We sat down with the remarkable Evgenia Shimanov from Studio Levana, an Israel-based bridal boutique that isn't just sizing up gowns but designing specifically for the plus-size bride. Our curvy brides are going to love her designs and inspiration! They've been making waves in the bridal industry for 14 years with their unique approach to creating stunning plus size wedding gowns. Evgenia gives us a peek behind the curtain, revealing her intricate design process and discusses Studio Lovanna’s unique corsets that are the secret ingredient in each of their dresses. Not only do these corsets offer support, but they are also meticulously crafted to flatter the curves of a plus-size bride.
And if you’ve ever wondered about the difference between the bridal industry in the US and Israel, Eugenia opens up the conversation, sharing how these differences have influenced Studio Levana's approach to designing gowns. She emphasizes the importance of having options for every bride, regardless of size.
Special series season in partnership with Coded Agency
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiolevana/
Places to go - People to see:
Kelly's Site: http://www.kellymcwilliams.com
Kelly's Blog: https://www.kellymcwilliams.com/blog
Instagram: @kellyamcwilliams
About Kelly:
Kelly knows how incredible a well planned wedding can be. Every moment counts and every decision plays a part. Wedding planning should be fun and as easy to do as possible. Besides planning weddings, Kelly travels the globe as an industry speaker. Kelly is a Martha Stewart Top Wedding Planner & this podcast won Brides magazine and WeddingWire's best podcast.
Need a little help planning your wedding?
The Getting Ready Room List (ON SALE NOW)
Wedding Song Ideas: Spotify Playlist Included! (ON SALE NOW)
Download the Wedding Spending Plan
Episode Transcript
Hello and welcome to this versus that making wedding
decisions with Kelly McWilliams.
This podcast is for you ifyou're making a wedding decision
and want to know what toconsider before saying I do to
all the things that will makeyour wedding experience a great
one.
I'm your host, Kelly McWilliams, and I'm so glad to be a part
(00:30):
of your wedding planning journey.
In each episode, you can counton me and my expert wedding
co-hosts to give you everythingit takes to make the best
decisions for the wedding thatyou're dreaming of.
Welcome back to the codedagency podcast studio in the
middle of Melange Blanc, NewYork City Bridal Market Fashion
(00:57):
Week.
So exciting, Every single oneof these episodes.
Like I say, I'm so excited, butI really really am you guys.
So this one was so cool.
It's Studio Lovanna and I aminterviewing Eugenia.
I hope I'm saying this right,shemevnav, forgive me.
(01:17):
Forgive me, I just I got tomeet so many new people and this
was this was one of the bestones.
I'm sorry.
I mean they're all fantastic,but I just love meeting all
these people and learning abouttheir brands and their
collections and the dresses andhow they came to be, and this
one is no less exciting.
(01:38):
So here is Eugenia from yes,eugenia from Studio Lovanna.
Thank you so much for coming intoday.
Now here's the thing.
I'm not even going to try andsay your name, so I know your
studio, lavagna, but Lavannastudio.
(01:58):
Lavanna Okay and you're out ofIsrael.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yes, we came from Israel, just this week.
Yes, oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh, my heart breaks for everything going on over
there, so thank you for stillcoming to do this.
I know that's a part of yourheart.
I'm sure is there right now.
It is October 10th, so everyoneknows what's going on in the
world, but your Beauty deservesto be shown here today.
Is this your first time in NewYork City?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So it's our third time.
Third time we haven't.
We haven't been showing in NewYork since COVID.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Oh, okay, so it's been a few years.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yes, we, we've been shown in Chicago, oh okay, a
couple of times, and then wedecided to come here.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Alright, so tell everyone what is Well actually.
Let's talk about your, yourfirst name in your last name.
Can you say it for me?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yes, I'm Afghani Shamanov.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Okay, great, I was like, I pronounce it right.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
I figured I'd leave it to you so, guys, wait, this
happened.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So I'm walking around Melange de Blanc and I'm here
with the.
I'm in the coated PR lounge.
They do bridal industry PR andthey are covering this bridal
market and Melange de Blanc iskind of like a pop-up, but they
do it here every year, don'tthey?
I think so yeah, and oh,there's Beth, our friend, right
(03:25):
there.
So I saw her over there and Iwanted.
I waved at her and she's like,oh, come in she and she goes.
So she has the most beautifulplus-size line.
I was like oh, you never seethis anywhere.
So tell us the story of how youcame to be.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So we are 14 years in bridal.
Oh, wow and we are six years inthe global market.
Mm-hmm, it's all started from.
From my rented apartment, weare started to make a new gowns
and in Israel it worksdifferently than in the US.
In the US usually have aentrepreneur that wants to have
(04:08):
a bridal boutique and thenstarts to work with different
designers and Brings differentlines into their store.
In Israel, you usually have adesigner that has his or her own
store.
Okay and they designed their owngowns.
And there is no store like this, like that has different lines.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So brights start coming in, and they came in just
in the beginning because theydidn't have anything in plus
size to try on.
It was back, like you know,2009, and I started doing how
size go and then I understoodthey needed it, and how happy
(04:56):
brides are they get to try onthe gowns that are in their size
, and I understood that I'm goodin it.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, you are good at this.
Justice are beautiful, thankyou and you're right, it was.
It's so needed in this, youknow, for brides, because
they're not all tiny, you know,and you know everyone deserves
that feeling of being able towalk into a shop and have
options and you know like yourdresses are beautiful I saw them
(05:28):
on your model in there, thiscollection in particular.
