Elvira Gavrilova and Julia Lyatavskaya: the history of the NANOJY brand creation and the secrets of cooperation

Elvira Gavrilova and Julia Lyatavskaya are two successful businesswomen and designers. Elvira, in addition to the women’s clothing brand NANOJY, owns the international advertising company Amillidius, the international Fostylen magazine, and more than ten other business projects. Julia has her own tailoring studio and Julia Lyatavskaya brand.

We talked to Elvira and Julia and learned the history of the creation and the secret of the new NANOJY brand’s popularity.

Elvira, Julia, good afternoon. Well, the NANOJY brand. You shot him just recently. There is a rush about your outfits on the Internet. Articles, interviews, campaigns, promo videos. Like many others, I want to know the answer to the main question, how did you cooperate in general, because you, Julia, live in Odessa, and you, Elvira, as far as I know, in Portugal?

Elvira: Hello. Yes, that’s right, I have been living and working in Portugal, Lisbon for 3 years. But I was building a career in Odessa. Here is my team, here are my friends, colleagues, right, Julia?

Julia: Yes, colleague! Elvira and I met in Odessa. And as they say, it all started with a dress. I remember how Elvira turned to me, running out of time. She needed a dress urgently, just in a day and a half!

Elvira: The shooting was less than in 2 days, and I had no dress. I was advised to turn to Julia Lyatavskaya’s studio. I arrived at the atelier, and just in a day, Julia made me a dress. Awesome, exactly what I needed, and most importantly in time! I used to have a brand of women’s clothing Elvira Gavrilova. It is my creativity, I have always loved to draw sketches, but I was always out of time for brand development. So I thought, why not cooperate with Julia? I asked her to create a new brand, and she agreed! That was how NANOJY was born.

How long ago was it? How long has NANOJY been around?

Julia: NANOJY has been around for 2 years. And the idea itself is a little more – about 2.5 years old.

NANOJY – the name, so to speak, is unusual. What does it mean? Who came up with the brand name?

Elvira: I came up with the name, or rather we, together with the guys from my advertising company Amillidius.

The name was created with the requirement to be beautiful, up-to-date, and also unique on the Internet. It had to have little competition in search engine terms, which allows fast brand promotion with a minimal budget.

Julia: I, as a person who does not understand much in SEO optimization, Elvira is engaged in it, gave the go-ahead to NANOJY right away. It is catchy, memorable with a reference to the latest technologies (NANO technologies). And yes, we create our outfits taking into account modern realities, and sew from the best, modern materials.

Girls, you live in different countries. Perhaps this should be problematic enough. How does the creative process take place? Probably it would be easier if you had the opportunity to meet for a cup of coffee in an atelier or a cozy cafe? And yet, how is your collaboration going?

Elvira: Well, what can I say, we try to do everything together: come up with models, share ideas, agree on everything at meetings. We hold Zoom conferences almost every day, or rather every night. I am in Lisbon, Julia is in Odessa, and we have a 3 hour time difference. Besides, Julia, like me, besides NANOJY, has other business projects, so we have to carve out time closer to midnight.

Julia: In fact, everything is not so difficult as it might seem at first glance. It is not for nothing that we cooperate with Elvira because we have similar views, tastes, and we understand each other almost perfectly. Also, modern communication technologies greatly simplify the communication process.

Looking at you, I see two strong businesswomen, two leaders. Tell me, is there a leader in your team? There is an opinion that female friendship does not exist, how do you work together at all? Are there conflicts, misunderstandings?

Elvira: As my colleague has already said, we have similar views and preferences. When you work together for a common goal, you are always trying to do better. I mean, two heads are always better than one. And no, we never conflict. Of course, as in any other process, opinions sometimes differ. But I will always listen to her because it is in our common interest to make a quality product.

Julia: I agree. Elvira and I have no chiefs and subordinates. I have my own atelier of the Julia Lyatavskaya brand, that’s where I’m the boss. Elvira and I are equal partners in creating NANOJY collections.

