In millennial parlance, Nanushka is killing it. Designer and founder Sandra Sandor launched the line out of Budapest back in 2005, and staged her first presentation at New York Fashion Week back in February. It was a success, and she’s planning her return in September. Much of her rise to prominence comes down to the years she spent growing and developing the brand, a few smart business decisions, and a full-on embrace of the influencer market. Like many designers, Sandor has come to realize that women with sincere, dedicated Instagram followings can move a lot more product than traditional advertising.
All that aside, Nanushka also just makes beautiful, uncomplicated clothes you don’t think twice about buying. They feel relevant but not “trendy,” and the prices are good. She describes most of her collections as a mash-up of East and West, a by-product of her upbringing in Hungary, where cultures converged and clashed after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Resort found her working along those lines again: The denim dresses and shirts were vaguely Western (i.e., American), while the “Eastern” vibe came in the form of lavender silk blouses, baroque pearl embellishments, and obi belts.
What felt newest were the “rustic” touches informed by the Hungarian countryside: rumpled cotton dresses, linen trousers, and lots of brown vegan leather. Her best-selling vegan puffer came in a longer silhouette, and the shell-pink faux leather trousers, dresses, and trench coats felt so soft, you’d swear they were real. On that note, she introduced her first vegan accessories here: crossbody bags, fanny packs, and drawstring pouches in neutral, croc-embossed faux leather. They should open the brand up to women looking for chic, high-quality, animal-free bags and shoes.
