This week, we chat with Yulia Blower, the Co-Founder of an athleisure and loungewear brand, Conscious Citizen.
Welcome to the Emirates Woman weekly series ‘How I got my job as…’ where we speak to some incredible entrepreneurs and businesswomen both based in the UAE and globally to find out about their career paths that led them to where they are now; what their daily routines look like; the advice they’d give to those starting out; and the hurdles they’ve had to overcome.
To delve into her journey as an entrepreneur, Emirates Woman, spoke to Blower to see how it all began.
What was your favourite subject at school?
History, Classic Civilisation, English Writing – I found (and still find) history fascinating, in particular ancient history. It was the story telling that I loved, but, story telling about things, people, events that were real and understanding them. I still very rarely read fiction. So then I guess it makes sense that I also loved English writing as that’s where I felt I could get creative and tell stories myself.
What was your first job?
I started my working life as a model. An experience that in retrospect I will always be grateful for. It built my confidence in social skills. I was very shy and quite an introvert when I was young. Later on I moved to the UK from Russia with my mum when I was seven years old and generally was just trying to fit in so I had friends, but I never really felt like I did fit in and modelling really changed that for me as everyone was so different. I travelled all over the world on my own from a really young age. Any destination or job I got to I didn’t know anyone to begin with and I had to make it work. I was always with different people in different countries working, and that experience really helped me understand how to connect with people and what birthed my love and interest in working with people.
What brought you to Dubai.
I have travelled to Dubai quite a bit to work for many years. With a myriad of clients who I work with on wardrobe styling as brand partners, this always expands my horizon as an entrepreneur. With a big cultural shift towards creativity and wellness, the energy of the city always motivates me with many incredibly talented people in the region. Dubai feels like it’s quickly becoming the central global hub.
View this post on Instagram
What led you to launch your own brand?
For me it all comes from wanting to help people feel good. That’s what inspired me to move from the magazine, editorial world into personal shopping and personal styling. My co-founder and me launched it then as we wanted to create something that would make people feel good and unite people at a time where we all felt isolated. We wanted to create a sense of community, as we both are big believers of collaboration and togetherness. At Conscious Citizen our mission is to positively shift consumer mindsets and make people feel good. We create high quality, timeless, wardrobe essentials that last, make you feel good when you’re wearing them and transcend seasons and trends. We want to create pieces that you will always reach for and want to wear. One of the best compliments I receive is when people tell me “I wear my tracksuit, sweatshirt, T-shirt and cap, all the time!”
Everything is created in a set or a look and when we add colours or different styles we consider how that new colour or item can work with everything else in our collections so that our clients can mix and match their pieces and don’t have to think about what they can wear our items with, taking the stress out of dressing. We want people to wear our items time and time again. It’s beautiful to love your clothes and re-wear them, you can really show your sense of style when you can wear one item in multiple different ways on various occasions. As a stylist and personal shopper, I always worked to create a capsule wardrobe for my clients and ensure that they are investing in items they really love, that work for their lifestyle and go with other items in their wardrobes, so the concept of the brand really comes from my core.
What are the key elements of your role?
With Conscious Citizen, my focus is on vision and brand growth. As a Consultant, I help brands and businesses connect with their clients by understanding their vision as well as their core value to clients, and identify their ideal audience. My role is to connect the dots—enhancing the value they provide, strengthening client loyalty, and expanding their customer base. For my styling clients, it’s about understanding their unique style and lifestyle, making getting dressed effortless. I help bring clarity to their wardrobe by detoxing pieces that no longer align with their style or needs, while reimagining existing favorites with a fresh, current perspective. The goal is to simplify their daily style while maximising the potential of what they already own.
What advice do you have for anyone looking to follow in the same footsteps?
Focus on building and nurturing authentic relationships, they will be your most valuable tool beyond any experience you can gain and you never know who’s help you are going to need along the way or who you might come across again somewhere. I’m putting a big emphasis on the word authentic with this. Don’t fake it or force something, most people can see through that.
Tell us more about the products.
At Conscious Citizen, our goal is to create high-quality, timeless, and seasonless pieces that people love to wear again and again. We believe in slowing down fashion consumption and embracing the beauty of re-wearing your clothes and truly owning your style. By investing in well-made, high quality items, you don’t need to chase trends—your wardrobe evolves with you. Our commitment to sustainability progress is woven into every detail, from using natural and recycled fabrics to partnering with family-run manufacturers, ensuring authenticity and quality in every piece. Through wardrobe styling and consulting, I help clients refine their style, simplify dressing, and bring visibility to their wardrobe for effortless confidence. In my work with brands and luxury businesses, I focus on aligning them with their core values, deepening client connections, executing training and implementing strategies that enhance service, client retention, and growth.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
My Dad once said, “Find what you enjoy doing and then find a way to make a living from it.”
What is the biggest challenge you have had to overcome?
Honestly, myself! I have put a lot of work into myself over the last few years, and it’s been quite a journey. Once you open that can of worms it doesn’t close again, so everyone has to be pretty prepared for some hard truths and realisations, but overall, it’s worth it. I still have a long way to go, so I’m not done learning. I believe none of us are ever, but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come, and I always want to support those who choose this path of self discovery.
What is ahead for the brand?
This year at Conscious Citizen our focus is on building our community and giving back the tools and experiences that support being a Conscious Citizen. We are focusing deeper on Wellness which is a space we very naturally align with as a brand, we will be hosting and collaborating on a series of events. Of course, we will continue to evolve our product range and bring back some favourite limited drops. Watch this space.
– For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
Images: Supplied
