Elizaveta Yurusheva was in her seventh month of pregnancy when she escaped the war in Ukraine, bringing along her two children, and ultimately established her new life in Milan. As she began to embed herself in the Italian fashion hub, Yurusheva reignited her lifelong aspiration to become a designer — a dream she had set aside to follow her family’s path in luxury hospitality. She enrolled in a master’s program at Istituto Marangoni, though she hesitated at the idea of launching her own label due to the inevitable operational challenges. At last, she made a choice: “‘Oh, whatever. I’m going to try it,’” Yurusheva remembers. In 2024, Ely Ely — a luxury women’s fashion brand focused on tailored knitwear — came into being.
Ely Ely’s name stems from Yurusheva’s Italianized nickname “Ely” (previously “Lisa” in Ukraine), symbolically marking her transformative phase. “I’m stepping outside my comfort zone, but I’m evolving,” she states. “I’m doing something for a dream.”
Staying true to her background in hospitality, which saw her lead esteemed establishments like the InterContinental and Vogue Café, Yurusheva places the client experience at the forefront. She noted a practical gap between men’s and women’s attire: the former characterized by cozy, tactile materials, while the latter typically featured constraining, rigid silhouettes and structured fabrics. This narrative is age-old (consider: corsets, girdles, Spanx, and more), yet Ely Ely’s creations present a contemporary answer. “I want my client to feel at ease, to breathe… to have fluidity, yet also embrace her beauty,” Yurusheva expresses.
Her designs are strikingly straightforward, centered around versatile pieces that transition effortlessly from day to night, including 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 much time,” making a capsule wardrobe-friendly selection essential. This woman, who skillfully juggles a career and a fulfilling personal life, remains central to Ely Ely’s deliberately timeless range, with prices spanning from $240 for a cashmere bralette to $2,800 for a handcrafted cape. By simply adding a belt or switching flats for heels, the outfit transforms.
Yurusheva primarily utilizes a neutral palette for seamless coordination, with occasional — yet purposeful — bursts of coral, lime green, and vibrant blue interspersed throughout her collections.
The label’s upcoming Spring 2027 collection draws inspiration from Como, a northern Italian city known for the renowned Lake Como. “It combines a city, a tourist hotspot, and a sense of tranquility,” Yurusheva notes. She believes it embodies a woman “who seeks to calm down, who doesn’t want to be everything all at once, but still wishes to feel her femininity alongside her strength.” Through organza, lightweight cashmere (with heavier knits for autumn and winter), Ely Ely’s collection features an oversized fringe shawl, a cropped polo shirt, and sleeveless maxi dresses. “I aim for a clean aesthetic, but with an extra flair,” Yurusheva adds.
Transitioning from the hospitality field, where much of her experience involved back-end operations, Yurusheva describes the creative design journey as “a breath of fresh air.” However, what she appreciates most about the fashion world is “the honesty.” As a designer, Yurusheva receives input from various sources: customers, stockists, the press, PR firms, and anyone with online access.
“I know a lot of people say this business is really tough,” she continues. “I cherish it because any feedback, whether positive or negative, is immensely valuable, unlike in my previous job where such insights were absent.”
In Milan, Ely Ely is featured at the luxury multi-brand store Antonia. It has also caught the attention of retailers like Modes (St. Moritz, Switzerland), Clementines (Toronto, Canada), L’Appartement (Tokyo, Japan), and Deuxieme Classe (Tokyo), among others. As the 2-year-old label looks toward further expansion, Yurusheva aims to grow to 100 wholesale partners. Once wholesale is secured? “I dream of having a standalone store in Paris,” she reveals, though she also considers New York City, believing Ely Ely would thrive in its dynamic climate.
While the concept of a one-brand wardrobe might be a fashion illusion mostly championed by The Row aficionados, Yurusheva imagines a future where Ely Ely fills the wardrobes of devoted clients: “My dream is truly to have customers whose closet consists of 80% [Ely Ely].” Yet when it comes to scaling, ensuring high-quality products always takes precedence over rapid expansion as Yurusheva’s primary focus.
