Today we’d like to introduce you to Svitlana Zralko.
Hi Svitlana, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My name is Svitlana Zralko, I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Sevastopol, Ukraine. But in 2022, our world was shattered by the war, and we decided to leave. My husband, two children, and I came to the United States in 2022 through the U4U program. We now live in Austin and are building our new life.
I am a certified stage costume designer and professional bellydance artist with over 22 years of experience. Since 2003, I have created more than 1,000 unique, handcrafted costumes and accessories, developed my own artistic brand ZRALKO DANCE DESIGN, and earned global recognition for my contributions to the stage fashion and performance industry.
In 2005, I graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University. Although my academic background is not directly related to fashion design, I began creating costumes in 2003 as a personal passion — which quickly transformed into a professional calling.
For over a decade, I taught myself tailoring, construction, embellishment, and decorative techniques while working directly with dancers and performers. In 2017, I completed an official professional retraining program in stage costume design, which provided formal recognition of the skills I had already developed in practice.
Since then, I have continued to expand my professional activities:
I have founded a recognized brand, created a line of costume accessories, published instructional materials, and regularly teach master classes — both online and at in-person dance festivals in the United States.
I work with clients from all over the world — confidently and effectively managing remote custom orders. My costumes and accessories are worn by dancers and performers in the USA, Canada, Peru, Israel, China, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, and many other countries.
Alongside my costumes, I have created a signature line of stage jewelry: earrings, necklaces, belts, bracelets, and headpieces. These pieces are handcrafted using proprietary techniques and are highly valued for their durability, beauty, and harmony with my costume designs.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To succeed in your favorite field, you need to work hard, study, and gain experience. I’ve always been passionate about creating beautiful costumes for dancers! It was important to me that clients trusted me and my taste. Bellydance is a very popular dance style worldwide, and I needed to prove myself. I decided to participate in design competitions, but there were practically no such specialized competitions. However, I did manage to find one, a very prestigious one. The Russian forum www.beledi.ru had been holding monthly and annual votes for the best costume for several years. The forum brought together thousands of subscribers from all over the former CIS, Europe, and even the USA. It was there that I first distinguished myself as a designer, and in 2015, I won the annual vote and became “Best Couturier of 2015.” I also dreamed of getting a specialized education, and I succeeded in 2017. I received a certificate in “Fashion Design. Fashion Designer.” I also had a passionate dream of traveling to other countries and sharing my experiences with dancers. And in 2017, I visited several European countries, where my costume fashion shows were held.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In addition to being a costume designer, I also design jewelry. I have my own line of jewelry for dancers. My husband and I developed our own unique technology and are successfully promoting it. I currently collaborate with several studios and ateliers in the United States. I am constantly creating new pieces for dancers, including bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other accessories.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Oh, what a touching question!))) I’ve been obsessed with sewing since I was about 7 years old. My beloved mother taught me how to sew, and she was always amazed at my imagination and told me I’d become a seamstress. I hand-sewed all kinds of clothes for my dolls and loved rummaging through my bag of fabric scraps. I sewed intuitively by hand, and I was always pretty good at getting the sizes right.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.designer.zralko.com
- Instagram: @zralko.costume
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/svetlana.zralko
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/@svetlana_zralko
- Other: https://zralkodancedesign.etsy.com/ and https://zralko.com/
Image Credits
Photographers:
Alena Brovchenko
Armina Arustamova
Svitlana Zralkoо
