{"id":25247,"date":"2017-07-21T03:50:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T10:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=25247"},"modified":"2017-07-19T11:37:45","modified_gmt":"2017-07-19T18:37:45","slug":"designing-with-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/07\/21\/designing-with-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing with style"},"content":{"rendered":"

Designer Yifat Jovani (photo by Tim Matheson)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli designer Yifat Jovani sewed clothes for her Barbie doll as a child, but didn\u2019t launch her own fashion line for women until she moved to Vancouver 11 years ago.<\/p>\n

Love brought the mother of two to the city. She met her Canadian husband, Tim Matheson, in Tel Aviv and the couple lived there for four years before relocating to British Columbia.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Yifat Jovani\u2019s creations are feminine, elegant and pragmatic, with stylish, flowing layers that flatter the figure. (photo by Tim Matheson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy parents taught me that art should be a hobby, not a living, so, for many years, I never had the idea or the courage to make my clothing designs a professional business,\u201d Jovani told the Jewish Independent<\/em>. \u201cOnce we moved here, I realized it\u2019s what I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jovani designs women\u2019s clothes in sizes 2 through 12, all of them made from bamboo fabric. Her garments are feminine, elegant and pragmatic, with stylish, flowing layers that flatter the figure. They include tunics, dresses, coats, skirts and tops that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. \u201cI like to call my designs clothing for real women, because that\u2019s who wears my clothes \u2013 not skinny girls,\u201d she reflected. \u201cMy clients are real women who have bodies in different shapes and sizes, and they need clothes that are practical, easy to care for and to travel with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pragmatism is a key word for Jovani, who believes women shouldn\u2019t have to suffer to look beautiful. \u201cWith my designs, you can multitask and still look beautiful,\u201d she said. \u201cWear it to the office, and add an accessory to use it for dinner out or a cocktail party. I think women should have garments in their closets that aren\u2019t just for special events.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of her \u201creal woman\u201d design strategy, Jovani has asked her friends and clients to be her models at the fashion show events she organizes each year, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. \u201cPeople are telling me, it\u2019s so nice to see how your clothes look in size 10. It makes it more real. And \u2026 when I do my photo shoot for my fall collection, I\u2019ll feature a regular model, but I\u2019ll also have a size 10 model.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jovani\u2019s designs are available for sale at her online store, yifatjovani.com<\/a>, and in Vancouver at the boutique Tenth & Proper (4483 West 10th Ave.) and at Kali (1000 Commercial Dr.). They are also selling at boutiques in Duncan, Courtenay, Terrace and Whitehorse. \u201cI\u2019m trying to get into more stores but I\u2019m doing all this myself, and I have two little ones in the house ages 4 and 7,\u201d she said. \u201cMy goal is that my clothing will sell in more stores, both in Canada and internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked how challenging it is to be a fashion designer in Vancouver, Jovani\u2019s succinct response encapsulates her determination and drive to succeed. \u201cIt\u2019s not about location, because everywhere in the world there is competition,\u201d she said. \u201cIn order to succeed, you need to work hard for what you love, be determined, and believe in yourself. If you don\u2019t take action, you don\u2019t get results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit Jovani\u2019s studio at Muckabout Gift Gallery, 4759 Hastings St., or make an appointment to see her by emailing info@yifatjovani.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/strong>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Designer Yifat Jovani (photo by Tim Matheson) Israeli designer Yifat Jovani sewed clothes for her Barbie doll as a child, but didn\u2019t launch her own fashion line for women until she moved to Vancouver 11 years ago. Love brought the mother of two to the city. She met her Canadian husband, Tim Matheson, in Tel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[6093,7274,7275],"class_list":["post-25247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-clothing","tag-womens-fashion","tag-yifat-jovani"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}