Spotlight on: Irina Simeonova

Irina Simeonova, the dedicated founder of New England Fashion and Design Association, is a true culmination of self-made success and brave business ventures. Hailing from Bulgaria, Irina knew from the start that fashion was the natural path for her ambition. Since a child, Irina loved to sew. She cultivated the skills in a self taught form, and found an avenue to practice these skills after being appointed head designer of Rila Style at 19. She was celebrated as the feature designer on the 25th anniversary of the company, a worldwide recognition that gave Irina the momentum to move to America in 1991. Within two weeks of her shift, Irina was hired by eccentric fashion designer Mary McFadden. Later, Ms. Simeonova launched her own textile company. The venture was a resounding success. Irina notes that it was an “easy and cheap way to start a business”, but this didn’t stop designers from flocking to Ms. Simeonova for her extraordinary textiles. Her big break came after winning the United Nations’ International Design Competition. The designer opened for the Assembly Season with a show under her own name and went on to participate in New York Fashion Week. Irina’s designs were seen plastered throughout French Television, but her fashion calling soon changed form.

When asked what Irina could offer a student, her answer is confident and comes with ease: “I am fashion. And I am the class. I am the business. I’m it.”

It’s no wonder why the entrepreneur is so certain of her qualifications. Irina was offered a prestigious position to teach at Parson’s School of Design, where she has frequently graduated a designer of the year and still remains. However, Irina’s insatiable thirst to teach led her to additionally start New England Fashion and Design Association. After realizing nothing in Connecticut catered to the need for trend, Irina found herself at the top of the pyramid. “They found out I teach,” she notes, “and it’s just grown from there.”

Ms. Simeonova’s education in fashion is noteworthy. She teaches the ABC’s of design, sewing, and draping- not to mention the valuable business aspects of the fashion world. However, to say Irina approaches teaching in an unconventional way is an understatement. She strives not to create employees or even CEOs, but thinkers. A self-made success story, Irina wants students to get the chance to create their own fortune doing what they love. The tenacious teacher is convinced her lessons are the best route to this: "You just need to be brave. And bravery only comes by knowing things. If you know how, you will be brave, because it will be clear how to get where you want to be.”

To Irina, fashion has no limits. It’s everything- it took her from Bulgaria to America and will continue to take her dreams as far as she’ll ride them. Her passion for the industry after all these years has yet to fade, and she highly suggests it for those with the heart:

"I think that it's one of the most sophisticated professions. It relates to people on a psychological level. It has construction, where you need to actually build things and work with the human body. It's engineering. Fashion is almost a wonderful fantasy. You're in this fantastic world that you're creating and if it’s successful people want to live in it. So it's a way of talking and interacting with the world on so many levels, that you can only compare it to love."