With the ease of communication offered by social networks, a certain renaissance of individual enterprise has been observed in the fashion sector since the Covid-19 pandemic: in the footsteps of 17th-century seamstresses, designers are launching their businesses without the help of investors and managing to set up a viable business. Such is the case of Ornella Moreira, known as Nayaroz on social networks, a young designer based in the Paris region. In 2020, she launched Nay Affords (French for “Nay can afford it”), a brand known for its customized jeans inspired by streetwear.

“I would place myself in luxury streetwear because I make everything by hand,” said the entrepreneur. “I create unique pieces and people pay the price to have something that others don’t have. I destroy everything to reassemble it, from jeans but also from fabrics.”

To create her designs, the young woman bases herself mainly on Levi’s models, which she deconstructs and reassembles without throwing away a single piece.

A necessary proximity to customers

In five years, the entrepreneur has already come a long way. Her creations have been worn by, among others, French-Malian star Aya Nakamura, footballers Achraf Hakimi, Aurélien Tchouameni and Rafael Leao, singers Davido and Teyana Taylor, and rappers Naza, Tiakola and SDM.

While this link with celebrities does exist, they are not the brand’s main clientele. “My first customers are people like me, average people. I have lots of customers who come and ask me my prices (around 200 euros for a pair of jeans, and tell me they’ll come back to me, and they do! Some people even save up to buy my pieces, because they know they’re getting something unique, and that it was made by me, by my hands. It’s a source of pride,” explained Nayaroz.

If the designer describes her label as luxurious, it’s also because she maintains a close relationship with her customers. To maintain this contact with them, she mainly uses social networks. To provide another showcase, the entrepreneur is currently working on the creation of a new e-commerce site. But a presence in physical retail outlets is not out of the question, according to the brand’s founder: “I’ve been offered a presence at Galeries Lafayette, Citadium… it could be interesting. After that, I don’t want my brand to lose its luxury streetwear identity,” she added.

A long-term project

With her label, the Cape Verdean designer offers a range of pants, shorts, jackets, outfits, tops and accessories, which she designs and manufactures at her home in Eaubonne. She is currently in talks to invest in a workshop better suited to her needs, as her business generates sales of between 7,000 and 15,000 euros a month. Alone, she manages to create between fifteen and thirty pieces a month, but demand will force her to delegate: “For the moment, I’m on my own,” she explained. “It’s complicated to trust people, but I have to do it, because it’s starting to get difficult.”

As the brand embarks on a change of dimension, this evolution actually sounds like the fulfilment of its founder’s work. By the age of 15, Moreira was already creating pieces from clothes she didn’t use. On a family trip to the United States, her clothes were spotted by the woman who was to become one of her best friends. She encouraged her to start selling her clothes. A few years later, after finishing her studies, Nayaroz worked for a year before throwing herself fully into fashion design.

“I invested all that money in jeans”

“I had money set aside because I save, and that money I invested in jeans,” she explained. The brand was registered in 2020, at the height of the Covid period, which played a positive role in Moreira’s business. “When there was confinement, I was creating a lot. I was showing it on social networks and people liked it,” she pointed out.

Her work quickly gained visibility, so much so that one of her first clients was a close friend of American rapper, Gunna. This exposure proved decisive for Nay Affords.

Although the brand’s first customers were Americans, it was now the French who were buying the majority of its pieces. Despite this, customers from all over the world are interested in Nayaroz’s designs, which are sold in Mexico, the United States, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Canada, Japan, and in a few African countries, such as Morocco.

This recognition does, however, come with its share of obstacles. Indeed, the Nay Affords brand has already been the subject of plagiarism, which has brought those involved to court. “Every model has been registered, my trademark has been registered,” declared Moreira. “I did everything by the book and I invent things, you can’t come and steal them from me. That was in 2023 and today I think they’ve given up,” she concluded.

In addition to the Nay Affords brand, the sole proprietorship model is also appealing. Other such brands include Elsaluis in Bordeaux, whose designer sews overcycled, colorful pieces; Chë, a Vancouver-based brand; Sydoux and its handmade dresses in Paris; and Maison Sofija and its crochet pieces.