Nadya Dzyak is a womenswear pret-a-porter brand born in 2008. With incredible attention to detail, Nadya designs sophisticated pieces by playing with bright colors and textures to create fascinating optical illusions. Her creations have been featured in important magazines such as Vogue, Harpers Bazar, Vanity Fair and L’officiel. To create her easy recognizable signature pieces, the brand uses a unique technique, which consists of manually laying out pleated details and ruffles paying special attention to artisanal craftsmanship.
If you are curious to find out more about this designer please keep reading…
Hello Nadya, we are beyond excited to welcome you to Mess Magazine. It is a pleasure to get to know more about you and your brand. Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and how did you start your label?
I was always surrounded by beautiful things and starting my own fashion brand was a matter of time. The brand NADYA DZYAK has existed for 12 years by now and I believe that one day it would be 15, 20 and even more – there is still so much beauty to bring into this world. We have our mission and I believe in it.
What were the biggest challenges you faced during the process of arriving where you are today?
The fashion industry in Ukraine is still developing, so it was kind of hard to start a brand of unique and unusual pieces on a market which wasn’t quite ready for this. Still I am grateful to all of my colleagues who work as hard as I do to make the Ukrainian fashion known worldwide – and I am happy to represent my home country and be a part of its creative community.
What advice would you give to young and emerging fashion designers who want to break into the fashion industry and build their own brand?
“Be a rebel. Seek inspiration within yourself and make it into art. Beautiful souls are destined to create beautiful things – so follow your intuition and be bold about your goals.”
Your designs are unique and modern, where do you usually look for inspiration?
For the last three years I have not been looking for inspiration anywhere, I have not looked for anything on purpose. It all comes naturally on its own, I just close my eyes and rest. You need to be distracted, postpone the routine, immerse into yourself and then these ideas come. I seek inspiration in every given moment, in all the daily simple things I could see around me – for instance, the light and optical illusions inspire me a lot. Refraction of light, petrol overflows, the Aurora Borealis, the glass, the play of light and colors, where there is both graphics and volume – these are a result of synergy. I once have applied a gradient of colors to one of my dresses, and later I’ve spotted this color scheme in nature with the same arrangement and sequence of these colors. Apparently, this structure and harmony is somehow already programmed into our heads.
The unprecedented times have certainly impacted the fashion industry. Where do you think the fashion industry is headed and how do you plan to inspire that change?
Not only the fashion industry but the whole world is changing.
I always think that whatever happens – happens for a reason, so maybe current events could be a lesson for us all to learn. It is time for the fashion industry to slow down and reconsider our values – and our goal is to create timeless pieces and bring joy into people’s life even during hard times.
Which are the biggest trends you see in the fashion industry from now on? Is sustainability important to you?
Sure, NADYA DZYAK supports the sustainability trend in fashion and we consider it the biggest turn to positive change in the industry.
And this is manifested in everything – in the uniqueness and exclusivity of our products, natural fabrics and timeless handcrafted designs, we believe that our products deserve to be inherited and passed on through generations, never thrown away. We manufacture our products in our home country, pay all taxes and we are proud of it all. Our products are made in wonderful conditions in every sense, in an environment filled with positive energy, they are created by happy people whose work is appreciated and respected. And then this can be very much felt in the products.
I believe that the global fashion industry is gradually adapting and will come to this awareness and about sustainability – less is more when it comes to producing beautiful things, and putting soul into dresses weighs much more than disposable trends do.
As the whole fashion system is transforming in order to reimagine itself and fashion weeks are becoming digital, what are you hoping and planning for your brand?
At times like this safety is key for all of us, so I consider digitalization the smartest way to adapt to these strange times. My dresses are created to make women joyous no matter where they are – putting on a great outfit for an evening Zoom party is always a great idea and I would recommend that to anyone. The world is changing, but we all still want to feel gorgeous.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and advice with Mess Magazine. To discover more please visit Nadya’s website and Instagram.
