Ioana Emilia Urcan alias Ioana Modista is one of the Romanian leading designers, awarded in 2018 as the 2nd runner up at the World Fashion Festival Awards in Dubai for the category BEST Collection with a stunning collection of haute couture dedicated to strong and bold women and another one dedicated to children of all ages.
After her launch in Dubai, she returned back home to her Atelier, full of high dreams and goals. This is how her project WIP Academy came to life, dedicating her full time and passion to mentoring and inspiring young talented children heading the career of fashion design.
Tell us about how the WIP Model Academy project started.
After winning at WFFA in 2018, I returned to Romania with my dream come true, so I wanted to set another goal and to open a Fashion Academy for Kids, a professional academy where I can empower the little children to become fashion designers starting from the age of 6 and to guide them to a future career organizing: drawing courses, fashion design courses, photo-shooting sessions and launches of collections.
Ioana with the President of Romania – Klaus Johannis
What can WIP Model Academy offer?
The most important contest (and the only one!) in Romania is the Fashion International Kids designers and Miss Mister Wip Model Academy by Ioana I & B where children have the opportunity to launch their own fashion designs and creations. The talented winners of this competition will then be featured at WFFA in Dubai where they will participate to represent Romania internationally.
How would you describe yourself?
My characterization is very simple – I am a simple woman with a great soul who adores what I do, I adore children and everything that makes them happy – that’s why I chose to work with children having in the Academy 60 beautiful smart children that I will help them to climb up their fashion paths and careers, becoming professionals from an early age!
What makes you motivated?
Children are my inspiration, they practically fill you with positive energy, with colorful cheerful inspiration! There are angels on the ground who deserve everything!
What are the next plans of the Academy?
The aim of the Academy is to develop as many fashion designers and models as possible and to give them full support their launch on the market! Let’s continue to promote kids, talented beautiful children that have not been discovered so far! Children to proudly represent Romania in all competitions! We have children from Bucharest, Sibiu, Tg. Mures, Cluj Napoca etc. who attend intensive classes! Practically, the headquarters and children’s capital of Fashion Designers is in Alba Iulia – the city in the heart of Romania where children meet to create a future from 3 to 16 years of age! God be with us to grow them nicely, to enjoy all our releases of future projects, to have as much experience to be known in Dubai as an Academy of Angels who want to conquer a whole world! Dubai is going to be our eternal soul!
What’s the future event of the Academy?
The Academy, after a year and a half of its opening, has progressed enormously through a lot of work through many sacrifices having competitions across the country with maximum success, with wonderful children, with talented children who are progressing every day, being optimistic in what I do!
The best children will have the opportunity to participate in the biggest festival in the Middle East – WFFA Dubai 2019 (in Oct, at the Sofitel the Palm Dubai)!
Big thanks to the organizers of WFFA for the warmth and support they’ve given! The most talented children of Romania – Wip Model Academy by Ioana I & B will launch their collections on the highest ramp of Dubai on October 4-5 2019 in the heart of Dubai (on the palm!) I am very proud we reached so far and as an international Fashion Designer and Creative Director of Wip Model Academy by Ioana I & B, I am very optimistic that our roads will head higher with these wonderful talented children. As Henry Ward Beecher said (and I truly believe in!) “Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven”.
