Nurit Perla

I was born into a family of fashion designers.
I grew up in a Kibbutz in Israel, and my mother was the Kibbutz’ seamstress.
My two older sisters became fashion designers, one in Israel and the other in Amsterdam.  In many ways, they were my professional mentors.
At one point in my career, we even shared a business, which we called ”Three Sisters”.

Most people associate Israel with what they hear on the news, and are not aware of the bustling fashion and art scene there.
I think that being a cultural crossroad, as well as a society under constant pressure, brings a lot of creativity out of people.
It is an incredibly inspiring and competitive environment for a fashion designer, and I feel very fortunate having the opportunity to experience and work there.

When I started my professional journey, I did not want to compete with my sisters or step on any toes, so I focused on designing children’s clothes. It was around the time that my older daughter Talia was born, and what a delight it was to have her as an inspiration. Talia Designs is named after her...

Only later, I started to focus more on women’s designs.
Upon arriving to Vancouver in 2003, it became my only focus. I quickly realized that there is a great need for the kind of clothes I design. They are meant for women who want to look chic but not too conservative, who prefer a unique and funky twist.
It is a tremendously gratifying experience to have a new client in my studio trying on new designs and being delighted with a whole new look. Having many clients returning to my studio again and again is very rewarding.

Often, fashion designers would match fabrics and accessories to a design they have in mind.
I have found that for me, it is usually the other way around.
I get my ideas from the fabrics. Seeing and sensing them is my primary source of inspiration.  I spend much time searching for fabrics (mainly in Vancouver, Montreal, New York and also in Europe and Israel).
After designing and making the first sample, I start the process of working on the small details that add the final touch to the design: Matching buttons (some of them I make in my studio), adding stitches and patches. I keep a big collection of fabrics and buttons in my studio and enjoy playing with them.

The process of creating a new design is always surprising and unexpected. Sometimes it takes days and weeks until I can come up with a final product and sometimes, in a sudden burst of inspiration, it takes only a few hours.
Usually, I do not think of a design in isolation. Rather, I try imagining how it would look with other designs I have made or other clothes (jeans, leggings etc.). I try to design clothes one could wear in layers: I believe it is very practical for our climate and also provides endless opportunities to wear the same clothes in different combinations.

I would like real women to wear my clothes, so I do not design with models in my mind.

I would describe my designs as funky-chic. They are both casual and elegant. I tend to choose clean, asymmetrical lines which make it fun to mix, match and combine pieces for unlimited wardrobe possibilities.

These days, I keep a foot on both sides of the Atlantic, working out of my home studios in Vancouver BC and in Israel.