OLIaN ®
lili’s quest to enter the fashion industry began early in her formative teenage years. Living in sunny South Florida, where showing off the latest trends is a “must”, lili often negotiated endlessly with her parents to buy her latest fashion pieces. Not always being able to meet her wishes, her parents decided to take advantage of her fashion interest and chose to strike a deal with their young & persistent daughter - in the hopes of channeling her endless energy. They agreed to buy for her whatever fabrics she wanted, but she would in turn have to design and construct the pieces herself. While mightily challenged at first, lili compensated her initial shortcomings with instinctive creativity and youthful perseverance. It was not too long before lili’s efforts paid off and she was able to work the skillful nuances of fit and color combinations. By the age of 22, she graduated with a degree in Fashion Merchandising and to this day, credits her parent’s challenge as the overriding reason for her success in this very beautiful but demanding industry.
Soon after graduating, lili married her husband and soon enough found herself very pregnant – with nothing fashionable to wear. This dilemma prompted lili, to set the foundation for her first business venture, Olian Maternity. At first, like many new designers initially experience, times were tough. lili fondly remembers how she literally started cutting her first designs on the floor of her parent’s home. A lot has happened since, and today, 22 years later, Olian ranks among the top privately owned maternity fashion houses in the industry.
With the success of her first venture clearly behind her, lili decided that it was time to enter the ready-to-wear market and launched her own young contemporary collection into this very competitive space.