs her pipes cleaned. [laughs]
GG: What’s your favorite piece in your closet?
LP: Hmmmm.
GG: It’s a really serious question.
LP: I love coats. Years ago, Erdem and H&M did a collaboration. Erdem is super expensive, but in the collab the price was more affordable. So I have this black coat with really gorgeous flowers on it—it’s very intense and beautiful.
GG: You’re a coat girl, I’ve noticed that in our few interactions. When was the last time someone stole your swag?
LP: Oh shit. You mean with my work?
GG: Yeah—or maybe an outfit you wore.
LP: I stole my intern’s swag. She’s now the studio lead, her name’s Anna. We were meant to go to an event afterparty, but she came over in a really cute outfit, this long, green bubbly skirt and jacket—and then I just went in my closet and dressed exactly the same but purple. And then I found out the event was next Tuesday anyway, so we just went for a drink.
GG: If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be?
LP: My dog.
GG: No thoughts, head empty. What kind of dog do you have?
LP: A Chihuahua. She just naps the whole day and I would want to know what she dreams about.
GG: What was the last show you watched?
LP: Made in Chelsea.
GG: What is that?
LP: I never watched it before because I used to watch another TV show called The Only Way Is Essex, which is like a reality TV show for people in Essex. But Made in Chelsea is basically a reality TV show with very posh rich people, and they’re all cheating on each other and doing crazy things.
GG: I love brain-rot TV. Have you watched All’s Fair?
LP: The Kim K one? No.
GG: It’s truly the worst show I’ve seen in a really long time. But I can’t look away.
LP: It’s hard to watch anything with her.
GG: True. What’s in your purse right now?
LP: I actually have my Girl Talk compact mirror. I have my wallet, lipsticks, and cigarettes. And then just a load of fucking tobacco and ash.
GG: What was the most delusional era of your life?
LP: I think it was in high school. The area I grew up in is called Essex, and high school there is almost like New Jersey—Jersey Shore vibes. So I always had a fake tan on, fake eyelashes, push-up bra, stilettos.
GG: I’m obsessed with that. If your friends could give you a warning label, what would it be?
LP: They would say “cracked out” or “macho.”
GG: I’m dying.
LP: They would say, “She’s not beating the lesbian allegations.”
GG: [laughs] Why?
LP: I guess because I’ll be with like ten guys and I go to the bar and the girls there are always giving me the eyes. The guys are like, “She wants you.” And it’s like, thank you, someone’s paying me some fucking attention to me.
GG: And to be loved by a woman is a higher compliment, you know? Are you a voice-note girl or a long text essay girl?
LP: I’m a voice note. Yeah. If I’m writing more than two sentences, I’m sending like 10 typos.
GG: Do you keep a diary?
LP: Ugh, no. I tried once, I did it for one day. I felt good but then I went back to read it and I just wanted to shoot myself in the face. So I ripped it out and trashed it. I’m never doing that shit again.
GG: [laughs] What’s something you think about all the time that someone wouldn’t expect?
LP: I love anime.
GG: Really? My ex-boyfriend was an anime fiend and I tried so hard to like it but never could. What are some of your favorites?
LP: My favorite and the first one I watched was Naruto. And then there’s one called Nana, which is more for the girls—they’re doing a Vivienne Westwood collab.
GG: Wait—you should do an anime collab.
LP: I would love to. I have a whole anime list on my phone that I want to collab with.
GG: What other kinds of lists do you have on your phone?
LP: Oh, I have a to-do list and I have a karaoke song list too.
GG: (looks at list) “Complicated,” Avril Lavigne—God. That’s a banger.
LP: It is.
GG: What’s the soundtrack to your life?
LP: My thoughts. My deep dark fears and my darkest vulnerabilities echoing in my brain.
GG: [laughs] What would 13-year-old you say if she could see you now?
LP: She’d say, “Go to the fucking gym.”
GG: Omg no.
LP: No, she would be very proud.
GG: What’s something that you gate-keep?
LP: I gate-keep my closest friends.
GG: What’s a red flag that you have that you fully accept about yourself?
LP: Wow, we’re going there. I think definitely a lot of men won’t like a girl that is surrounded by men all the time. Even when I bring a guy around, it makes me lose my feminine energy. Sometimes I feel like I’m not feminine enough—even though I dress feminine and look feminine. But I think it’s the way I act, I’m kind of vulgar, I speak loudly, maybe I say things a nice, tame lady wouldn’t say.
GG: But as long as you’re authentic to yourself someone will gravitate toward your vibe.
LP: Yeah, I mean guys will say I’m fun, but would they want me as a wife? Probably not.
GG: Whoever doesn’t is not a real one. I love how you don’t participate in performative femininity.
LP: True.
GG: What’s your “I deserve a treat” ritual?
LP: Oh, it’s like Uber Eats two times in one day and watch TV and bed-rot in between.
GG: If your life had chapter titles, what would this one be called?
LP: Delusional. Love doesn’t exist. Disrespected every single day.
Written by Gwyneth Giller
