One of my all-time favorite things that I enjoy is attending fashion shows. The energy, the excitement, the anticipation… So when I was invited, along with Spencer’s Managing Editor Rose Marie Bresolin, to attend a fashion show in Toronto, I jumped at the opportunity. Our friend and colleague, Klaudia Capalbo, generously provided us with front row seats; yes, we were in the heart of the action!
The night before, I dropped by the organizer’s pre-show event where I met designer Yulia Oliynyk and her colleagues. Through her broken English and my rusty Ukrainian, I could capture just how passionate she was about fashion design. I was excited to see what she would unveil on the runway.
No surprise to our readers, based on this interview, that I was blown away with Yulia’s show. She is no ordinary designer. Yulia’s vision inspired me to learn more about her.
Joseph Edward Schur: On behalf of Spencer Magazine, we’re thrilled to be having this interview with you. Please, tell us something about your background.
Yulia Oliynyk: When I was in high school, I attended a theater studio. I played on stage and helped the director to stage performances. The theater played a very important part in my life. I discovered a completely new world. It taught me to feel, to love and to see beauty in people and all things around me. I learned to live out that greater depth of feelings and emotions on the stage. The theater revealed my sensuality, the emotional perception of everything around. It conjured up a vision of the world through the prism of images. For me it was like a parallel reality, which I wanted constantly to draw up.
What’s the most interesting thing about you that we can share with our readers?
It is probably interesting to say that I also express my feelings for loved ones through design and sewing clothes. For me this is a manifestation of concern. I can share a story about how on a cold winter’s day I met a young pilot who was wearing only a thin pilot jacket. I really wanted to take care of him and warm him. Then I took a woolen military fabric from my grandfather’s coat and sewed a coat for the pilot a few days later. He wore it for a long time and with pleasure. Now this pilot is my husband.
