Meet Ema Koja of Ema Savahl Couture

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ema Koja.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up sewing and painting since I was a little girl. There was little to no entertainment growing up in Communist Albania. I read a lot, everything I could put my hands on actually, sewed my own clothes, painted, learned foreign languages (hoping one day I would be free to travel the world and it would come in handy), I also put a lot of effort in becoming a professional athlete. My biggest dream was to leave my country. In 1990 communism collapsed in Albania and my father, a well-known volleyball coach, and the coach of the national team was offered to train in southern Italy where we all moved soon after. We were prepared for this day so we integrated really fast.

I started playing professional indoor volleyball and during summer my brother and I, both good players, participated in beach volley tournaments. We were so good that we received a bit of fame that first summer. A local magazine wrote an article with a few pictures of us playing. That caught the attention of a fashion showroom representing designers of lingerie and swimwear collections. They reached out to me and soon I started working as a fit model for Blue Marine, Parah and Off Limit. For long hours each day, I listened to professionals talk about fitting, colors, themes, sales, and trends. I was young, curious and eager to learn. That coming year a new volleyball contract took me to Pescara.

At the end of the season, I hurt my shoulder and it didn’t heal over summer. So I took time that year, while it was unclear if I would ever play again, to fulfill my other dream and travel the world. I went to Tunisia, Spain, France, and Finland and landed in NY, I was 26 years old and immediately I knew that I would never return to my previous life. 1996 was a terribly cold winter that scared me out of NY but not out of America. I was in love with this country! The next trip was to South Beach, Miami where my love deepened and I made the decision that this was my city. I started working in a vintage store on Washington Ave called Beatnix for $5 an hour. I was as happy and as grateful as one could be, I loved the weather, my skin got darker, my hair turned silver and I was in love with life.

In the store, we had a nice stock of long vintage dresses that weren’t moving so fast. They were colorful with beautiful exotic prints, but not flattering for the sexy “Miami style”. The owner of the store played beach volleyball as well so we became friends. I asked him if I could redesign the dresses and create some contemporary styles with the vintage pieces. Keith agreed and there it started. I had been in the US only a few months on a student visa, my English was still a little insecure but my designs were donning the windows on Washington Avenue a few blocks from the Versace Mansion! (and all the buzz South Beach had to offer).

The likes of Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Cesare Pacciotti, Ana Kournikova and many, many more beautiful people bought my redesigns. We were doing really well so Keith, the owner of the store, offered me to work on commission. My first taste of capitalism and I liked it… a lot. Thank you, Keith!

Our vintage dress stock depleted fast and it was becoming harder to keep up with the sales especially since the new trend took over South Beach. We were competing with other vintage stores who were hunting for the same dresses. It was clearly time for something new. I knew there was an opportunity for me, and I knew it had to be something that excited me. I had learned from sports, excitement for me was the prelude to success.

At the time rollerblading had become very popular on the streets of South Beach. I don’t believe I owned any shoes those days. I lived in rollerblades and tiny dresses. A slip (that I turned into a dress) that I brought with me from Italy was getting huge attention. So I asked Keith to shop for vintage slips. He did and some we dyed and some we sold as they were. For myself, I hand painted the transparent parts with vintage looking flowers so I could wear them in the evening as well. So I did same for some of the store dresses and they were a huge success. The slip dresses became beach dresses with flip flops during the day, rollerblade dresses at sunset and nightclub dresses as soon as you added a pair of heels. The look was on fire, I had my first fashion show and life was really good. I rode this euphoric wave for a little while. But I think I had reached the top of that curve and, as usual, in the fashion industry, the look was everywhere and the market was saturating fast.

This coincided with the summer approaching, Keith leaving for Chicago to run his other store and the environment at the store became less exciting for me. Long hot summer days passing, my visa would be expiring soon and I needed a miracle. I thought of my life, how amazing it had been, how much I had changed and bloomed in this blessed city. One day I was rollerblading on Lincoln Road with these thoughts in my mind, sliding through a farmers market and I noticed a vendor had hung giant butterflies held by wires that were swinging in the wind on his stand. I stopped, picked one, and put it in front of my body, did a perfect spin on my blades and bent to salute my boyfriend at the time and an imaginary crowd. I saw my reflection in a store window and realized a vision literally. A rush of excitement very well known to me soared through my body.

My metamorphosis, the caterpillar had turned into a butterfly, and this butterfly was my next collection! Fully hand painted 3D butterfly tops. I worked on the technicalities for the whole summer. I created bareback tops and knew the fit had to be perfect. The paint was slightly sticky and had to go through the holes in the mesh fabric and be able to stick to your skin to be comfortable. I set heavy spheres overnight to create the breast space. Hours and hours of trial and error to come up with one perfect butterfly top that I took to the Fashion Industry, Magic Show in Las Vegas that August. My small 10X10 booth was on fire! We wrote and wrote orders until we couldn’t any longer and that is how my business started.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth road (LOL)… nothing is smooth in life. No, it has not been smooth, but since the “butterfly days” I have linked my business to my own personal growth. I get what I want or I get experiences that will help me to get what I want. For me, failures are training wheels. A big challenge has been to hold a collection exclusive long enough for me to make it profitable.

Companies started to imitate the concept and since we produce in the US we could not compete price wise with those manufacturing abroad, so instead, we compete with innovation. Keeping our newest techniques a secret for as long as possible is very important. We have become much better at
protecting our designs over the years.

Ema Savahl Couture – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are specialized in creating hand painted and hand molded 3-dimensional wearable art. Our designs are a “true couture” elegant, timeless pieces of art, without sacrificing comfort, durability, and versatility. We do everything from statement tops to red-carpet gowns.

We are very strong in custom making garments and using optical illusions to modify and enhance the female form and bring more harmony to the look.

What am I proud of?
I am proud that we are a long-standing company. That with all the ups and downs of the economy we never sold out or cheapened our product or left a single customer dissatisfied. Proud that we have created a look that belongs to us. Is synonymous with us. People can see a dress anywhere in the world from Hong Kong to Paris, Dubai or Tokyo and know even from a distance that it is an Ema Savahl.

Proud that we hire single mothers and allow them to work around their children’s schedules. Proud that we produce in America and support our economy. Proud that we are a very cosmopolitan company. We have people from different countries and religions working together in peace, harmony, and beauty. Proud that we put art and beauty first and never compromise for profit. Our work environment is one of the most uplifting the fashion business has ever seen. I am proud of the sisterhood we have created here with the ladies that paint and sew, our amazing clients that have supported us for so many years and the stores that love and promote us worldwide.

What sets us apart?
Everything! From design to production to the way the company is run. We run the business sometimes like a sports team ready for the last game of the championship and sometimes like an art shop when we all take time as a group to try on dresses, take pictures, discuss ideas and laugh. There is a lot of humor in our everyday work, we make time for it, we promote it and love it.

As a strong advocate for female empowerment, I have a female only staff, many who come from hardship and without seemingly bright futures. I have given most of them an opportunity to learn a craft and skill-set that they would not have necessarily had access to. This gives them pride as well as economic opportunity and benefit.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
For years I have created, wore, shot and published in magazines our swimwear collections, (Yes! Hand painted swimwear), but never made it available for purchase. Making our swimwear collection available for consumers is for sure in our future plans.

As for my personal future plans, it is to integrate all aspects of my life better, business included. I wish to blur the line between work, fun, travel, health, spirituality, friendship, etc. I want work to be fun and I want that for myself and for our people as well.

I have never stopped being an athlete so I plan to create an elegant but comfortable collection of garments that you can wear to go to the gym, to work or happy hour. Always in the theme of integration, merging and simplifying life. Making the different aspects of life flow into each other seamlessly.

Pricing:

• 300-3,500

Contact Info:

• Website: emasavahl.com
• Phone: 305-754- 6717
• Email: press@emasavahl.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ema_savahl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emasavahl

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