The Power of YOSOY

When Luciana Tiktin arrived in D.C. last summer she came with a dream to start her own fashion co-operative, she just didn’t realize it would happen so fast.

Yesterday, Saturday, April 5, D.C. welcomed its first designer showroom featuring local fashion and jewelry designers as well as oeuvres by musicians and artists. DEKKA, which stands for DC Area Fashion Art Music, is Titkin’s love child, second of course to her toddler son. The location’s second floor space on 13th and U Street features nine designers who pay a monthly rental fee. Nearly 90 designers applied within the first month of Tiktin’s advertisement.

“DEKKA is about working with creative minds and to help ignite that creative process,” Tiktin says.

Tiktin’s own creative process began after working for retail giant Stone Island in her native Buenos Aires, Argentina. Luciana left her home for Miami where she studied Fashion Design at the International Fine Arts College. From, she traveled the globe and ultimately returned to Miami to work as a professional wardrobe stylist for Eduardo Berastegui and agency photographers. Her experiences culiminated in the creation of her own label, YOSOY, in 2001.

YOSOY embodies the nature of movement – propelling you in the future with a bit of edge. One must be bold to wear YOSOY, the label means I AM after all. Making a presence or rather acknowledging your power exudes from the sultry dresses and tops not to be worn at home on a Saturday night.

And D.C. women are all about the power of I AM.

“I have women buying my dresses to wear out to the clubs who you never thought would wear them from by looking at their day clothes,” Tiktin says. “D.C. does have a reputation for being conservative, but that is not true for an evening look.”

While the D.C. market is still playing catch up to YOSOY, other major cities such as Miami, New York and Buenos Aires have embraced the label.

Tiktin is optimistic about her future in D.C., citing the environmental perspective of buy local as the key to keeping her business, as well as other local designers.

“Some bridges need to be built to bring local buyers and local designers together,” Tiktin says. “But most importantly, local designers need to network within the fashion community.”

It was evident that Tiktin’s wish came true.