Tula story
Often when we meet you ask me where did the name Tula come from and how did I find myself designing clothes for plus size.
So I sat down to put our story in writing.
I studied fashion design in Shenkar College and during that time I was focusing on the conceptual side of the creation. I loved working with a lot of fabric and creating unconventional silhouettes. One of my main influences was Japanese fashion. The work of designers such as Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo took me to a different world of aesthetics and body perception. That love for the oversize cut, that is far from the body and big amounts of fabric were my first connection to plus size design.
In 2008 I met Ruti and Iris, the women behind Designers Avenue. Back then it was a chain of stores and included an inhouse production line. Meeting their customers they felt the lack of supply in bigger sizes and asked if I could create a collection that will respond to that need and will be sold at their stores.
The new line was named Tula, but nobody really remembers why. We wanted a short name that would be pleasant on the eye and the ear, and out of all the options somehow Tula stuck.
The first collection of the new brand came out in March 2008. Tula Tula was born at the early days of Facebook. We didn't really understand how it works, we just knew we had to be there. When I opened a profile for Tula I had to add a last name, so without giving it too much thought it became Tula Tula. Later, when the profile became a business page the name simply remained the same.
For the last 15 years Tula and I have been together. It's been an interesting jorney and we went through some changes along the way. I have learned and grown together with the brand. With your help, step by step, I'm still learning about my place as a designer in this world - where does my knowlege meets the needs and desires of my customers. At the begining I mostly tried to come up with a solution for the need in plus size. During that time I learned a lot about the way women see themselves and what are the crucial points I have to pay attention to as a designer.
With time I realised that I don't want to create just a technical solution, rather I want to present a certain point of view. I want my designs to allow women of all sizes to take part in casual, urban and quality fashion. True basic that takes in account different body types that are supposed to wear it, without compromising in style. I've learned that women in bigger sizes don't dare to take part in that basic style, thinking it's only meant for the thin ones. But what I've also learned is that with the right aproach and the correct design it can be for everyone. I enjoy seeing you all embrace the style and celebrate the diversity, witch doesn't just work but also looks great.