About us - Navitique

Hello, I am Adina Gherghe and this is my story, from the beginning.

My passion for fashion started in 2014, when I got an internship at a fashion house in Bucharest. I studied Geography, and on paper I am an engineer in urbanism, so really, nothing to do with fashion, but it was my calling. In the beginning, I was supposed to go to the workshop for around 2 hours a day, to pick up some techniques.

But in reality, on the first day I spent 10 hours working, learning about patterns. And that is how everything started.

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Everyday I grew more fascinated and more attracted to the projects. My imagination roamed free, I was designing things in my mind and step by step they started to become reality and turn into real items. I was discovering that my senses were sharpened to feel fabrics and textures. This was what I did daily for a few months and I loved it. Everyday I was learning something new.

The first celebrity I interacted with was Loredana Groza. The team I was working with at the time was preparing all of her stage outfits for her early concert at Sala Palatului, in October 2014.

Back then, my entire universe was the workshop. I woke up with the workshop and I went to sleep with the workshop on my mind.I had a lot of work to do under a lot of pressure, but I had the same goal as the team: everything had to be perfect. Many of the clothing items were handmade, with a lot of applied shiny accessories. The keyword was “glamorous” and the clothes were much more complex than any other ready-to-wear item. T

hey were, after all, clothes made for The Queen of Romanian pop music, an equivalent of Madonna of Romania. It was a real pleasure to work for her, everything was challenging and limitless: everything had to be very creative, spectacular, original and unique. I was well aware about the requirements, I knew what I wanted to make but I didn’t know that I was about to be part of the backstage staff for the following concert. And the following event would shape my mission. While Loredana was making soundchecks she gave me a pair of Prada boots and she said: “Cut them, cut them now and use a thread to pull them together. They are too tight!. And there I was, holding a pair of Prada boots in my hands for the first time and all I could think was: “How on Earth will I pay for these if I destroy them?”. Loredana saw my shock and she said to me with a very calm voice: “I saw your work, I know you can make them look great. And if you destroy them, they’re just a pair of boots after all!” And I did it. While she was rehearsing in the background, I was heating up a needle using a cigarette lighter and I was piercing the boots, trying to make them look just as she wanted them.
There was a lot of behind the scene, everything we worked for was about to appear on stage, and the timing was 1 minute to change between outfits: everything from clothes, shoes, hairstyle accessories and make up. Every member of the team had very specific tasks, and Loredana had to look flawless every time she stepped back on the stage. After the last outfit, she invited the entire crew on the stage while the crowd was cheering and singing alongside her. Seeing her, I realized how much I love what I do. I realized that the best pay for my work is the happiness I see in a woman when she is wearing something that makes her look amazing. And then my wish became more clear and I said in my mind: “one day I will have my own workshop and my stage will be made of all the women that wear my clothes.” But first, I had to study and become better, so I started a clothes design program, I started to study the history of fashion, I took styling courses and I kept on working at that internship every day, even though I wasn’t getting paid. My satisfaction and my reward were all the things that I couldn’t have learned any other way. And I was more than grateful for that.

How Navitique was born

After a while, the fashion house I was working for closed down, and things started to get hard for me. I was facing some personal, professional and creative challenges. But my dream was more alive than ever, and so I decided to create my own brand. At first, I didn’t have a name for it, but I knew I wanted to create it for independent women, which are versatile and fashionable. And most importantly, I was thinking about the women who are trying to make an impression and that want to be memorable.

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I took a piece of paper and a pen and I brainstormed. I sketched and wrote, and cut and modified until I found a word that I like. A word that isn’t present anywhere else but it has the power to inspire me and represent my vision. Navitique is translated into “One woman, all styles, elegant, business or day to day, be sure to be MEMORABLE. Navitique is a unique word that showed me that dreams come true through hard work, dedication, love and patience, trust and perseverance.

In june 2016, I had a business plan, a budget, a dream, a few sketches, no sewing machine or any clue of how to use one. I didn’t have enough money to hire someone, so I decided to talk to Mrs Katy. Mrs Katy has been a seamstress for her entire life and I met her during my internship. She is still part of my team today. I remember going to her house and presenting my business plan and an (unpaid) job offer to her (because I had no budget whatsoever). I only had some sketches and the enthusiasm of a first idea: the first Navitique capsule called “Independent Woman”. Mrs Katy believed in me and my plan and she said: “Here’s the deal, I don’t understand anything from your business plan. I’m just telling you that I need a job. I will help you, what other choice do I have? But I need you to promise me you will hire me for real by October. Until then, I will work for you for free.