It is a very professional approach when both business partners treat each other with respect and understanding. However, I have a few questions about functionality. You come up with sketches together, concepts, discuss colors and materials. What about tailoring, online promotion, shows, and, finally, sales? How do you share these responsibilities?

Julia: As I’ve already said, here in Odessa I have my own atelier, where NANOJY dresses are sewn. First, Elvira and I at Zoom think through the collection in the smallest detail and sew the first batch. When the dresses are ready, I send some to Elvira in Lisbon to make sure, they are comfortable to wear. I also make a test drive for my collection. Everything related to PR, fashion shows, and online sales goes to Elvira.

Elvira: The most important thing is that we test all our dresses on ourselves. For example, recently, I went on vacation to Egypt and took some of our outfits with me. So, I realized that one dress, when worn, hikes up in the tummy area, like as if you are already in the 4th month. It turned out to be inconvenient to raise your hands in the second, with the third, by the way, everything was ok. I just mean that we always try everything on ourselves first. If we notice such shortcomings, we alter, add grooves, rework the cut, or replace the material. That is, it is very important to check everything for yourself. This is the thing of 100% comfort and convenience of NANOJY outfits.

And, well, yes, about the division of duties. I was distracted. PR is on me. Together with the PR department of Amillidius, we are developing strategies for brand promotion. Also, the site is on me, shows, shooting campaigns, searching for investors … Sales are also on me, oh, or are you selling too?

Julia: Wow. Who sold 6 dresses from the new collection last week?

Elvira: Oh, yes, I’m sorry. We sell together.

What a competent approach. It is the first time I’ve heard fashion designers test-drive their collections! By the way, how would you describe the general concept? In what style do you sew your outfits, and for what occasions are they suitable?

Elvira: Based on personal experience, when you are like a squirrel in a wheel all day long, and you simply don’t have time to change clothing, but you have a meeting in the morning, have teambuilding with employees in the afternoon, and in the evening, you go to socializing – a universal outfit (elegant, stylish and smart) is just a godsend. We pay great attention to universal dresses. In general, we try to make our collections versatile. For example, our last Spring | Summer 2021 Ready to Wear collection, which we recently presented at Odessa Fashion Week and Odessa Fashion Day, is just like that!

Julia: Yes, Elvira and I’ve worked on the new collection for six months. It includes mini cocktail dresses, trouser suits, casual outfits, floor-length evening dresses, versatile dresses for all occasions, and accessories.

By the way, the New Year and Christmas holidays are coming soon, and we have stunning dresses just for such an occasion! Elegant, daring, bright, small black, to every taste and color!

Since we have already started talking about the new collection. You say that it includes a variety of outfits for all occasions. What about the consumer? Who is your customer?

Elvira: By the way, it’s a good question. Without understanding the target audience, there will be no effective marketing and, as a result, sales. Recently, my marketing department and I reviewed the report. It turned out that our potential clients are girls from 14 to 45 with an income above average.

Wow, it’s a wide age group! A truly universal brand!

Elvira: But that’s not all. In addition to the potential target audience, we analyzed the existing customer base. On average, our regular customers are girls aged 19-35. All of them are successful, beautiful, and have already achieved certain success in their careers. The spheres are different – from bloggers to large business owners.

And, to sum up, Coco Chanel said, «There is no fashion, there is a style that only slightly changes under the influence of time?» What do you think style means nowadays?

Elvira: Yes, Coco was right as always. Fashion is very changeable, and style is eternal. A fashionably dressed girl is one who strives for novelty, loves to be always different. Style – it is individual, it is like an autograph – unique. Being stylish means expressing yourself correctly by a dressing.Julia: As a fashion designer, I would say that style and fashion are not the same things. Style implies the ability to combine the incompatible and bring this outfit to perfection. For example, an elegant pantsuit can be worn with a fun T-shirt; a silver buckle cowboy belt – with anything from jeans to tweed. Style is about trusting your instincts, not abstract rules. If you like a combination of usually not matching colors – red and pink, black and brown – then combine them.