The LAFASHION Spring

LA DESIGNERS
dance into fashion
Ballroom champion Suzanne Sapperstein, sashays her
way from parquet to the runway with Essera.88
PHOTOGRAPHED BY MATTHEW MITCHELL
STYLED BY TALIA M C ILWAIN
LINUS PETTERSSON RETOUCHING
In 2008, Swedish born Suzanne Saperstein put on her first pair of ballroom dance shoes
and set her goal to become nothing less than the world champion of Latin ProAm. Upon
discovering that the best dance coach in the world, Norwegian born Espen Salberg, had
retired to Bali, and only still coached a few select champions in the world, Suzanne packed
up her things and then Russian dance partner and flew across the
world. Suzanne’s enthusiasm to practice and perfect her routine under
the tutelage of such a legendary coach left her feeling more driven
than ever.
Besides being a world-class dance coach, Espen also worked as a
fashion designer, drawing his inspiration from his time in the professional
dance world. A short time after arriving in Bali, Suzanne attended
Espen’s black tie birthday, and Espen generously offered one of his
gowns to Suzanne for the evening. As fate would have it, the Scandinavian
due would go on to produce women’s evening wear line, Essera88,
and a world champion trophy only eighteen months later.
Soon after, another twist of fate fortuitously brought Suzanne,
who was wearing one of Espen’s designs, face to face with Marigay
McKee, CMO at Harrods Department Store in London. As Suzanne
had become a fixture in the world of couture, Marigay was keen to
know which designer she was wearing. Although Marigay had not
come across Espen’s line before, she was drawn to Suzanne’s passion for
the talented designer and saw an opportunity to challenge the duo to
put together an exclusive collection for Harrods. Espen and Suzanne
jumped at the exciting opportunity and together they overcame the
fifteen-hour time difference with sleepless nights and endless phone
Suzanne Saperstein
conversations. Espen explains, “We wanted to appeal to modern women
that work, travel, and do not want to spend a fortune on a dress but still look and feel great.”
All of the designs are unique in their beauty, yet also in that they do not wrinkle and are
machine washable. Suzanne clarifies, “You can throw them in your bag going to work, and
take them out when happy hour or dinner time comes around and still look amazing.”
Both Espen and Suzanne agree that Essera88 is about making today’s lifestyle easier for