Finding beauty in movement

OLGA LIVSHIN

Before 1991, the year Nina Altshuler emigrated from Russia to Israel, she was an obstetrician. After arriving in Israel, when her new land demanded change, she embraced a new dream. Carving out an outlet for her artistic yearnings, she decided to become a leotard maker. The move from doctor to artist took a lot of courage, a bit of luck and a penchant for self-discovery, allowing Altshuler to embrace her uncharted journey.

Altshuler might never have started in her new direction had she not immigrated. Like many immigrant women, she began her life in Israel as a domestic: she cleaned houses. Later, realizing that an Israeli career in medicine might never happen, she gave it up and started working as a real estate agent. Although she did well, her heart wasn’t in it. “I couldn’t lie to people,” she said, laughing. “If there was a problem with a house, I would point to it right away. I’m too honest for real estate.”

When her daughter, Lyuba, turned five and started her first rhythmic gymnastic lessons, Altshuler dived into the universe of leotards.

“I came to Lyuba’s first competition,” Altshuler recalled, “and saw five girls in uniform leotards. They looked boring, indistinguishable, like tin soldiers. It was terrible. I had to make them all personal costumes.” Altshuler designed original leotards for all the girls on her daughter’s team. From the beginning, her creations enjoyed huge success in Israel. One-of-a-kind and lovely, they invariably highlighted a wearer’s personality. And the workmanship was superb; the leotards lasted for at least two seasons, sometimes longer. Orders began pouring in, first from children and their mothers, and, later, from adult gymnasts.

After a friend helped her build a website, international orders began arriving: from the United States, France, Norway, Australia, Cyprus and Canada. Today, practically every high-level competition in rhythmic gymnastics around the world includes at least a few participants wearing a Nina Altshuler leotard.

Although her daughter stopped competing years ago, Altshuler keeps making leotards and it’s become a vocation. Her fantasy flourishes with the growing demand, and her designs have become more elaborate over the years. And she never repeats herself, unless a client specifically requests a certain pattern.

“I don’t make duplicates of the same costume for gymnasts from the same country,” she said. “I don’t want a girl to come to a competition and see someone else in her costume. If a client requests a repeat design, I might switch colors or flip the pattern from left to right to make it unrecognizable.”

She insists that a leotard should reflect a girl’s character, her appearance, her routine and music. “A Spanish motif requires a different leotard than ‘Havah Nagilah’ or ‘Kalinka,’” she said. “A tall, blond girl and a small, dark one shouldn’t have similar costumes.”

To see how her leotards perform, Altshuler watches the competitions on YouTube. “It’s important to learn how the lines behave,” she explained. “When a girl turns or jumps, the proportions change. I have to know.”

She also pays the utmost attention to the quality of her product: the thread, the needles, the stitches. She knows that, as sportswear, leotards must withstand heavy use. “I’m the only one who gives a 36-month guarantee to my leotards,” she said proudly.

Lately, the competition among leotard makers has become almost as fierce as that between the gymnasts, but the demand for Altshuler’s creations hasn’t slackened. She’s acquired a glowing reputation in the leotard world. “Some people even copy my designs without permission,” she noted. “The most impertinent phone me and ask how to make them, after they’ve seen them on my website. The nerve those copycats have!”

As do many artists, Altshuler dislikes sameness. “I had an order once for 32 identical costumes. It paid well but it was so depressing, just mechanical labor.... A leotard is like a painting. It has lines, composition, mood.”

The only exception to the “one-of-a-kind” rule is when she dresses a team. The Israeli team of five girls from Petach Tikvah, performing at the Miss Valentine Cup in Tartu, Estonia, in February 2011, all wore her leotards.

Currently, Altshuler’s website contains a collection of about 100 different leotards, but the artist’s fountain of whimsy hasn’t been exhausted. “I still have many unrealized sketches in my drawer,” she said. Everything sparks her imagination. A flower or a bird might suggest a new pattern. “I saw a construction crane once. It gave me such a wonderful idea for a leotard,” she said.

Sparkling with Swarovski crystals, sequins and shiny appliqués, Altshuler’s creations are definitely works of art. Although she is modest and doesn’t call herself an artist, she contributes to the world’s beauty: her leotards make her clients more beautiful.

To learn more, visit ninaalt.com (on Internet Explorer only).

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She’s available for contract work. Contact her at [email protected].

^TOP