Fashion brand launched by Ukrainian refugee to open London pop-up
Yana Smaglo previously held a successful fashion and beauty business in Ukraine but fled the country the day the war started, eventually making her way to the UK
After launching her new fashion brand Nenya in Leeds in October last year, Ukrainian refugee Yana Smaglo is taking her latest fashion range to London with a pop-up shop.
After launching in Yorkshire last year, the pop-up shop will be open to visit in London until 29th October, supported by Sook.
Sook, who provide flexible retail space in key city centre locations have again offered Smaglo a unit in Islington Square, to continue their support for her.
Regarding the opportunity, Smaglo said: “I am so excited to be taking my collection to London, this really is a brilliant opportunity for me to raise the profile of both my brand and Ukrainian fashion. I can’t thank the team at Sook enough for their ongoing support and for giving me this amazing opportunity.”
The Nenya brand has gone from strength to strength, with clients in over ten countries from the US to Italy and Switzerland. Smaglo previously held a successful fashion and beauty business in Ukraine but fled the country the day the war started, eventually making her way to the UK.
Supported by a number of companies in Yorkshire, she was able to establish a new brand and launched Nenya in a Sook outlet in Victoria Gate in Leeds last year.
Commenting on the partnership, CEO at Sook, John Hoyle said: “We loved working with Yana last year, and this is another opportunity for her to showcase her new collection in London. It has been brilliant being able to be part of her journey and to support her, and we look forward to seeing her in Islington next week.
“Our spaces provide the perfect opportunity for experiential events like this one, enabling people and brands to pop up in key city centre locations that they may otherwise not have been able to access.”
Smaglo has continued to return to Ukraine to source her fashion range and support the people still living in the war zone.
She said: “It is so important to me to continue to support both my country and its industries. Many of the fashion items are still cut by hand and the quality is very high. It is hard returning home though. No one there has any plans for the future. The biggest plan is to survive till the end of the war. I live in the UK right now but even for me, the question of where you see yourself in 5 years is really ridiculous.
“From the positive side, people started to look not just nice, but amazing, going to restaurants, dressing fancy. They try to enjoy life as much as possible, but the next day the bombing starts again, and it is getting less coverage in the world news. It’s a tough situation in the economy right now. The prices grew 30-40%, sometimes 50% and it’s really having an impact. I can’t imagine how people survive for an average salary there, so I want to do everything I still can to help people.”
