NANUSHKA

Nanushka has become known for its iconic buttery-soft vegan leather pieces, and for a confident ease and subtle femininity. Nanushka’s versatility can easily go from day to night, just right for the modern woman.

The Nanushka brand makes womenswear, menswear, and accessories. The contemporary Nanushka label is based in designer Sandra Sandor’s hometown of Budapest.

Nanushka Style

The styles Nanushka creates are wardrobe staples with subtle femininity and unanticipated detail. They are modern with a bohemian spirit. Sandra designs Nanushka with an eye to bridging the distance between different times and places, bringing a cross-cultural balance and harmony. Budapest itself is an east-meets-west city, influenced by the Ottoman Empire and Germanic migration through the vividness of the Belle Epoque and then the communist era in the second half of the twentieth century. Nanushka’s designs are shaped by this duality. A trip to Sri Lanka and visits to many family-owned places inspired the tie dye technique which she brought into collections that followed.

Inspired by heritage, travel, and innovation, Nanushka fuses pure design and conscious creativity with a bohemian modernist outlook. Nanushka designs are effortless and cool. Nanushka set a new standard in modern luxury fashion with subtle feminine detail and smooth vegan leather garments and bags.

Nanushka Behind the Scenes

Nanushka’s philosophy is that if a garment is designed for excellent functionality, it will naturally also be beautiful. The Nanushka company focuses on fabric, craftsmanship, and detail. From this foundation, Nanushka creates an elegant modern wardrobe, and with dedication to responsible production.

Nanushka collections look at the founder and customers’ deep respect and appreciation for community, nature, and various beauty around the world. Materials for Nanushka products are selected for their low environmental impact. Techniques of crafts and handwork infuse a mix of traditional and contemporary culture. Sustainability, value, and quality are at the forefront of Nanushka core values.

The muse for Nanushka is an imaginary woman with nomadic roots. She is always on the road, but always feels at home. Self-assured, both her masculinity and femininity shine through. She is very down-to-earth and doesn’t fear being alone, or traveling alone. She is very sensitive and receptive. For Nanushka, travel inspires receptivity because it requires receptivity.

The Nanushka Story

The seedling company that became Nanushka was founded by Sandra’s mother in the 70s as a children’s-wear brand under a different name. Growing up around her mother and surrounded by children’s fashionwear, Sandra was pretty sure she wanted the same for herself. Sandra attended the London College of Fashion, finished in 2004, and returned to Budapest to set up Nanushka. She named the company for her childhood nickname, which her father still calls her. She was able to set up Nanushka with the help of her mother’s network – Sandra’s mother had established one of the first childrenswear businesses in Hungary under communism, so had developed a deep network of seamstresses. Sandra was able to build a small atelier for Nanushka with this support.

The first design theme for Nanushka came from Sandra’s final project in fashion school, which she wanted to develop into a full collection. The theme’s inspiration was the BauHouse movement “Form Follows Function”. This resonated with Sandra’s aesthetic and would become the core value of her Nanushka brand, which she continues to follow and incorporate into all Nanushka collections.

Nanushka Today

Production for Nanushka takes place in Budapest. Hungary is a popular place for fashion brands to produce garments, but for Nanushka, it’s just home. Hungary had a large and booming textile industry until the 80s but it collapsed, so the industry stopped developing, evolving.

Part of Nanushka’s viewpoint is that clothing and the actual art of clothing is very important, as it is a vital form of self-expression. Nanushka wants to help people express themselves, and a lot of them do it through their clothing.

Sustainability and functionality continue to drive the ethos and design decisions at Nanushka, and they continue to take steps to find more sustainable fabrics to work with. Organic cotton, recycled cashmere, and tech satin are some of their favorite fabrics for their functionality as well as sustainability features.

Nanushka’s Vision

Visions for the Nanushka brand include homeware and sunglass collections. In everything they do, Nanushka holds true to their values and commitment to sustainability. The Nanushka team is very passionate about their commitment to sustainability and ceaselessly strives to achieve their sustainability goals with each new collection. As with most things, for Nanushka, there is still much work to be done.

Nanushka at Prefontaine

Prefontaine has an ample collection of Nanushka garments in our collection. Choose from subtle and not-so-subtle Nanushka tops, dresses, and other items. All Nanushka items reflect understated elegance, with simple cuts and muted colors in luxuriously drapey fabrics. Whether you’re looking for simple elegance or the tempered allure of a well-cut knit, Nanushka answers.