Nanai robes were made from tanned salmon and carp leather and ornamented by cutting, never by drawing. Motifs were cut from indigo-dyed fish skin, each shape laid on a slightly larger backing piece, then stitched to the pale robe — so the whole system is dark figure on a light field.

The signature form is the pair of facing swirls, the Nanai eyes, cut by the positive/negative papercut method and carried across wedding robes and shaman coats alike. Ornament runs as unbroken bands along hem, cuff, collar and centre opening, mirrored about the robe's opening.