ZITA SVETS TALKS HEARTINA DRESSES

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

For those wanting to look as elegant as colorful this summer they don’t have to look further than your new collection. What inspired it?

My main goal was to make memorable and bright garments. For the summer season, which is full of many events such as weddings, parties, school and university graduations, I always keep in mind that clients would want to look fresh and vibrant. This feeling, along with flowers and nature, is very inspiring.

What does your step-by-step-process look like as you start to develop a new dress. Do you draw up a lot beforehand or rather go with the flow and let your imagination talk, working with fabrics in hand?

I rarely draw sketches, mainly because I have only an impression of a dress or a small detail of the garment in my head, so I work through with fabric on a mannequin. I entirely rely on my intuition, and in many cases, the best ideas come during the process itself. However, some designs come to my mind complete, so they turn into sketches.

What fabrics do you prefer to work with to make sure that your dresses feel as good to wear as they look?

At the beginning of my journey, it didn't occur to me that besides beauty, fabric is supposed to be comfortable to wear. So with experience, my priorities became quality, comfort, and then the good looks of the fabric. I order samples at first to make sure that material condition is in reponse to the level of satisfaction.

Is there a balance to expressing yourself artistically through the brand and designing pieces women will actually want to wear?

It was difficult to find a balance between my artistic potential and items that can easily go out to the market. I still had to start on the safe side in order to gain clients’ trust but with every new collection I've become more confident to show my "art inside fashion" and it has been received very well. However, collections will always remain on a wearable yet bright level. Some clients themselves became more confident to wear couture garments with no hesitation. And the reviews are always positive. When it comes to special orders, I don't hold back and suggest very bold ideas.

You are often collaborating with the very talented pop-diva IVI, designing costumes for her to wear on stage and in videos and events. What are the main differences between designing for a popstar?

Working with pop-diva IVI has been a pleasure from the first meeting. We have very similar taste in fashion and mutual goals to show strong feminine beauty. She has very inspiring energy and confidence and I'm not even mentioning her gorgeous appearance. Every bold idea that I show is gladly accepted, and she is ready not just to wear it, but to sparkle and, “Make them stop and stare.” The difference between working with clients and with a pop star is not in the attention to the details but in the intention we carry. Of course, every customer wants the "make them stop and stare" effect, and they do, but along with that, they have to look appropriate for the event and follow the dress codes.

What led you to fashion before you founded Heartina Dresses?

For as long as I can remember, I was sewing from all possible materials. I was around five and already making dolls, toys, and clothes for myself. Of course, quality suffered and needles with threads were all over the place, but my mother would always encourage me to improve myself. In fact she was the one who had a major influence on my desire to make fashion. Back then, in kindergarten performances, I always got the roles of negative characters, maybe because I was the only girl with dark hair. My costumes for performances were always unattractive, witches, evil spirits. As a little girl, I always dreamed of being a princess like every other girl in my class. Once, one day before a performance, I came to my mother crying, saying that I also wanted to be a beautiful girl during the show. As always going as someone ugly and evil offended me. So she took down white tulle from the window, as we didn't have the opportunity to buy fabric back then, and within a night made me the most beautiful dress I could ever imagine. Next day, I played my role and rushed to change into my beautiful dress. This feeling of being in a beautiful dress at the party made such a huge impact on me as a child, that even up until now it has a major influence on what I am creating.

I went to a school of arts, and afterwards finished university with a specialization in fashion design, cum laude. Our dream, with my mother, was to make our own brand and be successful fashion designers. Unfortunately during that time she passed away. Afterwards, within a year I tried to work at other brands, and design for them, but it never worked out. My depression from losing my greatest supporter influenced my lack of inspiration for anything in life. It took me more than ten years to gain my strength, inspiration, and determination to make our dream come true. I still do not think of myself as a successful designer but I am on my way there. The brand name Heartina is a mixture of my mother's maiden name Hardina, and my whole dedication to our dream with heart.

As mesmerising as your dresses are, I'm sure many around the world will want to wear your designs, pop-stars or not. There are something unique yet timeless about your dresses, I easily see them last decades. What better way to resist fashion’s disposability than by creating pieces that people will want to keep forever?

I am very happy that my not-so-popular-yet Instagram has caught the eye of clients not only from Estonia but also Brussels, Helsinki, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Riga so far. My vision of feminine festive beauty catches the eye with authenticity, and this is a great sign for me. Many of my regular customers prefer to wear my garments for the fifth time to an event, and this is what I am advocating. When clothes are made with care, time, and quality, they are valuable items in a closet that can serve for many years and, with special care, they do become timeless. I always hear such nonsense as, "This top, shirt, dress cost me only ten euros, and I will buy something else for a new event to have a new look." My reply always remains the same, "Maybe this cost you this little, but it cost hours of underpaid work to some person somewhere far away. It cost health from inhaling poor-quality colors for this fabric. Our market has become overwhelmed with "one time clothes", this is very disturbing. I hope that within some time, people will finally raise awareness about the overloaded market, irresponsible shopping, and the insane amounts of cloth waste. As for me I truly love my clothes, and I repeatedly wear them with pride at events.