Sleeper

Sleeper is a Ukrainian fashion brand founded in 2014 by former fashion editors Kate Zubarieva and Asya Varetsa. The brand is built around the idea of “First Walking Sleepwear”: garments that retain the comfort and relaxed visual language of pajamas while being designed for public wear, travel, social occasions, and everyday dressing. Its identity combines lounge dressing, soft tailoring, decorative details, and a deliberately playful relationship between private and public clothing. The founders launched Sleeper after working in fashion media and editorial environments. The first collection appeared approximately six months after the company was started. The business began with reported startup capital of $2,000 and a single seamstress, emphasizing a small-scale, direct approach to design and production. Early editorial recognition came quickly: within two months of the first collection, Franca Sozzani, then editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, identified Sleeper as a brand of the month. This early attention helped establish the label internationally despite its modest initial resources. Sleeper’s early collections developed a recognizable vocabulary of pajama-style sets, relaxed dresses, linen pieces, feather-trimmed garments, and separates that could be styled either casually or for evening use. The brand expanded its offer over time through linen collections, bridalwear, holiday-oriented party pajamas, footwear, swimwear, and garments made with recycled materials. Its products are made in Kyiv sewing studios, and the company has presented this local production model as connected to artisan manufacturing and ethical awareness. Several moments helped define Sleeper’s fashion positioning. Its first linen line arrived in 2015, followed by a bridal collection in 2016 that included a slip dress, pajama sets, and a loungewear dress. In 2017, off-the-shoulder dresses associated with the brand received significant editorial attention, while the Party Pajamas line from the Holiday 2017 collection appeared in international magazine coverage. In 2019, the founders were named to the European Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Arts & Culture. In 2021, Sleeper introduced recycled materials through its Weekend Chic set, made using recycled plastic. The brand broadened its commercial reach through international boutiques and online luxury retailers. By 2021, its collections were reported as being available in 32 markets and more than 160 boutiques, including major retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harvey Nichols, Shopbop, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Harrods, Browns, Neiman Marcus, and Ounass. Its customer and celebrity visibility has included figures such as Eva Chen, Katy Perry, Brie Larson, Kourtney Kardashian, Aurora James, Busy Philipps, Chloë Grace Moretz, Zoey Deutch, Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Lena Dunham, and others, according to the referenced brand material. Sleeper has also used editorial storytelling and social initiatives to extend its identity beyond product. In 2019 it produced the documentary Behind the Seams, which followed the development of a collection and showed the company’s team, office, production process, and shirt-making project. The film was shortlisted by the Milan Fashion Film Festival in 2020 and received Webby Honoree recognition in 2021. The brand has additionally supported organizations including Happy Today, which works with children with autism, Kvitna, which supports women affected by breast cancer, Black Girl Ventures, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Publicly available reference material does not establish the company’s current ownership, financial performance, website address, or executive structure beyond its founders.

Sleeper was established in 2014 by Kate Zubarieva and Asya Varetsa, two former fashion editors whose professional backgrounds shaped the label’s editorially aware approach to design and communication. Rather than treating sleepwear as clothing confined to the home, the founders developed a concept they described as “First Walking Sleepwear,” using pajama references as the foundation for garments intended to be worn outside. The concept gave the brand a clear point of difference in a market increasingly interested in relaxed dressing, multifunctionality, and the overlap between private and public wardrobes. The company’s first collection was released roughly six months after its founding. The initial operation was notably small, reportedly beginning with $2,000 in startup capital and one seamstress. Its early visibility grew rapidly through fashion media: within two months of the collection’s release, Franca Sozzani, then editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, named Sleeper the brand of the month. This recognition helped the young Ukrainian label gain international attention before it had the scale of an established fashion house. In 2015, Sleeper introduced a linen line, reinforcing its association with breathable, relaxed materials and warm-weather dressing. The following year it moved into bridalwear with a compact collection comprising a slip dress, pajama sets with trousers, and a loungewear dress. These categories demonstrated the brand’s effort to extend its central idea across different uses rather than limiting itself to conventional nightwear. The label gained further editorial attention in 2017. Its off-the-shoulder dresses were identified by Marie Claire as a dress of the year, while Party Pajamas, released as part of the Holiday 2017 collection, received magazine exposure including appearances on the covers of British Cosmopolitan and Tatler. These developments strengthened Sleeper’s image as a label capable of turning an informal or domestic clothing reference into a visible fashion statement. The founders’ growing profile was recognized in February 2019 when both were included in European Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the Arts & Culture category. That year Sleeper also produced Behind the Seams, a documentary about the creation of a new collection. The film presented the brand’s team, workplace, production process, and a shirt-making project, offering a behind-the-scenes account of how the company operated. It was shortlisted by the Milan Fashion Film Festival in 2020 and received Webby Honoree recognition in 2021. Sleeper continued to extend its assortment in 2020, adding footwear and swimwear. Its production remained based in Kyiv sewing studios, with the company presenting local sewing and artisan manufacturing as central to its identity. The label has described its approach in terms of ethical consciousness and support for traditional production skills, although the available reference material does not provide a detailed independently verified sustainability framework or complete supplier disclosure. In 2021, Sleeper used recycled materials in a collection for the first time. The Weekend Chic set was made using recycled plastic, marking a material change within the brand’s broader development. By that year, the collections were reported to be sold in 32 markets and more than 160 boutiques worldwide. The wholesale network included luxury and department-store retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harvey Nichols, Shopbop, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Harrods, Browns, Neiman Marcus, and Ounass. The brand has also undertaken charitable initiatives. Reported beneficiaries include Happy Today, which supports children with autism; Kvitna, which supports women with breast cancer; Black Girl Ventures; and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. These activities sit alongside Sleeper’s fashion and editorial work, contributing to a public identity built around community engagement as well as product design. The available material does not establish a later ownership change, public listing, financial results, or a complete current leadership roster.

