After Fleeing War, This Ukrainian Designer Found Freedom in Knitwear – Latest Fashion Trends & Style Tips July 7, 2026 at 06:45PM
📰 After Fleeing War, This Ukrainian Designer Found Freedom in Knitwear
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Elizaveta Yurusheva was seven months pregnant when she fled the war in Ukraine with her two children in tow, eventually settling in Milan. While putting down roots in the Italian fashion capital, Yurusheva began pursuing her life-long dream to become a designer — which she'd sidelined to follow in her family's luxury hospitality footsteps. She pursued a master's degree at Istituto Marangoni, but wavered on the prospect of opening her own label due to the inevitable operational hurdles. Finally, she decided: "'Oh, whatever. I'm going to try it,'" Yurusheva recalls. In 2024, Ely Ely — a luxury womenswear brand grounded in tailored knitwear — was born.
Ely Ely derives its name from Yurusheva's Italianized nickname "Ely" (formerly "Lisa" in Ukraine), symbolically representing her era of change. "I'm going out of my comfort zone, but I'm growing," she says. "I'm doing something for a dream."
Photo: Courtesy of Ely Ely
In keeping with her background in hospitality, which included leading institutions like the InterContinental and Vogue Café, Yurusheva prioritizes the client's experience above all else. She observed a functional disconnect between men's and women's clothing: the former defined by comfortable, tactile textures and the latter by restrictive, stiff silhouettes and shaping materials. It's a tale as old as time (see: corsets, girdles, Spanx and so on), but Ely Ely's designs pose a modern solution. "I want my client to be comfortable, breathable... free of movement, but still to embrace her beauty," Yurusheva says.
Her creations are decidedly uncomplicated, anchored in day-to-night transitional pieces like sleek maxi dresses, tailored blazers, sheer midi skirts and wide-leg trousers. After all, the Ely Ely customer "is a woman who doesn't have a lot of time," so a capsule wardrobe-friendly assortment is key. This woman, one who expertly balances a career and a fruitful private life, remains at the forefront of Ely Ely's intentionally timeless offerings, which range in price from $240 for a cashmere bralette, to $2,800 for a handmade cape. Add a belt or swap out flats for heels, and the garment is transformed.
Yurusheva also adheres to a predominantly neutral color palette for cohesive coordination, with rare — yet calculated — pops of coral, lime green and bright blue sprinkled throughout collections.
Photo: Courtesy of Ely Ely
The label's latest collection for Spring 2027 takes inspiration from Como, a northern Italian city home to the famous Lake Como. "It combines a city, a touristic destination and the quietness around," Yurusheva says. She feels it reflects a woman "who wanted to calm down, not be everything at once, but still feel their femininity, but the power as well." Through organza, lightweight cashmere (she turns to heavier knits for fall and winter) and silk fabrications, Ely Ely's collection spotlights an oversized fringe shawl, a cropped polo shirt and sleeveless maxi dresses. "I'm about the clean look, but with something extra," Yurusheva adds.
Coming from the hospitality industry, where most of her work consisted of back-office operations, Yurusheva describes the creative design process as "a breath of fresh air." But what she loves most about the fashion industry is "the honesty." As a designer, Yurusheva receives feedback from all sides: consumers, stockists, press, PR (as well as anyone with an internet connection).
"I know a lot of people say that it's really harsh, the business," she continues. "I love it because any feedback, if it's positive or negative, it's helping so much because, in my other job and career, I [didn 't] get it at all."
Ely Ely Spring 2027
Photo: Courtesy of Ely Ely
In Milan, Ely Ely is stocked at luxury multi-brand boutique Antonia. It's also been picked up by Modes (St. Moritz, Switzerland), Clementines (Toronto, Canada), L'Appartement (Tokyo, Japan) and Deuxieme Classe (Tokyo), among others. As the 2-year-old label prepares itself for further growth, Yurusheva hopes to expand to 100 wholesale clients. After conquering wholesale? "I have a dream to have a monobrand store in Paris," she shares, though she also has her eye on New York City, as she feels Ely Ely is well suited for its ever-changing weather.
Although one-brand wardrobes may be a fashion myth largely perpetuated by The Row enthusiasts, Yurusheva envisions a future where Ely Ely lines the closets of its own devout followers: "My dream is really to have clients who have a wardrobe which is 80% [Ely Ely]." But when it comes to scaling, delivering quality products always eclipses rapid expansion as Yurusheva's main priority. She utilizes top-tier materials (the latest collection includes "the Ferrari in yarns", for example), insisting the Ely Ely woman "should have the best."
While wholesale growth and an entrance into brick-and-mortar retail may be on the horizon for Ely Ely, Yurusheva isn't looking too far ahead. "I'm very focused on the present," she says. "If I concentrate too much on the future or on the past, you lose the moment."
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