But if you know you won’t be able to pay me in the future, just tell me here and now.” And I promised her a full paid-job. June, July, August and September went by and Mrs Katy worked hard with no pay. She worked for the capsule collection, night gowns and many others. By September, we started getting custom made orders, but the company was not set up yet legally. The capsule collection didn’t have a photo shooting and there was just one month left until I had to hire Mrs Katy. I strongly believe that if we want something hard enough, that thing becomes real. So after a discussion over coffee with Aisii, we were having a fitting for the capsule, a concept for the campaign with the help of Daniel and Sârghe and I was signing the papers for opening the company and keeping my promise. Navitique was becoming real and that conversation over coffee was about to change everything that followed. In june 2017, Navitique already had a workshop, Mrs Katy was hired and I finally had my space to manifest my creativity.

The first capsule collection, the friends that helped and everything that followed

Like all firsts, Navitique faced some challenges, but with some help from friends, we made it through the hard times. Ana-Maria (Aisii), Daniel Ilinca and Alex Sârghe were the first people that believed in me and helped me transform my first creations into a capsule collection called “Independent Woman”. This campaign was made with all of my heart and soul and it was born from my vision about the Navitique woman.

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After this, the story started to grow and develop. The collection was all about making a statement and encouraging women to be powerful and express their style and attitude with no excuses.

The next phase was the exploration of street style together with Ema Uta, in the Camo Glam Collection. This is a powerful collection as it was inspired by military uniforms that inspire a mix of elegance and authority that attracts people like a magnet. Starting from classical patterns, we conceived a series of sexy and powerful items that are representative for the women who wear them.

The autumn-winter Effendi collection (2017-2018) was all about versatility and the power of women to speak up and make a statement about themselves through the clothes they wear. The collection is made up of elegant garments, inspired from the old Venice balls, day-to-day pieces, office and street. The collection was promoted with the help of the powerful women who chose to wear it: Gabriela Simion, Andreea Chirila, Cristina Belciu, Dulap de surori, just to name a few.

The development of the street style section of Navitique was further consolidated with the help of our friends: Ema Dj Harra, Elena Gheorghe, Antonia and her band (Piciu, Freek, Alex Anghel, Alex Săndulescu), George Cozma, Alexia Eram, Tabya, Beatrice Kadar.

Last but not least is the latest capsule collection developed with Alexia Eram. This collection was brought to light with the help of Andreea Esca, Emma de la Zu, Raluka, Alina Eremia, Irina Ssw, Laura Giurcanu, Sânziana Negru, Sînziana Sooper, Ioana Grama, Antonia and Inna. The collection was promoted inside A List Magazine, bringing Navitique closer to fulfilling a dream: the dream of creating a fashion house that makes women memorable.

The Navitique Promise

Be Memorable is the Navitique mantra. And memorability is translated into some powerful pieces that are a perfect fit to the women who wear them. By the work we do inside the workshop I want to take the idea of customization further. I know every woman is different and has her specific needs and desires. That’s exactly why I want to make every piece made to measure. I don’t believe in universal sizes like S, M or L – I believe that every woman deserves to have perfect clothing items that were crafted and sewn after her specific size and curve.

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I wish that women who wear Navitique will feel strong, powerful and confident in their own capabilities. And this is way easier to do when your clothes reflect this attitude and style. I am open to creating custom and unique pieces for my clients that are a 100% perfect fit. The traditional approach to the customization of clothing assures the fact that all Navitique items are alive and relevant for a long period of time. Items that are timeless and versatile can always be reinvented, reinterpreted, season after season.

To sum up, I want to thank you all! I want to give out a big thank you for everyone who was close to Navitique and encouraged me from the start. We love it every time we get a message or a feedback. We are absolutely exhilarated to see you wearing our creations and it is so encouraging to see all the soulful messages you send when your clothes arrive. Those of you who chose Navitique and keep choosing us – you are the best.

With love and emotion
Adina, Navitique.