A Harvard startup is designing classic coats inspired by Kazakhstan

14:40, 17 October 2016

BOSTON. KAZINFORM The New England weather may like to bring us on a rollercoaster ride of temperatures every time the season changes, but we know better. Soon enough, a chill will take over the city, and we'll be reaching for our outerwear. Koja, a startup founded by Harvard Graduate School of Design student Diana Zwetzich, has you covered with designs that have already grabbed the attention of the fashion forward, like Demi Moore and Emily Weiss.

Koja, which means "leather" in Russian, offers a line of shearling coats for women inspired by Zwetzich's childhood in Kazakhstan. She told BostInno, "It's cold there and it has more of an old world culture. Part of our history, our heritage is to wear fur. My mother was a furrier for more than 20 years, and I grew up with it as a norm."

When Zwetzich moved to New York at age 20, strangers were regularly stopping her in the streets to compliment her on her coats. That's when she realized although these shearling styles are a norm in her native Kazakhstan, they weren't as abundant in the U.S.

A select number of luxury brands sell shearling coats. However, Zwetzich said the cost is typically astronomical, while the styles are so trendy they will look dated within a season.

"We want our collection to be more classic, so it never goes out of style," she said. "I design the coats so you can wear them for the rest of your life."
With Koja, Zwetzich and her co-founder/mother, Irene Zwetzich, want to bring the fashion industry back to the basics. Rather than scrapping a collection and coming out with a completely one every season, the company will offer the same, timeless designs year over year. It will add new products from time to time, but there will be no massive purge of merchandise because its inventory aims to transcend trends.

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