, a popular fashion brand from Ukraine, shifted its complete supply chain overseas in 2022. Now that Kyiv has changed, the brand is reopening its atelier.
Sales surged when COVID-19 struck and customers were looking for cosy clothes that could also add a dash of humour to spice up their time at home. The firm was launched in 2016 and has been slowly developing. After becoming a social media sensation on Instagram, the business currently sells its goods on Net-A-Porter, at Bloomingdales, and at other well-known stores.
Asya Varetsa and Kate Zubarieva, the cofounders of Sleeper and former editors of fashion magazines, established the business in Kyiv, where it remained until February 2022.
Varetsa and Zubarieva are currently working to reopen Sleeper’s offices in the capital next month after relocating more than half of its staff there and completely overhauling their supply chain.
By doing this, the company joins a growing set of independent fashion and accessory brands with a foundation in Ukraine that have grown their e-commerce operations by utilising the nation’s pre-existing production infrastructure and their capacity to reach consumers on Instagram.
“There has been a big renaissance of Instagram brands in Ukraine,” Zubarieva says. “There’s a gazillion of them now; craftsmen and manufacturers are working to make products for these companies.”
The co-founders began developing backup plans two months before the war officially started. In the end, they relocated about 40 workers to western Ukraine. With the aid of one of their fabric suppliers, 20 additional people migrated to Bursa, Turkey. The R&D division of the business is now situated there.
Two months before the war started, the co-founders started creating backup plans. About 40 people were ultimately transferred to western Ukraine. Twenty more individuals moved to Bursa, Turkey, with the help of one of their fabric suppliers. That is currently where the company’s R&D section is located.
A limited edition, one-of-a-kind design atelier will be located on the third level; all earnings from the sale of these goods will go to a foundation that supports Ukrainian women and children.
Zubarieva is looking forward to the conclusion of the war and, along with it, a revival of Ukrainian fashion. She predicts that Kyiv will develop into a new hub for independent, smaller brands. “It may make Ukraine famous.”