How many dresses do you have?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So this collection particular is nine dresses, with
two more in different colors.
We have a Two collections eachyear.
Oh, wow.
And and there's like with smallcollections of nine, 10 the
gowns, so not to be overwhelmed.
I think the main points inbeing a plus size niche designer
(05:56):
is to be able to create gownsthat are specifically made for a
curvy woman yeah, with a curvybody in mind.
It's not a sized up gown thatwas made for for a woman of size
eight.
We are thinking from the verybeginning about the bus support,
(06:17):
about the arm coverage, becausea lot of rights are insecure
about their arms, aboutdifferent sports.
It's bright, so women want,want to cover, be supported or
be shown, and it's verydifferent from sizing up the
gown from size eight Becausethey serve those women
(06:41):
differently.
The first thing that we arethinking about is construction.
We have a very, very uniquecorsets inside that no other
branches and it goes notnecessarily to the waistline.
Sometimes you can order to eatthrough the hips and it will
hold the tummy.
It will flatten the, you know,smooth the lock handles.
(07:06):
It will do everything for youwon't have to search for a
specific bra, you won't have towear spanks.
It solves all loves.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yes, this is the hard part with podcasts.
You guys, if you can see, myface is like my jaw is dropping
and I'm like so excited becauseI know, like you know, because
I've been a teeny, tiny personand I've been like a normal
sized person, so what you know,I kind of understand like the
difference there, like how youfeel when something can be put
(07:37):
on you and you know what wasmade for your body type.
Yes, and just to know thatyou've thought of those things
in advance and I loved what yousaid, that you know there's a
difference between going andfinding dresses that were made
for smaller person's bodies andhaving them adjusted to be for a
(07:57):
larger sized person.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
There is a need in this industry, but not everyone
does it right.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Right, oh, okay, and that, and so the dresses that
you've built are specificallymade so that they can.
There's it's not addressing,it's not taking something that
was meant for a smaller personand making adjustments.
They were made to fit the bodyshapes that have needs support
somewhere else or flatter alarger size body.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
I think it's okay to admit that different bodies need
different gowns.
There is such a big wave in thescene received when you see,
like same gown, different bodyshapes, and then it doesn't
really work for both.
It's similar, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
You just see that it doesn't.
Yeah, absolutely, and that'swhat I saw when I looked at your
model in there.
I was just like she looksreally beautiful in that gown
and in a different way, and Ithink that's why it's because
you built from the beginning forthat, you know, for it to fit,
you know this kind of person andso all that you've thought
(09:06):
through with each piece of yourcollection.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
That is correct.
Yeah, that is correct Usually.
Usually the designer will buildthe size chart like the sizing
for the gown, starting fromeight and down, eight and up,
and we start with 20 down and 20up.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
That's all that you do.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That's what we do.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
That's amazing.
I love that.
I love that so much.
And there's just so fewdesigners and they're really
beautiful.
I don't feel like there'sanything that is lost on those
and I feel, like the ones that Isaw, that they are there and
really enhanced in the rightplaces and, just like you said,
they're going to make the personwearing them feel so beautiful
(09:47):
because, yeah, exactly, evenwith like the structure that you
were talking about, like theboning and like it pulls here,
it holds the busts in and youknow all of those things.
So I appreciate that you didthat, that you brought this to
market and then you made thisavailable to women, because it's
women, because it really is soneeded, and I mean they're just
(10:10):
truly beautiful designs outsideof the fact that they're very
specific women.
So thank you for that.
Thank you, Okay.
So if you could let everyoneknow where they can find you
find your dresses specifically,obviously, are they available to
be seen anywhere in the US orOf?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
course we have a lot of boutiques around the US.
Okay great.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Oh, and when we were in your booth, Beth Chapman from
the white dress by the shoreyou're doing a trunk show.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
They are doing a specific plus size event in
February, okay, and they areoffering all of the curbing
brides to come to their store.
This event I don't remember thespecific dates yeah, you'll
have to check that 15.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
15th of February.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Oh yeah, that's awesome, amazing, that's awesome
, good timing.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, it'll be perfect.
Just got engaged, go get thedress and she is a beautiful
shop and I'd love that it's.
You know, that day is reallyjust for plus size brides, which
is awesome.
Is that the correct term to use?
Plus, I don't even know.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
It's, uh, I think, curvy, Curvy.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Thank you for teaching me that See, we all
learn something every day, butneedless to say, they're just
beautiful dresses.
So thank you for coming on thepodcast today.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Okay, I'm so glad to be able to share my wedding
experiences and expertise withyou, and that my co-hosts are so
giving it theirs.
We truly do want you to havethe best time at your wedding,
and our hope is that thispodcast is helping you to make
your engagement time whileplanning your wedding that much
easier.
(11:56):
May I ask a favorite of you ifthis is the case, would you just
take a moment to leave a reviewof this podcast on your
listening platform?
It helps people just like youto find the podcast and to also
find out their answers so theycan make decisions.
I would also absolutely lovefor you to give this versus that
(12:17):
podcast a shout out on yoursocial media.
You can find us at this versusthat wedding podcast on
Instagram, and if you would likeme to help you with a specific
question, a wedding decision,please by all means ask.
Send me a DM.
I would love to hear from youand maybe, just maybe even have
(12:38):
you as a wedding guest on afuture episode.
How fun.
Here's to another great wedding.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!