Today we’d like to introduce you to Anya Oleynik.
Hi Anya, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Animals have been an important part of my life for years. I’ve spent years volunteering with and financially supporting animal charities, and through that experience I kept seeing the same problem: these organizations are chronically underfunded. There is rarely enough money to cover everything from veterinary care and food to facilities, staffing and rescue operations. What struck me was not only how great the need was, but how difficult it could be to get people to pay attention to it. I started thinking about how I could help change that on a much larger scale, and I became interested in the cultural influence of fashion as a way to bring animals into spaces where they are often absent from the conversation.
My own path has been somewhat unconventional. My background spans biology, psychology, business and finance, and I also spent time modeling, so I’ve always been interested in both creative work and the systems behind how businesses influence people and society. Eventually, those different parts of my life came together in the idea for 4NML.
I founded 4NML (“For Animal”) as a Baltimore-based luxury fashion company built around a different relationship between business and animals. We create apparel, accessories and pet pieces without animal-derived materials, using materials such as Italian raw denim, organic cotton and AppleSkin, a partially bio-based alternative to conventional leather. Animal sponsorship is built into our business model from day one: we provide support even before profitability and commit at least half of our profits to animal charity sponsorships as we grow. The charities we sponsor are organizations I have personally volunteered with or supported for years, giving me firsthand knowledge of their work and impact.
I’ve been involved in nearly every aspect of building the company, from the original concept and product development to branding, website development, partnerships, logistics and the business model itself. Our pieces are developed and made in partnership with the Vidin Was Taken atelier in Bucharest, Romania, with production kept intentionally small and most pieces made to order.
We officially launched 4NML in May 2026, so I still see this as the beginning of the story. My larger goal is to use fashion not only to create beautiful, meaningful works of art, but to make caring about animals more visible, culturally relevant and financially consequential. I want 4NML to demonstrate that a fashion company can create value for the person wearing the clothes while also directing meaningful value toward the animals and organizations that need it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. One of the hardest challenges has been that, despite the attention 4NML has received, we are still working toward our first sale. That has been discouraging because I believe deeply in the quality of the pieces and the mission behind them, and it can be difficult to understand why something you have put so much into has not yet translated into customers.
Price is part of the challenge. Our clothing is expensive to produce because of the materials we use, the small-scale and made-to-order production, and the costs of manufacturing and transporting the pieces from Europe. I have friends and supporters who genuinely love the brand but simply cannot afford the clothing. At the same time, lowering prices substantially would mean compromising either the product or the business model, so the challenge is finding the customers who value what we are creating and can afford it.
There have also been moments when people have dismissed or even mocked the idea, which can be difficult when the mission is so personal to me. It has made me realize that caring deeply about something does not automatically make other people care about it in the same way. Part of my job is figuring out how to make the fashion compelling enough that people want to be part of 4NML first, and then discover everything their purchase helps support.
On the operational side, international commerce has been surprisingly complicated. Our pieces are made with our atelier in Romania, yet selling directly to customers within Europe has presented VAT, fulfillment and regulatory challenges that we are still working to solve. It is one of those things that sounds as though it should be simple until you actually try to build the infrastructure behind it.
All of these challenges have forced me to keep questioning, learning and adapting. I am still very early in the process, and I am trying to treat the difficult parts not as evidence that the idea cannot work, but as problems that I have not yet solved.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
What I’d want readers to know about 4NML is that the brand is very design- and concept-driven. I don’t approach a collection as simply a group of garments; I think about the larger world they belong to, the materials, details, and ideas connecting them. Our first collection, PRIMALIS, moves through themes including the inner world, nature, communication and work, with individual pieces drawing inspiration from animals, the symbolism of the apple as knowledge, and the relationship between humans and the living world.
The collection is intentionally varied, with something for a wide range of people: statement pieces sit alongside more understated denim, shirts, sweats, and accessories, as well as pieces designed specifically for animals. Despite that range, the collection remains cohesive through a shared design language of recurring materials, silhouettes, symbolism and the larger PRIMALIS narrative.
I’m especially proud of the level of thought that goes into details people may not immediately see: the construction, unusual material combinations, limited production, numbered garments, and the storytelling behind individual designs. Even product names such as the Dovetail Dress, Bloom Jean and Lineage Tee are part of that larger language.
I also want 4NML to feel like a fashion house rather than a cause printed on clothing. The goal is to create pieces people seek out because the design itself interests them, while gradually building a broader culture around the brand and what it represents. That balance between creativity, craftsmanship and purpose is probably what I’m most proud of so far.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
For me, mentorship has been less about finding one formal mentor and more about learning from people with deeper experience in areas where I am still growing. The team at our atelier, Vidin Was Taken in Romania, has played a major role in that. They have extensive experience in fashion development and production, and I have learned a great deal from working closely with them. I also try to learn from every professional I work with, from photographers and stylists to suppliers and people on the business side, while studying what has worked for other brands and entrepreneurs.
For networking, my advice is to find people you genuinely admire and reach out to as many of them as you can. I have gotten a tremendous amount of radio silence, but when someone does respond and genuinely believes in the mission, it means a lot and can lead to something meaningful. That is actually how my relationship with Vidin Was Taken began. I simply sent them a message on Instagram, told them about my idea for 4NML, and they connected with it immediately because they are big animal lovers too. That shared set of values turned a cold message into one of the most important relationships behind the brand. So I would say: do not be discouraged by silence. You only need a few of the right people to answer.
Pricing:
- Accessories start at $90.
- Apparel currently ranges from $240 to $1,500, including tees from $280, denim pieces from $450, and the Core Jacket at $1,500.
- Pet pieces include the 2nd Nature Pet Bed at $380.
- Most garments are made to order in Romania, with pricing reflecting small-scale production, premium materials, skilled labor, and transport.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://4NML.COM
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/4nmlhaus
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/4nmlhaus
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/4nml
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@4nmlhaus
