Meet Zeliha Xára

Zeliha Xára is a brand new swimwear brand launching today, Sunday June 28th. Her first collection is inspired by a hot Italian summer in Positano. We got the chance to do a phone interview with the young designer to talk about inspiration, what the brand is about and how the current global pandemic affected her creative process.

What is the Zeliha Xara?

I want my buyers to envision themselves in their own personal paradise — I want to transport them to a different place, to put them in a different mood. More specifically, my inspiration for this collection was derived from a hot, Italian summer — the dreamlike state that comes with being sticky with sweat and a little tipsy off an aperol spritz near a rocky beach in Positano.

What was the inspiration for your first collection?

My first instinct when I’m designing is to always begin with a woman’s figure. I want to create something to compliment the female body in a way in which she wears the piece, the piece doesn’t wear her. I picked earth toned colors to compliment every skin tone and reflect the simplicity of a provincial summer. I want the women who wear my pieces to feel comfortable in their bodies, and most importantly, to not just wear my work but to allow themselves to embody the mood behind it. One of my biggest inspirations coming into this collection was the designer Jaquemus. Its always been evident in his collections that he has this unique capability as an artist of recognizing the beauty in the subtle intricacies of life. I aspire to be like him in that sense, to be able to translate my perception of the world around me into art and poetry. I feel like once you start to do that, you begin to wake up with a different attitude, with so much more love in your heart to pour into others. I want my pieces to represent/capture a feeling outside of just a look – its more than just a piece, it represents an entire story and a multitude of sensations.

How did the current global pandemic affected your creative process?

The CoVid pandemic has had its inevitable effect my business. It has affected by ability to do shoots and to work with models along with hindering my ability to acquire materials in stores. I had to do a lot of quick thinking, finding alternatives such as ordering materials online only to wait weeks on end for packages to arrive. All of these events have delayed the production of the pieces and therefore the launch of the collection itself. On the bright side, being in quarantine, particularly at the start of the pandemic, allowed me to free myself from the restraints of having a regularized every day schedule. This allowed me to dedicate myself to working night and day, often going without sleeping, in perfecting my designs. I have had a lot of time to myself, to reflect and really focus on my brand. I believe, in the long run, the pandemic might have worked to help me more than to hinder me. I don’t think I would be as satisfied with how the collection turned out if it weren’t for those day in solitude where I was able to unleash my creativity without restrictions or distractions.