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Founder of Nakota Tuwa, Tif Florentina’s interest in fashion was sparked by the mother and her grandmother who were both designers. Launched last year, Tif who studied fashion design at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK wants those who wear her creations to feel beautiful, confident, elegant, comfortable, to feel themselves. 

What made you take fashion more seriously and make a career out of it?
I really enjoyed designing and sewing since I was a little girl. I used to draw millions of sketches of girls in different outfits.

How has your work evolved since you began your own label? 
It’s come on leaps and bounds. We have now truly established an identity and people know when it's a Nakota Tuwa piece due to the earthy tones and also there is always a little silver feather charm on it.

Are there any types of clothing that you avoid designing?
I wouldn't say I avoid designing anything really. It’s depending on what I’m inspired by at that moment. But I’ve got to say I’m not really into prints or anything floral and pink.

Where do you look for creative inspiration?
I follow many different designers big and small and also am a massive fan of Pinterest. It’s a great place to find inspiration to help with parts of my designs. Also, I love looking at the 70’s boho-chic styles.

Describe your latest collection?
The latest collection that was released at The Design Collective was our ‘Be your own kind of beautiful’ campaign which was all about loving yourself whatever shape or size. All of our clothing is free size and we did a wonderful shoot with Vera Nording Photography and some incredible models. Some were over 60, we have more curvaceous, pregnant and also different skin tones. This was to show that the clothing really does suit everyone.

Who is your muse? 
To be honest my muse has always been my Mum. She's the coolest and most stylish woman I know. She’s always worn things to suit her body shape and be elegant but always comfortable.

What are your sustainability credentials? 
We are a small company and make small numbers this avoids any mass production and the waste associated with it. We also get all our fabrics from shops that have got offcuts from larger factories. We have a wonderful small group of women that hand make everything and put a lot of love into the clothing. We also donate 10% of profits to a local charity.

What are you fascinated by at the moment and how does it feed into your work? 
At the moment I’m going through a real health hype by changing my diet to a more plant-based diet and also really working on fitness but in a beautiful flowing feminine way and trying new types of exercise that I’ve never done. This shows in the activewear and we also did a wellness month last month where we blogged different exercises for a month for people to do at home easily. As a lot of our customers are also in Europe we wanted to help and give them motivation every day whilst in lockdown.

What is the biggest lesson that you have learned since you started your company?  
Don’t worry! Worry is so unnecessary and doesn’t help anything at all. Just keep calm, take deep breaths and everything flows in the way it needs to and you find the path that you’re supposed to be on, instead of trying to force a route that's not for you.

What role do you think social media plays in fashion today? 
A massive part, especially since Covid-19. This is where I find most of my customers and also a great way to keep connected and keep the communication with everyone.

What is your favourite part about being a designer? 
I love it all. I've got to say the part I do love the most is actually the sketching of initial designs and then translating that to pattern pieces. Even though I don’t have the most mathematical brain, pattern cutting just makes sense and is so much fun to create a pattern from scratch.

How do you want women to feel when wearing your clothes? 
Going back to our most recent campaign, I want everyone to feel beautiful, confident, elegant, comfortable, but mainly I want them to feel themselves and truly love themselves. I want them, whether it’s walking down the street or at a lovely party, to feel amazing and believe that they are beautiful.