It is said children are like sponges, absorbing everything around them. For Yuliya Zeltser, the artistic environment in which she was raised served as the perfect backdrop for her creative talents. The Ukrainian-born designer recalls being fascinated by her mother’s fashion magazines when she was three years old.
Transfixed by the notion of creating fashions, the young Yuliya learned how to sew at age five. By age seven she had mastered the sewing machine, crafting her first masterpiece—an apron. The local educational system supported her passion for design as it was commonplace for young students to learn skills such as drafting simple patterns. As a teenager, Yuliya used her accomplished skills to create original designs for family and friends.
Things changed dramatically when Yuliya’s family moved to San Francisco. Notions of becoming a professional fashion designer seemed unrealistic, so she put her passion on the backburner. She decided to go into the more stable profession of medicine majoring in pre-med in college and interning with a podiatrist. However, even then, Yuliya continued to design and make clothing. She sketched constantly never quite letting go of her life-long zeal for fashion design.
An “ah ha” moment occurred when she was hospitalized with an acute asthma attack. Looking around her, she realized that she really didn’t want a career in medicine. She quickly changed directions and started designing couture clothing for private clients. This proved to be a great training ground for the self-taught designer.
Among Yuliya’s clients were plus-size women who craved sensual and feminine clothing just as thinner women do. The lack of fashionable choices in larger sizes became even more apparent when she and her plus-size mother were shopping at full-figured women’s stores. Yuliya was shocked at the lack of stylish options available for her mother—it was then that she recognized a personal and professional calling.
“When designing, I always imagine how a woman will feel in the garment,” comments Yuliya, “I try to determine if the clothes will make her more excited about where she is going. Will she feel more feminine, sensual and seductive?” she continues. “Many customers write to say my clothes make them feel virtually invincible, like a goddess. That’s what makes it all worthwhile to me.”
Q and A with Yuliya
How did IGIGI come about?
I am a fashion designer by calling and have been passionate about it since I was five years old. I began designing professionally in 1997 for private couture clients. The awakening moment for IGIGI came when I went shopping with my mother, a beautiful and voluptuous woman, to a well-known plus-size chain store. We were extremely disappointed at the lack of stylish and form fitting clothes that would make a full-figured woman feel good about herself. I began asking myself whether any woman could feel beautiful wearing the tent like clothes that were available in the plus-size stores. Would I personally enjoy dressing in this clothing, and how would it make me feel?
I realized that no matter what size a woman wears, she wants to look feminine, stylish and very attractive. The clothes that were available on the market at that time did not do justice to women who wore them. And at that moment my personal and professional mission was formed.
I founded IGIGI, www.igigi.com, in February, 2000 with bare personal financial means. It was my ultimate dream to change the way women are being defined in our society because of the size of the clothing that they wear.
Where did you get the name "IGIGI?" What does it mean?
IGIGI is pronounced as “ee-zhee-zhee” in French manner and has a funny history behind it. Originally a friend helped me create “sexy” name by taking a French name Gigi and making it ‘symmetrical’ by placing an ‘I’ at the beginning of the word. When I heard ‘igigi’, it instantly ‘felt’ right to me, and I absolutely loved the way it sounded. Later on, I researched online and found out that IGIGI was the name of an ancient civilization’s gods; and the main goddess of the group was Ishtar - an ancient Phoenician goddess of love and fertility. And to make it even more serendipitous there was a poem translated from the ancient language; part of it I would like to recite. It still gives me goose bumps when I read it.
“Praise the goddess, the most awesome of the goddesses.
Let one revere the mistress of the peoples, the greatest of the Igigi.
She is clothed in pleasure and love.
She is laden with vitality, charm, and voluptuousness.”
Why do you design clothes for plus-size women?
I design for beautiful women who happen to wear larger sizes. To be honest, I don’t view women as “plus size” and imperfect, or any different from myself. We all come in different shapes, heights, sizes and ages, and that is what makes us all unique and special. I also like knowing that what I do as a profession and as my passion make a difference in a woman’s life.
You have had couture clients before who wear straight sizes. How is designing for a voluptuous body different than for a straight size body?
I follow the same overall strategy: emphasize the best features and draw the eye away from challenging ones. But of course, I will confess that it is much easier to design for a straight size woman. There are definitely a lot more opportunities for the creative expressions, such as bare backs and arms. On the other hand, it personally gives me so much more satisfaction and joy to design for the curvaceous women especially when thousands of women tell me that my ideas and visions help them change the way they see themselves. My customers are my greatest source of inspiration. And as I grow and evolve, so do my designs.
How do you get inspired?
I follow my heart when designing for IGIGI. I get inspiration from my travels to Europe and around the US. There are times when I get inspired by a historical period and those when I will reflect on a specific architecture, literature or an artistic movement. Sometimes it is a silhouette that I saw on the runway, or my observations of how people are dressed on the streets. I draw inspiration from everything that moves me and mold my feelings into designs that will flatter voluptuous figures.
How would you describe the IGIGI customer?
She is a stylish, confident and empowered woman who appreciates the beauty in all the great things in life inside and out.
What is your motto in designing for voluptuous women?
My goal is to make women who wear IGIGI feel exceptionally beautiful, sophisticated, feminine, and glamorous. The secret is mostly in achieving the perfect balance between the style and the fit of a garment whether it is a dress, a top or a pair of pants. It is crucial for me that a garment creates the most flattering look on a full-figured woman without compromising a fashion-forward and stylish look. She has to get that envious look from a size 6 along with the question “Where did you get that?”
Therefore, I design my collections paying attention to fit and style together, always putting the emphasis on the needs of the full-figured body. My signature look is body conscious, form fitting, and very feminine.
Do you feel your designs help fill the void in plus-size design available today?
Oh absolutely! Although there is a larger number of designers that design for the full-figured market, I feel that it is my passion to make the curvaceous women look and feel gorgeous that makes the IGIGI garments standout from the rest of the crowd. Women who become our loyal customers are looking for the clothing that will not only help them dress stylishly, but also express their inner sensuality, femininity and beauty.
Who is Yuliya on a personal level? How would your friends describe you?
Huh, they would probably say that I am an eternal optimist and ‘unrealistic’ dreamer who believes that there is absolutely nothing impossible in this world. I love life and make a point to see joy and excitement in even momentary things. I also enjoy spending time in nature, reading a good philosophical book or having an intellectual debate about the meaning of life.
What do you think is the most common misconception women have about their bodies?
I think that the most common behavior is focusing on the imperfections of our bodies, constantly criticizing and paying attention to the things that we think are ‘wrong’ with us. I believe that every woman out there has an incredible power to positively affect her own world. By starting to see her inner true beauty and making a conscious choice to only pay attention to her positive attributes, she will positively affect her own life and possibly even the lives of the others. Abraham Lincoln said that happiness is a choice. I absolutely agree with that statement and would like to add that beauty is a choice as well. I hope that all women will choose to feel joy, liveliness and beauty every moment of their life and experience their lives to the absolute fullest.
Who are your style icons?
First and foremost was my grandmother. She was a truly graceful and elegant woman who inspired me to see clothing as the means of self-expression and self-celebration.
Who would be a dream person to design for?
I would love to design for Queen Latifa, Oprah Winfrey and Camryn Manheim.
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