Fashion designer from Eastern Europe donates Bible-inspired gowns to Liberty, uses designs to inspire students

A fashion designer with a compelling testimony of pursuing God’s calling despite growing up in a culture that did not support the Christian faith has shared both her work and her story with students in Liberty University’s Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) Department.

Aleona Isakova grew up in Latvia when it was under Soviet Union rule and didn’t hear about Christianity until the age of 12. After reading a library book that mentioned the Bible, she asked both the librarian and her father what the Bible was and where she could read it. They scolded her and told her never to ask about it or even mention the Bible again.

As a teenager, Isakova developed a passion and talent for fashion design, and she held her first exhibition at 14 years old. By her 20s, she was married and owned her own shop in Moscow, making a name for herself in the city’s fashion community.

It wasn’t until 1991, when the Soviet Union had fallen and Christianity was less suppressed, that she first heard the Gospel. She attended a large youth conference in Moscow and listened to a message from an American missionary named Bob Weiner.

“God touched my heart there, and I opened it for Jesus, and everything was changed in my life,” she said.

With this new belief, Isakova’s view on the fashion industry changed, too, and she soon saw her work and her faith as being contradictory. She saw how fashion’s tendency toward pride and “lust of the eyes and heart” — the opposite of what God calls of His people, so Isakova closed her shop that same year.

But the following year, Isakova said she had a vision from God of how He could use her gifts as a designer: to create a collection of haute couture gowns with designs that reflected themes and/or stories from the Bible.

“Like a movie, kind of like a trance, I saw all of these dresses in the collection, and it was so beautiful,” she recalled. “I knew it was by God, and I knew it was His (calling) for my life that I make them.”

Trusting God to provide the fine fabrics for the project when she had little income, Isakova joined a Christian friend and they started their own high-fashion company in 1992.

“We can have nothing, but if we are obedient to Him, we can do everything,” Isakova said. “Whenever I talk to students, I tell them to take their little steps toward what they feel God is calling them to because we never know what God is going to do.”

God provided and connected her with fellow believers who wanted to support her vision. After five years of work, she created the “Olive Tree in the Garden of God” collection, a nine-part collection of 54 gowns in addition to skirts, jewelry, hats, scarves, and other items. The nine sections are titled “Genesis,” “Garden of Eden,” “Annunciation,” “Birth of Christ,” “Beatitudes,” “Song of Solomon,” “Crucifixion,” “Blood of Jesus,” and “Resurrection.” The appraised value of the collection is $362,000.

“I know it’s just fabric, I know it’s just clothes, but for me it was a blessing from God and a way for me to share God with others,” she said. “It was a blessing from God, and I get to share God with people because of it. It is a dream come true.”

Isakova created a website, BeautyByGod.com, with details about the collection and a blog that explains her philosophy that pairs fashion with faith. She is also developing a catalogue of her work.

She has displayed the collection at museums, galleries, and events around the world in places like Israel, Wales, England, Australia, and more. In 2011, Isakova and her late husband, Sergei, moved from Moscow to Washington, D.C., and later to her current home in Crozet, Va. When she moved to America, Isakova wanted to donate her collection to a Christian university that had a fashion department, which she said was quite rare.

“Universities are the basis of culture because they hold the future generations for a country, and having that future be Christian is so important to me,” she said. “Liberty is Bible-based and focused on God, while so many universities today are not. Liberty University gives the younger generation a solid Biblical foundation for a successful life, work, and ministry.”

Isakova connected with Liberty’s FACS department chair, Janet Brown, at the department’s fashion show last spring and shared both her testimony and desire to share her work with fashion design students. In 2022, Isakova donated her collection of 54 gowns to Liberty’s fashion department.

“She came into my office and said she’s been praying for just the right place to donate her collection,” Brown said. “She has such a heart for God and for students. She said she loves fashion, but it’s not about fashion, it’s about sharing God’s creation through fashion. When she said she wanted to donate her collection to Liberty’s fashion department, I was taken aback because I knew how much it meant to her.”

“She wants this collection to represent Christ, be all about the Gospel, and be an avenue to share Christ in fashion, which is an industry that is so focused on money, fame, darkness, and other things,” added fashion professor Kim Cashman. “These items represent parts of the Bible and can share a story and be a message to the world.”

A high-end display is currently in the works in the FACS area of DeMoss Hall, which will exhibit a few gowns at a time and cycle through the entire collection over time.

Isakova has also invested her time in students by leading workshops and being a guest speaker in classes.

“I really look forward to speaking with students each time,” Isakova added. “I want to share all of my knowledge and all of my experiences, and I want to tell this new generation of designers that God has a special future for them.”

On March 29, Isakova was one of the judges for the department’s U of NYFW contest in which students compete for a sponsored trip to New York Fashion Week. She will also be a judge for the 17th Annual FACS Fashion Show, “Fashion Speaks,” on April 15. Garments for the show are designed, constructed, and modeled by Liberty students. Garments are judged by professionals in the fashion industry and awards are given to category winners including Best of Show and first, second, and third place. The purpose of the show is to provide real-world design experience and portfolio pieces that are vital for employment in the fashion industry.