Pioneering fashion: A student’s story
Digital society is the first thing you might know about Estonia, especially with the numerous programs that provide education in the field, but only little exposure is given to material science and technology; even with its direct relation with entrepreneurship and digitalization; unlike many other universities, TalTech has a unique Master program in material science with 3 tracks of materials; wood textile and plastics, this is one of the reasons that made Liis decide to resume her graduate education to invent a sparkling business idea in the field of textile.
Liis, an Estonian born in Tallinn in 1985 then, went to Viimsi High school, started her fashion studies in Euro Academy in 2004 — it doesn’t exist anymore -, However, after a couple of years (2007) she decided to quit and go to Italy — Sardinia to seek the sun, to find new challenges and opportunities, and make new contacts. Although she loved the island, she struggled to find a good job related to fashion, especially without previous knowledge of the Italian language. At that point she knew that her travels were not yet over, so she chose another destination.
With some financial support from her family, Liis decided to go to London so she might find better opportunities within English speaking country. Via some connections already made back in Sardinia Liis found an exclusive job in a fine dining restaurant at a 5-star hotel in Mayfair. , soon after that, in 2009, she decided to continue her fashion studies at London College of Fashion at a 1-year program called Fashion Portfolio. The curricula gave her an overall knowledge and hands-on experience of how does fashion industry works from all aspects — from fashion marketing and operations, design development, organizing photo shoots, casting models to fashion journalism, and overall personal development.
This program energized her to seek more opportunities in the field of fashion, so right after, Liis met a Greek fashion designer Romina Karamanea, and agreed to do an internship for 3 months. The internship finished with presenting Romina’s new collection at London Fashion Week in 2011. According to Liis:
“I acted as her assistant for the show within the PR team, where my responsibilities included handling crowds outside the London Fashion Week venue. It was a tough experience, especially for someone who is quite shy and rather introverted. Keeping “often” crazy and noisy fashion crowd under control totally out of my comfort zone. I had to shout in English and seem very self-confident”
Although the internship gave her much confidence and valuable insights on how the fashion industry really works, Liis felt that it is time to go back to Estonia and take a moment to reflect on all the past events. Arriving in Estonia in 2012, she started working as an assistant producer at an animation studio and once again held on to her dreams in fashion. She comments:
“Coming back from the vibrant and eclectic fashion scenery in London to peaceful and monotone Estonia, created a bit of chaos in my thoughts. The image of a “real” fashion designer in my head was related to this exclusive and sparkling figure that I saw in London, however, it de-motivated me to pursue my dreams in Estonia. It is a paradox — I did come back to Estonia voluntarily. It is just that part of me missed my family and friends.”
In 2013 Liis decided to move again — this time to Marseille in France — to study the French language and get more experience with a new culture. Liis says that France was like a continuation to Italy, where she wasn’t able to learn the language and therefore integrate into local society. So, unlike Sardinia, she managed to stay in Marseille for more than 3 years, mastered the language, and got a job. She went back to Estonia in 2015.
Today, having finally pursued her career in fashion, Liis is proud of her vibrant work experience in such different industries in various countries, For instance, she has even worked for a very well-known Estonian electronic manufacturing company Enics AS as a purchasing specialist which is again totally different from fashion industry. She said: “It was really great to be part of the huge international supply chain and see the lean manufacturing from the purchasing perspective.”
While still working, Liis decided to enroll in a Higher Education program at Tallinn University of Applied Sciences TKTK. In Estonia, a degree in Higher Education has the same value as Bachelor’s, though its focus is more on professional practice. She graduated from the curricula Resource Management in the Field of Clothing and Textiles in 2020 during the pandemic.
”I had no idea about my thesis topic until I heard about this new material technology startup called Gelatex Technologies. Back in 2019, they were developing an alternative textile from gelatine to replace conventional leather and I was immediately intrigued by that. My thesis focused on material testing and comparing it with other similar textiles such as animal leather, artificial leather, pinatex, and cork. , For met was an eye-opening experience to material technology and innovation”
The thesis about Gelatex went on to win the “Best Thesis of Universities of Applied Sciences 2020” in Estonia. It was a powerful motivation, especially considering the bad grades back in high school. In the same year, she enrolled in MSc. In Textile Technology in TalTech and managed to get the highest submission points from all the applicants.
So how did you start iLLIMOR?
In 2020, simultaneously while studying at TalTech Liis has started her brand iLLIMOR The name of the brand refers to a small village in Tartumaa called Illi, which holds a very special place in her heart. After coming back from France, she moved to an old summer house in Illi with her partner and refurbished the whole place all by themselves. “I alone re-painted all the walls, ceilings and decorated the old furniture, putting really my soul into this project. Like I’ve put my soul into iLLIMOR”, says Liis. She never wanted to put her name on the brand, to keep the privacy and be able to keep the distance. iLLIMOR is registered as a European trademark, along with the original animal in the logo — an African wildebeest — that has a story itself; she even got a call from the registration officer who asked about a hundred questions about this animal as she had never heard of it before.
“In 2019 I traveled to Tanzania and was inspired by the natural parks and the ultimate freedom that those animals enjoyed, unlike in zoo. Back then I acknowledged how much I had been missing such freedom myself, having been buried under the everyday routine and 9 to 5 job. It is like a hidden message within my designs — a carefree feeling in sustainable clothing. For that, I use oeko-tex certified and cellulose-derived eco-friendly material Tencel instead of conventional virgin cotton Tencel has much more sustainable characteristics than cotton, with a patented closed-loop fiber manufacturing cycle and the fact that it is produced on-demand basis by a local textile factory.
One really good thing, before she founded iLLIMOR is that she joined the incubation program at Tartu Center for Creative Industries, which is an affiliate of Tallinn Incubation Center. The mentorship program helped her to take the very first steps towards building a successful company and put into contact with other industry professionals. For instance, they recommended her to sTARTUp Day 2022 team to design their main festival merchandise. Liis is a huge sTARTUp Day community fan herself, having visited the event herself back in 2021.
Regarding the support and know-how for being an entrepreneur Liis’s partner, Silver is — a self-employed photographer with a track record of building multiple companies from a scratch. Back in the years, Silver also participated in a mentorship program with EAS (Estonian business and innovation Agency), that helped him kickstart his own photography studio. For Liis, her partner’s experience has been a great help in launching her own brand.
What about Liis’s studies and what does her future look like?
Currently, as part of her thesis topic, Liis is trying to develop a new application from post-consumer textile waste that could be a solution for turning the clothing industry circular. She doesn’t want to disclose much information about it yet as perhaps one day her thesis idea will be patented.
“This idea has evolved from my own brand, especially with the global concern about textile waste. I am happy that TalTech has influenced me to seek solutions and that the textile building has provided me with the necessary means, e.g. machinery, to develop and test my theoretical ideas into practical applications.
Also, I am grateful that TalTech is very flexible with students’ everyday logistics. I am actually living in Tartu, but have to attend classes in Tallinn. So, at times, they have enabled me to have a bit different and more flexible time schedule as per students living in Tallinn.. I really feel the friendliness and support of my colleagues and tutors.”
Liis has a very optimistic vision for iLLIMOR, especially with the evolving B2B model for startups and merchandising for other businesses in general. Today, she is working hard to find ways to innovate and reproduce her own products. She is motivated to move forward with constructive partnerships and create fashion into a circular economy.
