The fashion pack is back on the circuit – heading to Kyiv to kick off the SS25 season with the first in-person Ukrainian Fashion Week since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

From September 1 to 4, this season’s UFW is set to showcase more than 50 brands via a variety of mediums from traditional catwalks to interactive presentations and performances. For the past three seasons, Berlin, London and Copenhagen have offered up slots in their respective schedules specifically for Ukrainian designers who fled their country. Eager to return home and celebrate themes of community unification, Ukrainian Fashion Week is prioritising young creatives during fashion’s busy September schedule. Coinciding with Kyiv Design Week, the city will also host a range of educational exhibitions, roundtable workshops and lectures extending the practical and theoretical knowledge of new designers. Wondering who to look out for? Below we sat down with our top five favourite Ukrainian-based designers:

MASHAT

Tasha Labunskaya, Founder and Creative Director

1. How does it feel to be back for Ukrainian Fashion Week?  

Ukraine is our home. Since the start of the full-scale Russian aggressive attack, we’ve returned from Canada to support our lovely land during the hard times. Now, we are extremely proud to present our new collection once again at Ukrainian Fashion Week and prove our indomitability.

2. What influences your creative practice?

Life as it is. Aesthetics in a routine practice. We find beauty in everyday life, developing topics that seem boring or even disgusting to others.

3. How did you two come to meet and work together?

We are a married queer couple. The idea to start our project comes from the very start of our relationship. We may proudly say that MASHAT is our child. We support each other in its development and contribute all the efforts so that it may grow.

4. Where did the name MASHAT come from?

MASHAT is co-sounded with French MA CHATTE, my kitty, joyful while sharp. However, there is always a hidden meaning above.

5. Sustainability is at the forefront of your work, why is this so important to you?

To be sustainably responsible is a base for modern life. Overproduction destroys our creative spirits. If you come to a contemporary mall in any city you’ll get into endless corridors of the same man-made things making no sense. We don’t want to get lost in the Minotaur’s labyrinth.

SIDLETSKIY

Ihor Sidletskiy, Founder and Creative Director

1. How does it feel to be back for Ukrainian Fashion Week?

Returning to Ukrainian Fashion Week is truly inspiring and evokes deep emotions. It is not just a fashion show, it is a demonstration of our cultural identity and resilience. Being here, surrounded by the creativity and passion of Ukrainian designers, reminds me of the incredible talent and spirit that Ukraine has. However, we are aware of the challenges and risks associated with organising such a significant event during a time of war. Despite these challenges, my team and I are incredibly excited and grateful to be a part of this event.

2. What influences your creative practice?

My artistic practice is deeply influenced by the combination of historical references and contemporary realities. I draw inspiration from the rich heritage of Ukraine, especially from traditional crafts and handmade items. At the same time, I am influenced by everything that happens around me, and  I am constantly reflecting.

3. Can you describe what a ‘Sidletskiy Woman’ is like?

This woman embodies strength, elegance, and authenticity. She values heritage and craftsmanship while embracing modernity. Her style is sophisticated yet simple, and she favours pieces that tell a story and have meaning. She is confident, independent and not afraid to express her personality through fashion. Notably, she does not follow fleeting trends, instead she has a strong sense of personal style and knows exactly what she needs to complete her wardrobe. Each item she chooses becomes an extension of her identity, reflecting her unique path and perspective.

4. If you could describe your latest collection in three words, what would they be?

Elegant, innovative, timeless.

5. The theme of constructivism seems to be recurring in your work, how did this come about?

The theme of constructivism in my work stems from a deep admiration for architecture and art. This aesthetic resonates deeply with my approach to fashion design, where each piece is carefully crafted to balance form and function. Constructivism allows me to explore the structural integrity of clothing, creating silhouettes that are both striking and comfortable to wear. The clean lines, geometric shapes and interplay of form and function inherent in constructivism inspire me to explore new ways of interpreting traditional craftsmanship through a modern lens. It is a way to honour the past while paving the way for the future.

