Ushatava

The experimental fashion house Ushatava focuses on practical and memorable design. Each collection reflects a theme of functional wardrobe and expressive silhouettes in tune with the times. The essence of their collections lies in versatility. What sets them apart is their creation of comfortable yet visually intriguing pieces that are enjoyable to wear and convey a sense of something special. Their designs are so simple that each item can be paired with another, creating complex outfits.

Ushatava has distinctive features that make the brand easily recognizable: the peplum skirt, which varies in design from collection to collection and remains one of the brand’s bestsellers; pencil skirts; and the canvas tops, for which patterns were developed by Nino and Alice at the very beginning. Another notable aspect is the brand’s layering.

The fashion house was founded in 2015 in Yekaterinburg. The name, pronounced [ushatáva], is an abbreviation formed from the founders' surnames.

Friends Alice Ushakova and Nino Shamataeva (Nino is a lawyer, Alice is an economist) created the brand without any experience, specialized education, or investors. The journey began because the girls couldn’t find clothing they liked in their hometown of Yekaterinburg and decided to try creating clothes themselves.

One day, Alice and Nino found themselves together on a plane, where they spent hours discussing fashion and new collections. They realized that finding such similar tastes was rare and decided to act on it. Upon returning to Yekaterinburg, the friends decided to learn sewing to make clothes primarily for themselves. They initially tried to teach themselves but later sought private instruction. For about a year, they studied cutting and sewing in a time-constrained mode—3 hours, 3 times a week—and were very serious about it.

The first item they made was a canvas top. They created it for a friend in a few days, designing the pattern themselves. Due to the lack of investors, the friends sewed the initial collections using their own savings and handled the brand promotion themselves.

In 9 years, Ushatava has grown into a federal brand with 5 stores in Russia and Kazakhstan, an experimental atelier, and notable fashion shows.