Ukrainian fashion designer Yana Smaglo wins support from BBC Dragons’ Den stars Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden

Yana Smaglo, 32, was seen pitching her fashion distribution house Nenya - which means motherland - to the two dragons, alongside Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Peter Jones.

BBC viewers saw Yana ask for £80,000 for 10 per cent of her business. Winning offers from four of the five Dragons, she accepted a joint offer from Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett.

Yana, originally from Kharkiv, was in Kyiv working on her new collection when, on February 24, 2022, she awoke to the sound of bombing as Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. She packed a small bag and left, travelling through Poland and Germany, until she was invited by friends to stay in Huddersfield.

She decided to establish Nenya as a fashion distribution company and launched it later that year with the aim of helping fellow designers still living in Ukraine by supporting their businesses, their skills and their creativity, to enable them to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Deborah Meaden said, “Yana has the wonderful combination of grit and style which is bound to stand her out from the crowd. Her collection of luxurious leisure wear is absolutely spot on for the current climate and underlying it all is a drive to help her home country.”

Having provided Yana with office space and warehousing in London, Steven Bartlett said, “Yana’s story deeply inspired me from the minute I heard it, having now worked alongside her for the last few months in our offices, she’s somehow managed to inspire me even more on a daily basis; deeply determined, insanely creative and someone who is destined to reach the very top of the fashion world.”

The episode was filmed last year with the outcome a closely guarded secret until it aired last night.

Yana said: “Appearing on the BBC Dragons’ Den was an incredibly challenging yet rewarding experience. The preparation process was long and demanding, especially as I’m not a naturally public person, so being in front of the cameras felt daunting.

“Working with the Dragons has been a completely new experience, and I’m excited to see where it leads in 2025.

“Both Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden have been incredibly supportive, offering me a fantastic office and warehouse space and introducing us to amazing fashion companies like Hope & Ivy, whose designs are stunning. I’m determined to make the most of this opportunity and the mentorship I now have.”

Following an article in the Yorkshire Post in 2022 about her ambitions, Yana found offers of help and advice from Yorkshire business people, supporting her with PR, retail and wholesale connections, advertising and design. She sourced stock and wholesale partners, and now also sells the clothes and accessories - including luxurious knitwear - via the website nenya.online, and has had pop-up shops at Victoria Gate Shopping Centre in Leeds, at Trinity Leeds, and in London. She won the Smart Works Leeds Fashion as a Force for Good Indie of the Year for 2023.

Nenya sells clothes wholesale in more than 120 countries including the USA, Canada and France, and has a turnover of £120,000.