From a family craft tradition to a systematic entrepreneurial approach: a business story spanning more than two decades
CHARIVNA is a Ukrainian craft brand of women’s clothing founded in the summer of 2022 as a full-scale production with its own collections. The brand operates in the segment of elegant and business women’s wear, creating classic designs of varying complexity with a strong focus on fit, construction, and durability.
The story behind the brand dates back to 1998, when the founder’s mother worked in Lviv as a fashion designer running a home atelier, independently creating garments for individual clients. It was a successful solo practice, but without scaling, collections, or a formal brand identity. Over two decades of professional experience in pattern making and tailoring complex garments later became the foundation for launching a new clothing brand — this time built on production expertise.
The designer’s son decided to transform his mother’s many years of experience in custom tailoring into a structured brand. His theoretical background provided an understanding of financial models, cost structures, risks of small-scale production, and principles of scaling. Thus, in 2022, CHARIVNA emerged at the intersection of a family craft tradition and a systematic entrepreneurial approach.
The launch of CHARIVNA coincided with the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
“This meant unstable fabric supply, staff shortages, declining demand, and cash flow gaps. Several times the company was on the verge of closure,” recalls CHARIVNA founder Demian Shevchenko. “Despite my optimism, serious challenges awaited us, and I often had to make very difficult decisions. One of the key anti-crisis steps in early 2025 was the creation of the MARYEND atelier. It became a strategic move that allowed us to rethink the business model and maintain stability during a difficult period. Unexpectedly, this format became the key to the audience we had been trying to reach for a long time. The atelier turned into a natural point of attraction for our target clients.”
CHARIVNA operates according to a full-cycle production principle: from concept and sketch to fabric selection, modeling, cutting, sewing, and delivery of the finished garment to the client. The production format is small-batch. For a craft brand, more than 10 units of a single item is already considered mass production. Each garment is created by one craftswoman from start to finish. This model allows the brand to maintain strict quality control and full responsibility for the final result.
The pricing policy is based on the real economics of production: high-quality materials, professional manual labor, complex constructions, and small production volumes, all of which significantly increase the cost of each item.
“That is why Ukrainian craft clothing cannot cost the same as mass-market products manufactured in large volumes under a completely different economic model,” explains Demian Shevchenko. “CHARIVNA does not compete with mass market in price; instead, it offers an exclusive alternative for clients who value fit, quality, and durability.”
More about the CHARIVNA brand:
Official website:
https://www.charivna.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/charivna.uk/
Online store:
