Swap your sweatpants for corsetry-inspired silhouettes
‘I look forward to the time when women will wear fitted jackets, silhouette flattering suits, dresses and skirts,’ says Ukrainian designer Yana Olenich

In 2020, we’ve lost the contours of our bodies to oversized loungewear, our limbs folded into tracksuits or dressing gowns, our skin covered by soft creases. One designer excited about wearing clothes with a little more cling again is Yana Olenich. ‘I look forward to the time when women will wear fitted jackets, silhouette flattering suits, dresses and skirts,’ says the founder of the eponymous Ukrainian label Olēnich, which launched in 2016.
The slow fashion brand's A/W 2020 collection seamlessly sits between structure and slouch, featuring relaxed suiting, knitwear inspired by retro Seventies shades, and eco-leather dresses and tailoring that riffs on corsetry.
Olēnich A/W 2020
‘I’m fond of suit fabrics and office attire, however, these shapes can have an excessive seriousness which I prefer to dilute with sexuality,’ Olenich says of the pieces in autumn’s offering which reveal flashes of flesh, like pencil skirts with daring slits, blouses with alluring cut-outs and polo neck dresses which are spliced at the stomach. The seductive Seventies androgyny of Bianca Jagger is a recurring inspiration, and tones synonymous with this decade are noted in chocolate brown, periwinkle blue and mustard. ‘I'm amazed how she could wear menswear suits and still look feminine and glamorous,' Olenich adds.
Another influence was the unofficial king of corsetry Jean Paul Gaultier. ‘Inspired by his very dramatic and complex corsets, I tried to soften this silhouette and adapt it to our lifestyle,’ Olenich says of shapes which feature cinching waists or lingerie details, including jackets with a bra overlay or dresses with seductive underwire details. Time to swap out your sweatpants.
INFORMATION
olenich.co
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressing
Part of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
By Orla Brennan
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationship
Announcing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
By Hugo Macdonald
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craft
The heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
By Cristina Kiran Piotti
-
Cult 1960s boutique Granny Takes A Trip gets a sustainable reboot
Founded on King’s Road in 1966, ‘radically creative’ fashion store Granny Takes A Trip is being reimagined for a new generation. Dal Chodha takes a closer look
By Dal Chodha
-
BITE Studios: ‘We want to have a brand which makes an impact’
BITE Studios is marrying sustainable textiles – from seaweed fabric to pea silk – with designs by a team including alumni of Proenza Schouler and Acne Studios
By Tilly Macalister-Smith
-
Icicle, the cross-continental label championing sustainability for 25 years
On the arrival of a new collection, ‘Hemp Up’, womenswear artistic director Bénédicte Laloux tells Wallpaper* the story behind minimally minded fashion label Icicle
By Jack Moss
-
Louis Vuitton announces decade long project to rewild London's Chelsea
Central London’s first ‘Heritage Forest' on Pont Street in Chelsea, will be the result of a rewilding partnership between Louis Vuitton, Cadogan and SUGi
By Laura Hawkins
-
Textile innovator Byborre empowers creators to cut waste
‘We developed a new process that allows creators to innovate,’ says Borre Akkersdijk, co-founder of Dutch textile innovation studio and clothing label Byborre
By Yoko Choy
-
Water inspires Holzweiler’s Snøhetta-designed Oslo flagship
Holzweiler Platz, the new retail destination of fashion brand Holzweiler in Oslo, is designed by architects Snøhetta as a naturalistic space that unites fashion, art and food
By Laura Hawkins
-
Marni Market arrives at Matchesfashion in Mayfair
Matchesfashion is offering first access to its new Marni Market to Wallpaper* readers
By Laura Hawkins
-
Advene’s debut bag is forever
‘We want our debut bag to stand the test of wear, weather, and time’
By Laura Hawkins