PASKAL

Julie Paskal, Founder and Creative Director

1.  How does it feel to be back for Ukrainian Fashion Week?  

To me, it feels like an absolute sign of resilience – a sign that we have withstood. It’s very symbolic and very special to us, as it’s our first presentation at Ukrainian Fashion Week. Before, we had only participated in international projects. So, it’s a kind of back-to-the-roots point, which also rhymes with the theme of our collection.

2. What influences your creative practice at Paskal?

Everything inside and out, from the huge phenomena to the tiniest details of our world, space, and human existence.

3. Your clothing has made its way into many celebrities’ wardrobes, is there anyone that stands out among the crowd?

For me, it’s definitely Björk; she’s truly one of a kind!

4. How did you find yourself using laser-cutting?

It’s my favourite tool that I invented for myself many years ago! I felt the urge to create something new in fashion. Combining fashion and tech felt like the right, exciting, and, at the same time, natural way, as it originates from my architectural background. I wanted to build my own unique universe, and it turned out that laser-cut flowers and butterflies are the perfect bricks for it.

TONiA

Antonina Belinska, Founder and Creative Director

1. How does it feel to be back for Ukrainian Fashion Week?

To be honest, I was thrilled to hear the news about the return of UFW! Over the past two and a half years, the UFW organising committee has been helping Ukrainian designers showcase their collections on international platforms, and that has been an incredible support. For example, I had the opportunity to present my debut collection at Budapest Fashion Week as part of the Support Ukrainian Fashion initiative. But, like all my colleagues, I eagerly awaited the return of UFW to its native grounds! Believe me, it’s very exciting to show your creativity at home to a large professional audience. At the same time, I am incredibly happy that despite the horrific challenges we face during this war, we have the opportunity to show that we want and can develop and create new beautiful things for people, even in such crisis conditions, during power outages and missile attacks. Just look at how many designers participate in UFW – the numbers speak for themselves! We have waited for this moment for a long time, and we are overjoyed to be back on our home runway.

2. Is there anyone that influences your creative practice?

I am inspired by everything humanity has created throughout its existence. I draw inspiration from medieval masters as well as French designers who invented new attire for post-war Europe or, say, Ukrainian naive painters who, without professional education, created incredible worlds on canvas. I am fascinated by the experiences that fashion history provides us. And, of course, a separate source of inspiration for me is always Ukrainian ethnography – ancient techniques of garment construction and sewing, embroidery, weaving, painting – all of this inspires me to create modern clothing that reminds us of the beauty of our traditions.

3. How has your experience in costume design impacted your current creative practice?

My experience working with historical cinema has a significant impact on the creation of collections for the TONiA brand. For 20 years, I created costumes of varying complexity and different eras, which required a thorough study of ancient techniques and the search for unconventional solutions. I still use all of this in my work with collections for my brand. In fact, rethinking my knowledge helped create the DNA of the TONiA brand, which combines ancient sewing techniques, the art of handcrafting, a reinterpretation of trends from different eras, and an exploration of feminine allure.

4. How did you get into jewellery making?

My experience working with historical cinema also helped here. In our workshop, there were blacksmiths, jewellers, and cobblers – we made shoes, jewellery, and even historical armour. This work is familiar to me. When creating the first TONiA collection, I knew it would definitely include small jewellery pieces that would help a woman subtly enhance her image. At the same time, I wanted these pieces to remind of our brand’s values – that every woman carries an entire universe within her, that she can be both feminine and sexy, confident and capable of protecting herself from adversity. That’s how the earrings in the shape of a keyhole were born, symbolising the key to a woman’s identity while also marking her boundaries for others.

5. Can you describe what a ‘TONiA Woman’ is like?

The heroine of the TONiA brand is our contemporary, who lives in harmony with her emotions, knows her boundaries, loves her body, and is ready for experiments that help her feel confident and fulfilled. This woman enjoys being noticed in society, and clothing can be both a kind of tool for play and a means of protection for her. I enjoy exploring the world of this woman and her ability to combine different facets of sexuality, creativity, tenderness, and confidence. In fact, every one of us is such a woman – my clothing merely helps to embrace one’s multifaceted nature and find one’s unique identity.

