Bust a Move

Photos by Julie Pavlowski

Willie Mrasek is a breast man. You could say he’s obsessed with décolletage. It would be hard not to be when women are flashing him all the time — often within minutes of meeting him. In fact, he’s probably seen more boobs than Hugh Hefner, although Mrasek prefers ’em natural. And in Felina Lingerie, where he’s the vice president of administration.

“I call myself ‘Cruise Director,’” says Mrasek, who does a bit of everything, from design and marketing to fittings and photo sessions. His office is in a constant state of colorful uproar: fit models wandering in, fabric swatches everywhere, bra prototypes, sketches, photos torn from fashion magazines, lingerie catalogs, the forever-ringing phone. Yet sitting at his spray-painted, silver polka-dotted desk, he is one serene dude as he puts the finishing touches on pieces for summer 2004 — to the songs of Yma Sumac, no less.

Christina (left) is in a Jezebel stretch jacquard-lace Princess collection lightly lined and Ellen is wearing a semi-demi embroidered Victoria collection underwire.

“I’m bringing back Day-Glo,” he notes, lovingly contemplating a piece of neon-pink Chantilly lace. “It’s all about tropical brights, crochets, appliqués. It takes at least six months for a design to be finalized — and that’s one bra. We begin with figuring out the trends for next year’s ready-to-wear, so we can see what silhouettes are needed — demi-cup, balconette, strapless, push-up. We design our laces, pattern drafts have to go back and forth, and get approved for color and fit. We adjust pieces to make sure that a design for, say, a 34B will also look good on a 40DD.”

Looking more like a punked-out escapee from West Side Storythan your average ragman, Mrasek, who’s from San Francisco, got into the business by accident. He came to L.A. in 1983, and worked for various clothing companies while moonlighting as a hairdresser, styling everyone from the Go-Go’s to L7, Exene, White Zombie and Margaret Cho. After a stint at the intimate-apparel company Jezebel, Mrasek realized he wanted to devote his life to lingerie: He was fascinated by the history, the patterns, the technology and the beauty of the bra.

Christina (left) is wearing a demi- contour in stretch lace from the Sarah collection; Ellen is in an Alexa collection demi-contour with stretch embroidery.

Eventually Mrasek went to work for the Chatsworth-based Felina (which recently bought Jezebel, although it retains its name), where he was encouraged to put his talents to use. He’s the trend spotter, and the customer-relations whiz who talks to women, finding out what they like or don’t like about brassieres. Then he translates this information into designs.

“Do you know that most women don’t know their own bra size?” he asks incredulously. “They think they hate wearing bras, but it’s because they are wearing one that doesn’t fit. I got a call from a nun once. She was condemning me for making ‘unnatural’ garments. I calmed her down, told her she was probably wearing the wrong size, told her how to measure herself, and then sent her a care package.”

Felina’s unmentionables have been seen on Sex and the Cityand Will & Graceas well as on rock stars Gwen Stefani and Siouxsie Sioux, who recently rocked one of Mrasek’s custom creations, encrusted with over 1,200 Swarovski crystals, on a CD cover.

Ellen wears a red Jezebel Desiree demi-underwire with embroidery and bead ribbon.

“Most people don’t know what goes into making a bra,” says Mrasek. “A pair of pants? Three to five materials. Fabric, thread, findings — that’s about it. A bra takes 15 to 25. There’s straps, underwire channels, different types of elastic, wire casings, rings and slides, stabilizers, pads, pad-liners, hooks, plush liner for the cups — not to mention laces, ribbons, embroidery. And all this has to be dyed to match. It’s all about fashion, fit and function. The bras have to looklavish and frothy, but they must do what they’re supposedto — add cleavage, support tissue or, in some cases, minimize bust size.”

His voice trails off before he adds: “You know, it still freaks me out how happyit makes a woman to get a pretty bra-and-panty set. I know we’re not curing cancer here, but I really think we’re doing a lot for helping people’s mental and emotional health. And, of course, I get flashed a lot!”

Models: Christina Bernal (34B) and Ellen Goguen (34C), both official Felina fit models.

How to Measure Your Correct Bra Size

1. Measurement No. 1

With a tape measure held as tightly and straight as possible, wrap it around your back measuring underneath your bust line. If you come up with a half measurement, round the number up. If less than a half, round the number down.

2. Calculating Band Size

If Measurement No. 1 is less than 33 inches, add 5 inches. If the number is odd, round it up to the next even number. If the measurement is 33 inches and over, add 3 inches. If this number is odd, round up to the next even number.