Every morning Ulyana Kyrychuk, the CEO of bridal brand Milla Nova, drives for 20 minutes from her home across the city of Lviv to the label’s headquarters. Inside, sewing machines whirr, manned mainly by women aged from their early 20s to mid-60s. Large cutting tables are covered not in delicate crepe or lengths of sequin and silk, but protective fleece and camouflage netting. Amidst the threat of air raid sirens, which can reach up to five alerts a day, 400 of the 600 staff employed by Milla Nova—which has global stockists across 50 countries including the UK, US, France, Italy and Australia—including the label’s entire management team, are uniting to create protective and medical supplies for their country.
Milla Nova employees have been crafting tulle gowns in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, which will be sent to influencers in an effort to raise awareness of the impact of the war.
“I cannot hold a gun and I cannot provide medical support,” says Kyrychuk. “People who can make clothes are continuing to do so.” When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Milla Nova immediately initiated a Business Continuity Plan, which also saw them relocate 70 members of their team—including seamstresses, production managers, and staff involved in logistics and purchasing—along with their family members and small children, to a new facility safely over the Western border in Warsaw. “From the first day of the war, our goal was to set up the core functions of the company in Poland.” Here, surrounded by kids “running round, asking ‘Where are my toys?’, and, ‘When are we going home?’”, women are completing unfinished bridal orders, embellishing and ornamenting, intent on responding to the needs of their brides-to-be, even amidst the turmoil.
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