PLNGNS

Mitya Hontarenko, Founder and Creative Director

1. How does it feel to be back for Ukrainian Fashion Week?

It is still something new for us because, before the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, we took part in the Ukrainian Fashion Week for the first time. It was a joint event for young designers, and we presented our concept. Within the framework of this project, we also had an educational course. But everything that happened before the Russian invasion feels like a past life, which you no longer remember differently from what is now.

We are happy that the Ukrainian Fashion Week is returning to Kyiv and to be part of this. Of course, we have concerns about safety because Russia is a terrorist state, but we know that the Ukrainian Fashion Week team will do everything well and everyone will be safe.

2. What influences your creative practice?

Everything that happens around us affects our work in one way or another, and not only directly, as when our power plants are destroyed, and we can sit without electricity for a day, making work impossible, but also affects the subconscious mind, transmitting it in our works.

For example, the latest collection, ‘Sneaker Riot,’ is influenced by both colours and styles of things: the three colours of khaki (war) / brown (earth, the soil on which there is war) / black (grief from the loss of loved ones in war). Cropped fitted jackets are similar to ‘Ubacs’ military shirts, and vests remotely resemble bulletproof vests and military unloading systems – all of this has its mark in our work, where we, with the help of our vision, change the perception of these colours and types of clothing embodied in our items through a creative vision.

Fashion is a mirror of society. Of course, these are not our words, but we completely agree with them.

3. Sustainability is at the forefront of your work. What inspired you to take this position?

This is embedded in our brand concept, and we are thrilled that it was not attracted artificially because it is necessary or fashionable; it turned out naturally, simply scaling our idea.

We are developing our concept and are among the first ones to do it not only in the form of some accessories from recycled shoes leaving it in the form of art objects. We create items that can be called wearable art, which are fully functional and thereby show others, even large fashion corporations, the idea that – unsold leftover shoes or old shoes are easier to burn than to recycle – is a false statement.

Of course, recycling and creating material from old shoes is a rather long process because shoes have many different elements (rubber, textiles, leather/eco-leather, etc.). However, we do not just say but also demonstrate that by approaching with creativity, it is possible to turn ‘waste’ into exclusive capsule collections, for example, and this model can be made profitable for these same brands and fashion corporations.

Our personal goal is to develop a brand with a closed cycle of existence, when you can make new items in a circle, improve your past material, and open it in a new way, from collection to collection. We have developed in working with materials – this makes us very excited about moving in the right direction.

Of course, this path is quite challenging because to make our items commercially successful, time and money are needed, so sometimes we balance the boundary from bankruptcy to an incredible show within the fashion week, but thanks to the fashion organisations that support us we still here and moving forward, although it is not so easy.

4. Who do you design clothing and footwear for?

If we talk about our audience, it will probably be fair to say that we divide it into two categories:

First, it’s our customers who buy and will buy our products directly or in partner stores and second, its fashion brands and corporations who can implement our concept to work with unsold shoes and accessories in their business model. For this, for example, it is enough to invite our brand/concept to work together and implement the functioning of the concept into the structure of the brand and further invite various creative designers to work in this new branch of the brand and turn their leftovers into new capsule collections and limited collaborations. Thereby working sustainably and turning unsold leftovers into profitable drops and items.

5. Can you explain the collaborative ‘create’ option you offer your consumers?

Each of us has, had or will have some favourite thing in the wardrobe. It is hard to throw it away, but it is impossible to wear it anymore. It happened with my sneakers when I washed my favourite sneakers in the washing machine with the wrong settings. They became unusable, and these sneakers were memorable for me. So they were lying in the closet for about two years. Then I was thinking about the next idea for customising sneakers (before starting the PLNGNS brand in 2021, I did it as a hobby customising sneakers for friends and acquaintances), so I cut this pair and another one, then sewed them together by hand. Now you see what it led to, although there was still much work to do. All that is happening now is the team’s work that I gathered around the brand .

Therefore, for an individual order, we can offer to make an item not just from strictly recycled shoes but to recycle your shoes that can no longer be used, giving them a new life and outfit for you!

Photography courtesy of Ukraine Fashion Fashion Week.

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