London fashion brand Yuzefi is referenced for its experimental and thought-provoking approach to design. Their silhouettes are bold and nonconformist, with rich colours and visual twist details that require a closer look. With an uncompromising approach to the quality of materials used that define the finished product, Yuzefi offers its diverse audience a luxury product at an accessible price point. The pieces are made for more than the current season and focus on finding everyday newness in a familiar world.
Yuzefi founder, Naza Yuzefi, creates her collections from the standpoint of a tenacious consumer of fashion, with an aesthetic sensibility refined by her abiding curiosity for the world around her. Her dedication to finding new perspectives and original forms began at a young age. As a child in Iran, she would draw dresses from imagination, which her mother would then craft into a reality. The resulting creative satisfaction and wonder is something she has sought to continue and share with others by launching Yuzefi.
After completing her postgrad degree in fashion at Central Saint Martins in 2008, Naza first honed her ready-to-wear aesthetic working in the studios of Christopher Kane and Richard Nicoll. Her love of leather began when Sarah Richardson commissioned her to create bespoke leather harnesses for an i–D magazine editorial. Commissions soon followed from Hedi Slimane, Steven Klein and Patti Wilson.
Armed with a bold maker’s vision and a passion for the sculptural capacities of leather, she decided to launch her own accessories line in 2016. Naza’s approach to design and construction is all about finding newness in the familiar. Her indefatigable sense of wonder at the world defines her focus is to create fashion that will give her customer that same sense of bold originality she discovered as a child.
Yuzefi’s SS21 ‘Retrofuture’ collection brims with hope but braces the challenges of an uncertain journey ahead. Familiar shapes are redefined with new proportions and functionality as “we referenced a moment in a not so distant past when we imagined a utopian future.” As defined by the brand, Retrofuture is a tribute to our personal and collective journeys through 2020 and the road that remains ahead. The evolution of Yuzefi’s iconic forms mirrors our search for new meanings and a new identity while reconnecting with senses of wonder and joy and embracing the old and the forgotten as we re-envision a new future.
The brand’s iconic shapes are redefined with versatility, duality and functionality. The familiar shapes of Baton and Dinner Roll are adorned with the brand’s signature chunky chain handle for new functionality, while the Woven Baskets welcome a new mini addition. The new shapes of the season, Taco and Cannoli, and Fortune cookie remain true to Yuzefi’s code of the ultra-modern form. The first two styles are cleverly strung through with cord handles to allow for swift adjustability. At the same time, the latter is an evolution of the iconic Loaf silhouette into a grab and go silhouette.
Joyous colours have always been a vital part of the Yuzefi brand DNA. For SS21, the vibrant and fashion-forward shades of Cherry, Iris and Honey quench the thirst for optimism while lifting the core and best-selling tones of Oatmeal and Black. The monochrome snake-effect fabrication rings more modern than classic and is colour-blocked with mink grey for a fresh take.
The Yuzefi SS21 collection is available from international retailers as well as online.