Meet Eteri Yusufova | Seamstress / Fashion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eteri Yusufova and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eteri, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
I started my own business without realizing it. I learned and worked in my family’s business before I started my own. I began getting my own clients that I would bring into the family business. Essentially I started my business within my family’s business. I became a professional seamstress under a very purposeful guide of my mother Rose – the owner of Lubas Tailoring. Then when I started designing I realized I needed more space and that led me to then separate and get my own studio to further continue working and expand. For me, it wasn’t just a thought – it was a journey.

What’s one piece of conventional advise you disagree with?
There’s a big misconception about a “saturated market” that I 100% disagree with. The conventional concept of “saturated market” is for brands that have no originality. What made me start designing my first bridal veil collection are the brides that I did custom veils for. If the bridal design industry is so saturated then why is a seamstress fully booked for months ahead with custom bridal jobs? This to me meant there’s styles that I’m designing that are not in the market place. I truly believe there’s no competition amongst creatives. If you have two original designs they don’t compete instead they simply stand next to each other. Apples and oranges theory. Every designer has its own DNA that’s like no other so then you have no competition in a “ fully saturated market”. I don’t have competition but I’m competitive.

How do you think about risk? What role of taking risks played in your life/career.

Risk and fear are two sides of one coin. To me it’s become a muscle I’ve trained and continue to train on daily basis. All life is risk. I’ll tell you how risky life is – you’re not going to get out alive. So then should we stop living? The only thing I’ve learned is levels of risks in business and in life. There are dangerous risks and there are safe “” calculated risks. I’ve learned to embrace them both. I get excited when I feel afraid. When I have to go against the grain for the better good. It’s not that I don’t feel the presence of fear and risk it’s just I don’t let it stop me. I simply say – hello my old friend – respectfully step aside so I can do what I want to do. In the end you either succeed or learn. So what’s the worst that can happen, you learn a lesson? I’m ok with that and that’s what makes me fearless to risk.

What habits do you think helped you succeed.

Dicipline and will power. We don’t wake up every single day the same person that’s happy and healthy. Each day I wake up with something that I can let stop me or instead motivate me. My line of work for example is extremely physically and mentally demanding. One day i wake up feeling great and unfazed by the project i finished the day before and sometimes i wake up what feels like buried deep in a grave of physical or mental anguish. Weather is physical or mental pressures of being the brand owner and you’re left with two choices – You can either lay and cuddle with pain creating nothing or get up and go on about your business with pain. Those are your options. I’ve disciplined my willpower to choose the later.

What’s the most important lesson your business/career taught you.

The best lesson I learned is that you’re not for everyone and that’s a good thing. When I first started designing I told myself to never sacrifice quality under any circumstances. It’s the one thing that’ll make your product timeless. It might not be your style but it’ll always be a good quality product.

What’s the most important factor behind your success?

Focus on achieving undeniable value in quality of your product or service and the business of your name will be limitless. Always.

Work life balance?
I don’t know this word. Balance and greatness don’t mix. It’s like water and oil. I’ve simply embraced it. I’m fully comfortable being uncomfortable. I always say – I enjoy the walk on a razors edge.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Custom, custom, custom! Custom is really the new luxury. Being 3rd generation seamstress and now also a designer, I want to bring back the craftsmanship of creating a 1 of 1 piece for one person. We have designs that are wanted by many which is why we sell our products worldwide, but we like to also provide the service of custom design dressmaking. Eteri Couture will continue to sell online, distribute to retailers in the future but the craftsmanship of one-on-one dressmaking will always be the DNA of the brand.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Beverly Hills , Malibu, dining in Glendale

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Rose from Lubas Tailoring I was a 9-year-old when I came to America from former Soviet Union. I went straight to school and my mother (second generation seamstress – taught by my grandmother) bought a tailoring studio (Luba’s Tailoring) where I’d spend all my time every day after school. I grew up watching her work with the biggest stars and stylists in Hollywood. Once I finished high school, I went to FIDM to study fashion design and my mom would often ask me, “show me what they’re teaching you.” I always helped my mom in the family business, and somehow, she saw potential in me I didn’t see in myself. One day she encouraged me to take the business seriously instead of the very prestigious private school I was attending. I always hated school and was excited to commit fully to the family business instead. Every day I would learn something new from her and the team. Years went by and I went from hemming jeans to working on couture bridal gowns, met gala masterpieces and taking on custom order jobs from our incoming clientele. One day, we had a bride Karen Fradkin – walks in with a gorgeous Ines De Sante gown for alterations and asks me if I could design a custom lace veil for her big day. Together we created the “Karen” veil that we still sell today years later. Grand luxurious veil where the blusher goes to the hem of the dress and the back cascades with the 140” long royal length with French Chantilly lace. I designed many different veils for clients before, but this specific veil sparked the design gene in me where all I could think about is creating veils that I saw the market was missing. Fall of 2019 I started designing my own first collection of bridal veils and the Eteri Couture brand was born!

Website: Www.etericouture.com

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Image Credits
EC photos are of our photographer Stas Lagunov