Today we’d like to introduce you to Ninellie Chkhaidze.
Hi Ninellie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story has always been connected to creativity, although it has evolved many times along the way.
I was born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, and studied design at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University. I began my creative career working across art, costume and design, experimenting with textiles, patchwork, mixed media and fashion. Over time, fashion became the main language through which I expressed myself.
In 2015, I founded my own fashion label, NINELLIE. What started as a creative idea grew into a real business that I built and developed for around a decade. As the founder and designer, I was involved in almost every aspect of the brand — from designing collections and styling to visual identity, production and communication. My work was featured in Georgian media, worn by public figures and reached clients beyond Georgia. I also had opportunities to present my work internationally, including in Paris.
After many years of building my own brand, I reached a point where I wanted to evolve creatively rather than simply repeat what I had already built. My experience as a designer naturally led me toward styling, visual storytelling and content creation. Having been on the brand side for so many years gives me a different perspective as a creator today — I understand not only how to make something visually beautiful, but also the identity and intention behind a product.
Paris became an important part of that evolution. In 2024, I studied Fashion Image & Business at Istituto Marangoni Paris, and since then I have returned to Paris regularly, including during several Paris Fashion Week seasons. I began creating fashion and street-style content, collaborating with brands and developing a more international audience.
Today, I work at the intersection of fashion, styling, art and content creation. I create editorial-style visual content, collaborate with brands, work as a stylist and continue exploring textile art — something that connects me back to where my creative journey originally began.
I don’t see my career as a straight line. I see it as a series of transformations. I have been an artist, a designer, an entrepreneur, a brand founder, a stylist and a content creator — and each chapter has given me a different way of understanding fashion.
Right now, I feel I’m entering another chapter: building a more international creative career, with Paris becoming an increasingly important part of both my work and my future.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Building and running my own fashion brand for nearly a decade taught me that creativity is only one part of success — I also had to navigate production, business, finances and constant uncertainty.
The biggest challenge came when I decided to close the brand and reinvent myself professionally. After spending so many years building one identity, starting a new chapter in styling, content creation and international fashion meant becoming a beginner again in many ways.
It hasn’t always been comfortable, but it taught me that sometimes letting go of an old version of success is necessary to create space for something bigger.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Today, my work sits at the intersection of fashion, styling, art and visual storytelling. I work as a fashion stylist and content creator, creating editorial-style photo and video content for fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.
What sets me apart is my background. Having spent nearly a decade building my own fashion brand, I understand fashion from both sides — as a designer and brand founder, but also as a stylist and creator communicating a product to an audience.
I’m especially proud of how I’ve transformed that experience into a new international chapter, building connections between Tbilisi and Paris and continuing to evolve creatively rather than limiting myself to one role.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I believe luck plays a role in life, but I don’t really believe in “bad luck.” What we initially see as bad luck can often be an opportunity to begin again — with more knowledge, determination and confidence than we had before.
For me, difficult experiences are teachers. They force us to grow, reconsider our direction and prepare us for the next stage of life.
Good luck may open a door, but challenges teach you how to walk through the next one stronger and wiser.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninellieinparis
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninellieinparis
