Fashionnovation is always looking for unique, sustainable, rising fashion brands and the masterminds behind them. In today’s Fashionnovation’s exclusive interview, we get the humble opportunity to introduce you with Kasia Kolasa, the talented Finnish fashion designer working for the maternity dresses with her own fashion brand called VeNove.

Kazi Purba: What’s the story of VeNove? Why did you start?

Kasia Kolasa: VeNove is a small fashion company and a fashion brand founded by me in 2018 in Helsinki, Finland. After graduating from a fashion school, I wanted to find my place in the challenging fashion industry and pursue my journey as a designer. I have always been passionated about patternmaking and garment construction but I wanted to combine these with my practical sewing skills and creating my own small business. I wanted to find a niche market for my products and I decided to create a maternity clothing line – mostly dresses and tunics that could be worn in pregnancy and beyond. My main goal in VeNove was to make garments that are comfortable and easy to wear but at the same time stylish and unique. That’s where I could really use my pattern construction skills.

Kazi Purba: Wow! It feels great to hear that you kept on doing what you love most! Would you please explain your design concepts? 

Kasia Kolasa: I aim to design for women who want to feel beautiful but also comfortable when pregnant and who appreciate timeless and sustainable fashion – but with some innovative twists in shape. VeNove maternity dresses are suitable for breastfeeding (thanks to a hidden nursing panel) and there are many small details that make the projects special – for example the front part of the dresses is slightly longer than the back – thanks to that it looks proportional and doesn’t get too short as the belly grows in pregnancy. Pockets – that’s another tiny detail that makes the garments more comfortable and functional. And there are no zippers, so the dresses are super easy and comfortable to wear.

I design for real women – that’s why VeNove size table varies from many standard charts used by fashion producents and industrial pattern makers. There is one very important change I made to the usual sizing to make room not only for the growing belly but also for the growing breasts (in the pregnancy and after). This change in the patterns allows the customer to use their normal pre-pregnancy clothing size. VeNove products are available in sizes from XS to XL. I also offer individual customization.

Kazi Purba: I’ve watched your youtube videos about pattern making. I literally love them! Would you please tell us something about it? 

Kasia Kolasa: I love patternmaking and I really enjoy challenging myself with garment construction – all kinds of construction, not only dresses or maternity clothing. I have been working with individual clients, and tailoring the patterns to many different silhouettes. Some years ago I started to make my patterns digitally. In VeNove I prepare all of my projects using Valentina – an open source pattern drafting software tool. I encourage other aspiring designers to try it. For me it’s a quicker, more accurate and also more sustainable way of making patterns compared to drafting them on paper.

I want to share with others my skills and knowledge about patternmaking. That’s why I published some video tutorials on my YouTube channel and many more are to come. I also plan to sell some of my PDF patterns to hobbyist sewers.

Kazi Purba: We know that sustainability is a big issue at this moment. How does VeNove promote sustainability? 

Kasia Kolasa: VeNove supports Slow fashion. I make all the products by myself, starting from the design of the projects, drafting patterns to finding the right fabrics and manufacturing the garments. VeNove collection consists of small batches and unique pieces and instead of keeping many products in stock, I make many of them to order. I have a freedom to do so, because I don’t depend on subcontractors and I can sew very well. I can also manage the usage of materials and although VeNove projects are not completely zero waste designs, I aim to reduce the textile waste to minimum. I use high quality fabrics which are also easy to maintain (this is very important for mothers with small babies). VeNove dresses are suitable for the time of pregnancy, breastfeeding but not only – they don’t look at all as typical maternity garments and they can be styled in many ways – casual or more elegant.

If you want to see Kasia Kolasa’s projects and find out more about VeNove, please visit:

Website: https://venove.design/

Instagram: @venove.fashion

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venove.fashion

and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VeNove

If you have any initiative like Kasia Kolasa or have to say something to the world, feel free to contact us and get featured in fashionnovation! Our email address: fashionnovationfd@gmail.com

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