Fidan Novruzova has always been her own biggest champion. ‘I was 17 when I decided I no longer wanted to study business marketing and took a four-week course at London College of Fashion. I sucked at it. My parents knew I couldn’t draw or sew, so I think they almost expected me to give up,’ Novruzova says. ‘But, because I wasn’t immediately good at it, that course made me want to work in fashion even more,’ she adds, standing in her showroom in Paris’s Le Marais neighbourhood, surrounded by her AW24 line.
Her intuition has clearly steered her in the right direction. Today, Novruzova is preparing to show her collection as one of the shortlisted designers for the prestigious LVMH Prize. She’s dressed in her brand: a tailored top, bow-draped trousers and a pair of her signature square-toe creased boots in black. Where was she when she found out that she was a 2024 LVMH nominee? ‘I was in the middle of seeing a psychic, and I screamed aloud as soon as I found out! It wasn’t expected at all.’ But applying for the prize – previously won by rising-star designers including Grace Wales Bonner, Simon Porte Jacquemus and Nensi Dojaka – had felt like a ‘natural’ step for Novruzova, whose profile has been in the ascendency since she debuted her graduate collection at Central Saint Martins in 2019.
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‘It’s such an honour to be shortlisted and to represent my country for the first time in the history of the contest,’ the Moldovan designer says, grinning. The award is transformative, not just for the financial help, but the mentorship it offers. ‘There’s a special community between young designers. No one talks about how wholesale works or about profit margins.’ Chloë Sevigny and Bella Hadid are among the A-listers who saw Novruzova’s star power early on. Not only has she seen fashion’s coolest flocking to her brand, but stockists, too. Soho-based retailer Machine-A was among the first, followed by Ssense, both enamoured by her ombre toe-creased boots inspired by the Soviet period.
Growing up in Moldova, Novruzova spent much of her time soaking up fashion through TV, where she’d watch her favourite models Natasha Poly and Abbey Lee Kershaw on the catwalks. ‘My love for fashion truly started early, but I suppressed those thoughts because I didn’t think I could make a career out of it.’
Novruzova applied and was accepted to do a BA in fashion design and marketing at Central Saint Martins, which she credits with helping her to ‘build a brand identity’. Since her graduate collection, the brand has evolved but always revolves around the idea of a new way to do cocktail dressing. Bows play an integral part in the AW24 line, transforming a pair of grey trousers, a miniskirt and a cami. And breaking up the refined attire is a buttery chocolate-leather jacket that will be a hit come autumn. ‘Everything produced in-house is handmade using deadstock materials,’ she says. ‘We take risks when it comes to silhouettes because we work with complicated patterns and construction.’
Seven collections later, will we see Novruzova’s clothing on a catwalk soon? ‘Definitely. The idea of having a fashion show is more tangible now that I’m living in Paris. I already know where I want the first show to be and I’m manifesting it. It’s the right time,’ she says. If Novruzova knows anything, it’s that trusting herself has always paid off.
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