our history
Written by Nadya, Founder of Stylyne.
1943
I often say that Stylyne’s story began long before it had a name. In truth, it began with a needle and thread three generations ago.
My grandfather’s hands first set our story in motion in the early 1940s.
In a small Bulgarian town, he worked as a journeyman tailor, where neighbors and soldiers came to him for sturdy, well-fitted clothes.
His reputation for craftsmanship grew, but more importantly, he passed on a belief that making something well – with care and love – is its own kind of dignity.
This belief in quality and pride in one’s work became the foundation of our family’s ethos.
1989
In the midst of the changes in Bulgaria, my mother joined my grandfather in the family craft.
Each garment she made was imbued with the same care he had taught her – a quiet assertion that quality would endure even as the world around us changed.
From linen skirts to wool coats, my mother stitched everything by hand and machine. And like her father before her, word spread about her impeccable handiwork.
By the late 90s, she had a few other local seamstresses working with her. We were never a large operation – truly a “family workshop” in every sense – but every piece we made carried a bit of our soul.
Looking back, those years really instilled our family value: make it well, or don’t make it at all.
1996
the sofia workshop
Through the 1990s and into the 2000s, my mother’s hard work blossomed into a small workshop of her own.
What began as one woman’s necessity gradually grew into a local dressmaking business.
She set up a tiny studio (no more than a single room at first) and found a passion for making women feel beautiful in their clothes.
CRAFTING FOR THE WORLD'S FINEST
2011
Our workshop became something of an open secret in the fashion world.
We found ourselves pleating fabrics for some of the most renowned labels on the planet. From haute couture houses like Prada to luxury prêt-à-porter brands like Dries Van Noten and Longchamp, our handiwork began gracing runways and boutiques across Europe.
We even collaborated with Zara, proving that our craft could scale into global production.
chopova lowena
One collaboration particularly dear to us has been with London-based Chopova Lowena.
In 2018, we became (and remain) their pleating partner, pleating panels traditional Bulgarian fabrics for their signature skirts.
It felt like coming full circle: the same pleated chenkini (traditional overskirts) that village women wore in my grandfather’s youth were now being reinvented on the runways of London and New York, and we were the ones pleating them.
Through all of this growth, we deliberately never became an assembly-line factory.
Every single pleat that left our studio was set and inspected by us. We were the definition of behind-the-scenes artisans – a family workshop powering the pleated visions of international designers while our own name stayed quietly in the background.
And every time we spotted one of our pleated pieces in a magazine or a runway photo, we felt the same rush of pride.
2022
the birth of the stylyne brand
For almost 80 years, we had been the anonymous artisans behind quality.
We decided it was time for our own name to take center stage.
With a deep breath and even deeper conviction, we launched Stylyne – our first public-facing brand dedicated to the craft we love.
stylyne btv interview
I wanted the world not only to see our pleating, but to know our story behind it.
We spent months developing a small debut line of skirts and dresses, each piece drawing inspiration from our roots and our years of experience.
We chose the name as a nod to both styles and lines.
In every Stylyne design, there’s a piece of the family's soul. We set out to offer something intimate: garments where every fold has a purpose and every detail a story.
Launching Stylyne in 2022 felt like coming home in a new way – the culmination of all those years of quiet work, now stepping into the light.
today
Today, my mother and I still arrive every morning at our atelier, a sunlit studio on a quiet street in Sofia – and continue our family work.
And in an age of mass production, we take a proudly opposite approach: slow fashion, made by pairs of loving hands.
If you were to visit us, you’d find my mother presiding over the press while I cut fabric or speak with clients.
We personally know each seamstress who occasionally assists us, and we know each client by name. Keeping things personal is our choice and our joy. It allows us to pour an extraordinary amount of attention into every single garment.
Our product philosophy is simple:
"we make pleats, not clothes"
- My Grandfather, Georgi Angelov, 'the last master of sunray pleating' in Bulgaria.
