Our Story

After eight years in the New York fashion industry working for such notables as DKNY, David Bitton, and Skechers, Roza Khamitova set out to create her own line of clothing. The label began when Roza (whose childhood nickname was Shovava, meaning cheeky & playful) started selling her handmade hand painted tops made from recycled men’s tees.

Sensing that other women had also grown tired of the assembly line, “cookie cutter” designs that were rampant in corporate fashion, she began to comb thrift stores looking for vintage and oversized men’s t-shirts that she could reconstruct into fitted women’s tops. After finding the right garments, she’d hand paint them so that they were truly “one of a kind” works of wearable art.  Her vision was to design unique pieces that were not only sexy and stylish, but also comfortable and functional.

In 2011 she and her partner Afshin launched Shovava, artistic clothing based on Roza’s hand drawn paintings and prints of the animals, plants and patterns she was seeing in the incredible beauty of Nature.Best described by Roza herself, she says, “I observe nature and find inspiration in the smallest details. Maybe it’s a butterfly’s wing or the patterned cell structure of a leaf. Maybe it’s a feather or a raven perched on a tree limb. I take in what I see in the natural world and then create my pieces.”

From there the label has expanded into fashion accessories, Shovava’s trademark Winged scarves reflect soaring imagination and embody a sense of individuality, power,freedom, and adventure. The uniqueness of her ideas are born of long solitary walks in the jungle, through bristling fields or along almost pin-drop quiet stretches of sand of Byron Bay where Roza and Afshin now reside.

In the tradition of the finest fashion houses, Shovava oversees every step of the design and production of her creations.  From those inspired late night hours drawing and experimenting, to sourcing the finest materials, and then carefully overseeing the very complex textile printing techniques employed, Shovava ensures that its products preserve the beauty and delicacy of Roza’s designs.  Roza’s exacting and meticulous standards reflect the passion of a true artist and are a primary reason that her creations have received such overwhelming praise and appreciation from customers worldwide.