Moka Atelier

Zalia Ribau never intended to become a fashion designer. Instead, it was her high school ceramics teacher, who thought that Zalia’s pottery looked like gowns, that pushed her to enroll in Sheridan’s Fashion Design program. However, she didn’t put her training to use until years later, when her own son was two in 1979. At that point in time she began designing children’s wear and released a line of sportswear for boys under the name Moka Collection.

“The boys’ wear line sold like hotcakes everywhere. I couldn’t keep enough,” Zalia recalls.

After Zalia had her daughter, the little girl was a source of inspiration to expand her collection to girls’ wear, which would lead her to later tap into a niche that she didn’t know existed: flower girl dresses.

“We do flower girls, but very unusual flower girls,” says Zalia. It’s not just the designs that set the clothing apart — it’s the fabric. Sourced from European mills, the lustrous colours and high-quality materials aren’t typically found in children’s collections.

“I try to choose unusual fabric,” explains Zalia. “I don’t necessarily inhibit myself from any large florals or large prints. When I see the fabric, if I like it, I buy it. It has to say something as to the feeling that I’m trying to get across.”

The result has been demand from all over the world for her unique dresses. They’ve been in weddings in places as far from the Toronto shop as Israel, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. And that’s not the only place her clothing has appeared; Zalia’s designs have been featured in Italian Vogue and in movies such as Angel Eyes and John Hughes’ 1991 film Curly Sue.