Ilonka S.P. [ ee-laun-kah ] - Was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. As a young girl, she grew up in an environment that fostered artistic exploration. Her mother and grandmother, both Hungarian immigrants, owned a furrier and were a strong influence in her formative years when she became acquainted with sewing machines, fur, fabrics, and a plethora of possibilities. As a teenager, she had a great interest in art, especially oil painting. Having been taught how to make her own clothes and being able to draw and paint, she began to sketch and make her own clothes from scratch, amazing and impressing her schoolmates. Later, she would continue to focus on fashion design, successfully completing a degree in fashion and flat pattern design, after getting a scholarship in INACAP INSTITUTE, Chile.
After moving to Austin, she was re-invigorated by the fashion freedom and artistic atmosphere all around. She has since been actively involved with the local fashion community since 2011, creating pieces for Austin Fashion Week and even showing a whole new collection in 2013, 2014 and 2015, all while creating original bridal wear and costumes. She has created a wide variety of original jewelry and clothing, including bridal design, haute couture, and ready-to-wear garments. She considers herself fortunate to work with several exclusive clients in town, providing custom designs, while also contributing to the community by participating in many charitable fashion events, including ART BRA, the signature fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin (BCRC). She also has contributed with a couple of original pieces for ART BRA, to be auctioned and donated.
Ilonka served as the art director and hostess for the first Cycle Chic Fashion Show in Austin sponsored by Capital Metro and BikeTexas.org. during October of 2014. She started teaching at ASFD - Austin School of Fashion Design at the end of 2014 until the present. Now she's extremely excited to announce, she's the new owner of the school.