Within the last edition of Paris Fashion Week, various Ukrainian designers presented their collection to the international fashion audience visiting the event.
Among them, there were more renown brands like Kseniaschnaider, who had also previously participated successfully to London Fashion Week. For the occasion, the designer showcased her f/w 2023/2024 collection at Awayikin Showroom, Paris.
Seven other Ukrainian designers have showcased their f/w collections within the same period at 7 Rue d’Argenteuil, as part of a collective project supported by USAID Competitive Economy Program, a program meant to help business start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to become more competitive in domestic and international markets.
The initiative had been organised for the second season by Jen Sidary, a fashion insider who has been working with Ukraine’s fashion industry since 2020, before the war, and has also implemented the idea to showcase the talented country's fashion industry at fashion weeks for the first time in September 2021.
“I have huge respect for all the people of Ukraine and for how they are adapting their lives to survive and continue to grow. I have discovered a hidden gem which is where much of the world’s history began, but many of us just didn’t know it. Ukraine’s fashion industry is one I want to work with for the rest of my career,” said Jen Sidary, curator of the project.
“Ukrainian fashion businesses have a huge potential to win the hearts and minds of those who appreciate quality and design. The brands realise that all eyes are on Ukraine now and proudly represent the country," commented Olesya Zaluska, Chief of Party, USAID CEP.
After a highly challenging year, the Ukrainian entrepreneurs and designers have found themselves still fighting to keep their businesses alive.
They continue to create handmade collections under constant air raid sirens, move ateliers to bomb shelters, factories having to shift production to produce clothing items for Ukraine’s military, or construct under recurring blackouts.
The Brands
Chereshnivska is an Ukraine-based unisex brand founded in 2016 and focused on innovation and sustainability. By 2024, 50% of its production will be made from recycled items. All of its designs are available in very limited quantities. The brand believes that design combined with artistic value and sustainable practice will always matter. Most pieces of the collection feature the unique hand-drawn prints by its creative director Anastasiya Rozava. Every collection is driven by a strong core idea, yet still open for interpretation.
Kachorovska is a Ukrainian fashion shoe brand, that has mastered the design, craftsmanship, and manufacturing of shoes since 1957 by a company that has reached now its third generation of a family of shoemakers. The brand is a key local industry player and a leader of the category, currently focused on a global expansion strategy. "This is our specialty — we know shoes, we love shoes, and we speak shoes — the undeniable language of all shoe lovers around the world!" commented the brand's management.
My Sleeping Gypsy is a fully sustainable brand. For the last six years, it has been building and operating a fully vertically integrated brand in Kyiv, Ukraine. My Sleeping Gypsy speaks an authentic voice, preserving the heritage craft of the Vyshavanka which is eponymously linked to Ukraine’s heritage. In collaboration with artists, it also creates wearable objects of art, which go beyond fashion, by having a cultural value and being fully sustainable.
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