Vassilisa

Central Saint Martins. Alexander McQueen. Vivienne Westwood. Then Vassilisa.

Nadja Solovieva graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2007 — the same school that produced Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Christopher Kane. She worked briefly with the design teams at McQueen and Westwood. Then she founded Vassilisa, named after Vassilisa the Beautiful, the heroine of Russian folklore, and began building one of London's most quietly exceptional luxury accessory brands.

Since 2007, Vassilisa has created limited edition scarves designed not from current trends but from primary research — visits to the V&A, national galleries and historic archives, where Nadja works with sketchbooks in the Central Saint Martins tradition. The resulting prints draw on mythology, art, nature and folklore, and are manufactured by family-owned prestige mills in Italy and Scotland onto silk, cashmere, modal and wool. Every scarf carries the Seri.co certification guaranteeing no harmful substances and no child labour in production. The modal and cashmere blend — modal made from beech tree pulp, one of the most ecologically ranked yarns available — is the bestselling composition. These are pieces designed to be worn for decades, not seasons. Scarves are released in limited editions, announced to subscribers first. Cate Blanchett, Kate Moss, Charlize Theron and Natalia Vodianova wear them. Vogue, Elle, WWD and Tatler have featured them. Harvey Nichols, Le Bon Marché LVMH, Barneys and Isetan have stocked them. At Sostter, you can simply buy one.

Shop Vassilisa through Sostter — an independent boutique platform bringing together the world's finest independent brands. Explore our full Women's Accessories collection, discover more through our Hats, Scarves and Belts edit, or find an exceptional gift through our Gifts for Her collection. For brands with genuine values and craft, explore our Shop by Purpose edit.