Love For Lingerie:

Stephanie of Evgenia Lingerie

Behind Evgenia Lingerie, A San Francisco Brand Poised To Pre-Empt The High-End Lingerie Market, The Founder Stephanie Bodnar (FiSF Alumni) Works To Take Luxe To The Max And To Have More Inclusivity Realizing Daydream Designs, Offering A Full Range Of Sizes, Proving Once And For All That Everyone Deserves Gorgeous Lingerie. Stephanie Balances Craftmanship, Modernization And Beauty. Her Work Is Storytelling In Every New Piece. 

Over Recent Years, We’ve Seen Significant Advances Made In The Lingerie Business, Not Just In The Ways Women Are Buying, But In The Kinds Of Styles To Offer To Meet Match A Modern Woman’s Lifestyle. Evgenia Lingerie Made By A Woman For Women Help Them To Build Their Confidence And Buy For Themselves First Anticipating The New Decade Of Lingerie That Will Rule The Future!

What Goal Do You Set For Your Company Evgenia In 2020?

I’d Like To Plan More Sales Events And Continue To Reach New Customers Through Social Media Outreach. My New Website Has Brought A Bunch Of New Customers My Way, And I’d Like For That Trend To Continue, Obviously! By The End Of The Year I’d Like To Be Ready To Shoot Two New Ranges As Well.

Most Important Lesson You Learned For Your Business While Staying On The Program At The Incubator?

The Importance Of An Eloquent Brand Story. FiSF Really Helped Me Solidify My Branding Through Working On My Elevator Pitch, Logo, Business Plan, And Photography, And Now It’s Not Uncommon For Press Or Boutiques To Reach Out Thinking I’m Some Massive Company When I’m Really A One-Woman Operation. When I Came To FiSF, My Business Felt Very Hobby-Ish, If That Makes Sense. Now It Feels Fleshed-Out And Legitimate In A Way It Didn’t Before. Evgenia Would Absolutely Not Be Evgenia Without FiSF, And I’m Eternally Grateful For Their Help.

At What Stage Was Your Business Before Joining The Program, How Did Evgenia Evolve After You Left The Incubator?

I Came In With An Etsy-Based Business. I Had Been Making One-Of-A-Kind Lingerie Pieces From Vintage Laces And Old Silk Fabric, And Had Just Designed My First Reproducible Collection. After Joining FiSF, My Business Completely Transformed And My Collections Became Tighter, More Fashion-Forward, And More Marketable.

Do You Have Any Advice/Message For A Designer Starting Its Own Business?

Work For Someone Else First. Learn The Ropes Of Another Business Before You Start Your Own. The Unfortunate Part Of Being An Indie Designer Is That Most Of What You Do Day-To-Day Is Grunt Work: Bookkeeping, Paying Bills, Contacting Vendors, Inventory Tracking, Tracking Down Payments, Sewing, Etc. The Design Part Of My Business Comprises Maybe 1% Of My Time!

thank you Stephanie!

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Perfect Construction And Beautiful Fabrics, Evgenia Is An Inclusive Brand, We Saw In Your Campaign Models Proving Once And For All That Everyone Deserves Gorgeous Lingerie. What Are You Hoping To See More Of In 2020 For The Lingerie Industry?

Seeing More Inclusivity In The Industry Is So Exciting. There Are More Campaigns Than Ever Featuring Models Spanning A Range Of Ethnic Backgrounds, Gender Identities, And Sizes, Something I Never Saw When I Was Growing Up In The 80’S And 90’S. There’s Still Improvement To Be Made, So I’d Like To Work On Expanding Sizes And Representation In My Brand, And To See Other Brands Do The Same. Sustainability Has Been On My Mind A Lot Lately. While My Pieces Are Largely Made From Biodegradable Silk, There Are Components That Are Not Biodegradable And That’s Something I’d Eventually Like To Change As More Options Become Available. I See Some Brands Using Recycled Materials And Overstock Fabrics, Which Is A Great Move Toward Sustainability. More Than Anything Though, I Hope My Customers Buy Their Pieces With The Intention Of Holding On To Them For A While. The Truth Of The Matter Is That We All Should Be Buying Less, But Higher-Quality Goods.

What Are The Evgenia Trends For 2020? Where Did You Take The Inspiration From? Do You Have A Special Designs Coming Up For Valentine's? Can You Tell Us More About It?

I Don’t Really Follow Trends Anymore. In The Past I Found That Trend Books And Predictive Always Had Something That Could Work For My Brand’s Aesthetic, So It Wasn’t Hard To Make A Collection That Aligned With What Was “In Season” - None Of It Was A Reach, So I Never Felt Like I Was Actually Following Trends. What Sells Best For Me Is What Sells Best For All Lingerie Designers: Full Sets In Black, Red, And White! Rebelle Always Sells Well For Valentine’s Day, And Corsets Have Been Flying Off The Shelves In Preparation For V-Day This Year! I Do Have A New Range I’m Planning To Release This Summer Which Is Styled After A Edwardian Blouse I Own. It’s A Cotton Range (My First In Ages) In A Lovely Print With Lots Of Lace Accents.