Sometimes life takes us in unexpected directions. It take courage and heart to follow those new paths and perhaps realise that the new path is truer to you than the one you were on before – the one you were supposed to be on.

That’s certainly true for our interviewees today, Gulnoza and Dilnoza who are fabulous designers and owners of Gulnoza Dilnoza Milano who deviated from their paths to becoming lawyers to find a career closer to their hearts.

HOC: Hello ladies! Tell us about your journey to being designers?

Gulnoza & Dilnoza: We have always loved and been interested in fashion, styling and visuals. It is our passion! We have always loved dressing up and styling our looks. Our earliest role model in fashion is our mom. We remember loving watching our mom getting ready. She always looked, beautiful, classy, elegant and sophisticated.

Later in our teenage years, we started watching “Fashion TV” and reading fashion magazines. We were fascinated by world famous designers collections and their runways.

We had this desire to express our creative ideas and vision…. After graduating from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, International Law faculty in Tashkent we moved to New York. While living in Manhattan our close friends encouraged us to follow our dreams and passion. So instead of applying for a Masters program in Law, we decided to study International Marketing.

Later we transferred our Master Degree course in Marketing with specialisation in Luxury Goods Management at the European School of Economics by Buckingham University from New York to Milan. After finishing the study and training through internships in showrooms of international fashion houses in Milan, we launched our own luxury ready-to-wear brand. Each collection is entirely Made in Italy by amazing Italian artisans to guarantee authentic luxury.

HOC: Wow, what an incredible journey; I’m guessing it was hard work…

G&D: Haha, yes! It was not easy in the beginning, but hard work, dedication, staying focused and willingness to learn new skills helped us to realise our dream to become fashion designers.

We launched our brand without any fashion education, only based on our vision of beauty and elegance, good taste and intuition. Thanks to our degree in Law and Economics, we have strategic thinking and discipline as well, which is very helpful business-wise.

We work very hard on each piece in the collection. Starting from designing by hand with the sketches, choosing the very best Italian fabrics, linings, buttons, zippers, controlling the stitching and fit. We spend hours doing fittings, because high quality, perfect fit and comfort is very important for us.

HOC: When did you launch the brand?

G&D: In 2015 we founded our own fashion company, Gulnoza Dilnoza Milano brand, which offers luxury ready-to-wear womenswear.

The general vibe that characterizes the Gulnoza Dilnoza Milano brand: chic, timeless, sophisticated, elegant, classy-sexy and perfect fit designs.

HOC: You both must be incredibly busy; how do you balance the varying demands on your time?

G&D: We always write down a list of things to do and then we choose tasks by priority. We like to do everything perfectly, so we focus on one thing until it’s done and then focus on the next one!

HOC: With your fashion creations; who would be your ideal customer?

G&D: Strong, sensual, sophisticated, a dreamer, independent. She’s a combination of all those women, of all ages, who share an innate passion for living intensely in the name of beauty.

HOC: Why, in your opinion, is good design so important?

G&D: Good design and quality create the first impressions and differentiate you from other brands. It shows you customers who you are as a brand.

HOC: For our creative readers, what advice would you have for them to grow their artist practices and get their work seen?

G&D: Our advice would be to be always curious! Be a dreamer, use your imagination, stay true to yourself and dream big. In terms of getting your work seen; be patient, work very hard and always believe in yourself.

HOC: Such useful advice! I’d love to know, which of your designs means the most to you and why?

G&D: It’s got to be our debut collection!

We were accepted to participate and present our first collection at Altaroma in Rome. We got the opportunity to showcase our collection to the fashion press and Silvia Venturini Fendi, the curator of Altaroma and get her positive feedback. Right after that we were featured in Vogue Italia Emerging Talents section. That positive experience meant a lot to us, it was also a sign that we are on the right path!

HOC: Who / where do you get your inspiration from?

G&D: Anything can inspire us, a movie we saw, books we are reading, architecture, art, nature, our fantasies of what we want to wear to dinners, cocktails or some events.

We both have a very strong imagination and are always, always curious!

HOC: We skipped over this at the beginning but you are sisters, what’s it like working together?

G&D: It’s amazing! We are blessed to have each other and work together. We are identical twins and we have a special connection, same vision and taste. We spend every working hour together, so every brand decision we make together. Besides we are best friends.

Find out more about Gulnoza Dilnoza Milano here

and follow their journey over on instagram at @gulnozadilnozamilano

Author

Living on the sunny Kent coast you'll find Anna tracking down the best new coffee shops and craft beer dens. With a penchant for vintage, she's more likely to be exploring thrift stores than Bond Street but she'll never say no to a little touch of creative luxury.

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