We were doing really well so Keith, the owner of the store, offered me to work on commission. The likes of Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Cesare Pacciotti, Ana Kournikova and many, many more beautiful people bought my redesigns. 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). I asked him if I could redesign the dresses and create some contemporary styles with the vintage pieces. The owner of the store played beach volleyball as well so we became friends. They were colorful with beautiful exotic prints, but not flattering for the sexy “Miami style”. In the store, we had a nice stock of long vintage dresses that weren’t moving so fast.
#EMA SAVAHL TOPS SKIN#
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. I started working in a vintage store on Washington Ave called Beatnix for $5 an hour. 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. 1996 was a terribly cold winter that scared me out of NY but not out of America. 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. 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. That coming year a new volleyball contract took me to Pescara.Īt the end of the season, I hurt my shoulder and it didn’t heal over summer. For long hours each day, I listened to professionals talk about fitting, colors, themes, sales, and trends. They reached out to me and soon I started working as a fit model for Blue Marine, Parah and Off Limit.
That caught the attention of a fashion showroom representing designers of lingerie and swimwear collections. A local magazine wrote an article with a few pictures of us playing. We were so good that we received a bit of fame that first summer.
#EMA SAVAHL TOPS PROFESSIONAL#
I started playing professional indoor volleyball and during summer my brother and I, both good players, participated in beach volley tournaments. We were prepared for this day so we integrated really fast. 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. My biggest dream was to leave my country.
#EMA SAVAHL TOPS FREE#
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. There was little to no entertainment growing up in Communist Albania. I grew up sewing and painting since I was a little girl. So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. Today we’d like to introduce you to Ema Koja.
0 kommentar(er)