• 2021

  First use of recycled materials

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Sleeper presents the recycled-plastic Weekend Chic set.

• 2020

  Expansion into footwear and swimwear

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Sleeper broadens its assortment beyond clothing with footwear and swimwear.

• 2019

  Founders included in European Forbes 30 Under 30

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Both co-founders are recognized in the Arts & Culture category.

• 2017

  Party Pajamas and off-the-shoulder dresses gain editorial visibility

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  The Holiday 2017 Party Pajamas line receives international magazine exposure, while the brand’s off-the-shoulder dresses are recognized by Marie Claire.

• 2016

  First bridal collection

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  The brand introduces bridal designs including a slip dress, pajama sets, and a loungewear dress.

• 2015

  First linen collection

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Sleeper releases its first line made from linen.

• 2014

  Sleeper is founded

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Kate Zubarieva and Asya Varetsa establish the Ukrainian fashion brand around the concept of wearable, public-facing sleepwear.

• 2014

  First collection receives early international attention

  [1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  The first collection is released about six months after founding, and Franca Sozzani names Sleeper brand of the month within two months of its launch.

Fashion-led multifunctional apparel that combines the comfort of sleepwear with the styling potential of daywear, occasionwear, and resort dressing. Sleeper emphasizes Ukrainian production, expressive details, relaxed silhouettes, and the movement of lounge clothing into public life.

• Loungewear and daywear · 2014

  Sleepwear-inspired apparel

  Sleeper’s core offer translates pajama and loungewear codes into garments intended for wear outside the home. Typical designs use relaxed silhouettes, coordinated separates, soft fabrics, and decorative details to bridge comfort and fashion styling.

• Apparel · 2015

  Linen collection

  Introduced in 2015, the linen line extended Sleeper’s relaxed, breathable approach into a natural-fiber collection suited to warm-weather dressing and the brand’s broader resort and leisure positioning.

• Bridalwear · 2016

  Bridal collection

  Sleeper’s first bridal collection included a slip dress, pajama sets with trousers, and a loungewear dress. It applied the label’s relaxed and multifunctional design language to wedding-related dressing.

• Occasionwear · 2017

  Party Pajamas

  Released within the Holiday 2017 collection, Party Pajamas developed Sleeper’s central pajama-as-public-clothing idea for festive and social occasions. The line received international editorial exposure, including British Cosmopolitan and Tatler coverage.

• Accessories and resortwear · 2020

  Footwear and swimwear

  Added in summer 2020, footwear and swimwear expanded Sleeper’s lifestyle proposition beyond its established apparel and loungewear categories.

• Apparel · 2021

  Weekend Chic

  The Weekend Chic set marked Sleeper’s first reported use of recycled materials. The set was made with recycled plastic and represented an expansion of the brand’s material and sustainability-oriented experimentation.

• 2020Racial-justice support

  United States · International

  From 2020, Sleeper reported donations to Black Girl Ventures and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in support of racial justice.

  Source
• 2019Behind the Seams

  International

  Sleeper created a documentary following the development of a collection and showing the team, office, production process, and a shirt-making project.

  Outcome. The documentary was shortlisted by the Milan Fashion Film Festival in 2020 and received Webby Honoree recognition in 2021.

  Source
• Support for Happy Today

  Ukraine

  Sleeper has reported support for Happy Today, an organization helping children with autism.

  Source
• Support for Kvitna

  Ukraine

  The brand has supported Kvitna, a charitable organization focused on women affected by breast cancer.

  Source

• 2021

  Introduce recycled materialsStrategy

  Background

  Sleeper sought to incorporate more environmentally oriented material choices into its collections.

  Action taken

  The brand used recycled materials for the first time in the Weekend Chic set, made with recycled plastic.

  Aftermath

  The collection marked a sustainability-related development, but the available sources do not establish a broader verified environmental program.

  Source

• 2020

  Expand into footwear and swimwearProduct launch

  Background

  Sleeper had established recognition in apparel and sought to extend its lifestyle and resort offer.

  Action taken

  The brand added footwear and swimwear during the summer.

  Aftermath

  The move broadened the range beyond clothing, although the available material does not provide sales or financial results.

  Source

• 2014

  Build the brand around public-facing sleepwearStrategy

  Background

  The founders sought to challenge the separation between homewear and public clothing.

  Action taken

  Sleeper developed “First Walking Sleepwear,” using pajama-inspired garments as a central fashion proposition.

  Aftermath

  The concept became the defining positioning of the label and supported later expansion into bridal, holiday, resort, and lifestyle categories.

  Source

• 2021

  Sleeper introduces recycled-material Weekend Chic set[1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Sleeper used recycled materials in a collection for the first time, presenting the Weekend Chic set made with recycled plastic.

• 2020

  Sleeper expands into footwear and swimwear[1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The label broadened its product range beyond apparel during the summer with footwear and swimwear.

• 2019

  Sleeper founders named to European Forbes 30 Under 30[1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Kate Zubarieva and Asya Varetsa were included in the Arts & Culture category of the European Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

• 2016

  Sleeper introduces its first bridal collection[1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The brand entered bridalwear with a slip dress, pajama sets with trousers, and a loungewear dress.

• 2015

  Sleeper launches its first linen line[1]Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The Ukrainian label expanded its sleepwear-inspired offer with a collection made from linen.

1. 1Sleeper (brand)en.wikipedia.org