“This last year has been amazing,” says Jana Sascha, founder and creative director of De La Vali, an Ibiza-born, London-built womenswear label that’s become a stalwart of the London-LA-Ibiza party girl wardrobe. Known for its flirty minis, flowing maxis and sexy little beach dresses, the brand has undergone a restructuring in the last year or so, and in the process taken on a new, more elevated edge. “I'm so excited how people are resonating with the new direction,” Sascha says.
And certainly, it’s been a big year. The brand, which launched in 2017, opened a pop-up store on Carnaby Street last summer that was so successful that it became De La Vali’s permanent flagship store. “We didn't really expect it to be as busy as it has been,” Sascha explains. “It was just meant to be six months. It was amazing how little promotion we did and how many girls knew about it and now, we haven't had a day where it's not been full.” Sascha credits a renewed appetite for retail and IRL experiences for her success; her store is a window into her brand’s luxe bohemian world, complete with vintage photos, tarot cards and coffee table books on Ibiza.
“It felt really important to do something in London because a lot of our early success came from this city and London girls wearing the brand,” Sascha says, who’s already looking to open a second store in an as-yet undisclosed location.
De La Vali has come a long way since 2017; Sascha and her childhood friend and fellow Ibizan Laura Castro Porta launched the brand with cheongsam-inspired minis that became a smash hit on the party circuit, and a red and white polka dot flamenco maxi that was so successful they bring iterations of it back every few seasons. The pair parted ways two years ago but remain good friends – Porta has returned to the island and launched her own incredibly cool resort wear brand, Porta.
The spirit of both London and Ibiza is sewn into every De La Vali piece. “Ibiza is like the zen, the laid-back energy, the feeling of being centered and grounded, and then London is like the pulse. It's the excitement, the culture, the movement,” Sascha says. “Ibiza is the heart and soul, but that little spiciness, that sass, comes from London.” This duality is built into the designs themselves. Most De La Vali dresses can be worn with heels for a cocktail event in Mayfair, and then – once you whip out the slip, which is made to be removable – rocked with a bikini and flip flops for sundowners on the beach. “That’s the core Ibiza vibe – having that dress in your basket bag that you can take with you and transform for every stage of the day, from beach to dinner to partying.”
They’re the kind of dresses where no matter how glamorous, you never feel trussed up or overdone. “The De La Vali girl likes to feel feminine, but she's cool as well.”
De La Vali’s most recent collection, Con Alma, (which means “with soul” in Spanish) is Sacha’s most personal to date. “It’s very from the heart – I really poured a lot of love and soul into that collection,” she says. And its worked: over 50 per cent of the styles sold out within just two weeks of launching last month. “It's been incredible… it feels like we are reaching more people now.”
The brand launched on online luxury fashion platform MyTheresa a few months ago and is just about to launch with Selfridges and Revolve.No longer just dresses, De La Vali is expanding categories to offer a fuller ready-to-wear wardrobe. And the bridal business, which Sascha launched due to an inundation of requests, is booming.
“We decided to really focus on our girl and our customer and understanding who she is and what she wants and just continuing to kind of nurture her,” she says. “That’s become the golden recipe.”
De La Vali
36 Marshall Street, W1F 7EY
Hours:
Mon to Wed 11am–7pm
Thu 11am–8pm
Fri & Sat 11am–7pm
Sun midday–6pm
