You're reading: Biggest store with Ukrainian-made clothes opens on Khreshchatyk

Ukraine’s biggest store selling outfits and accessories made by local producers, Vsi Svoi, opened in central Kyiv on Sept. 21.

The store, at 27 Khreshchatyk St., opened in the premises of
the former Grand Gallery premium clothing store. The store’s three floors stock
around 150 Ukrainian brands of clothes, accessories, bags, lingerie and shoes.
All of the Ukrainian-made items were selected up by the store’s owner, Anna
Lukovkina, the founder of the Vsi Svoi market, which is held in the city’s D12
Gallery once a month.

See the photo gallery from Vsi Svoi opening here.

With Ukrainian-made goods proving popular after the
EuroMaidan Revolution, Lukovkina decided to gather them all together in one place.

“People are often surprised by the quality and quantity of
Ukrainian-made clothes, and their uniqueness,” Lukovkina told the Kyiv Post on
Sept. 20, the day before her Vsi Svoi store opened.

“There are lots of brands with narrow specializations, which
are creating something new within their field,” she said.

The first floor of the new store features outfits by Owlsome, Ksenia
Gospodinova, MATE apparel, Nuovo, bags by Woolberry, Mantra Leather, coats by TB Coats, shoes by Momot, L.A.P.T.I, Chameleon and Karabadgak Shoes, hats by Kapeliukh,
and others. The second floor has a menswear section and a lingerie department.
The brands on a third floor are more exclusive and expensive, such as Ushakova,
Woowooki bags, and Vladna shoes.

Prices start at Hr 250 ($10) for a t-shirt, Hr 600 ($24) for
a dress and Hr 2,000 ($80) for a coat.

People enter Vsi Svoi store that opened on Khreshchatyk Street on Sept. 21. (Volodymyr Petrov)

Before Lukovkina organized first Vsi Svoi fair in April 2015,
most of the young brands sold their outfits at occasional outdoor fairs known only
to a narrow circle. Lukovkina wanted to make shopping more convenient, so she rented
the place, put in dressing rooms and invited the Ukrainian designers to
participate.

She said that there were about 80 brands on sale at the first
market, but soon the number had grown to 250 and the market occupied all five
floors of the D12 Gallery. Lukovkina said that about 30,000 people visit the
market on the weekends they are held.

Lukovkina said that she couldn’t have imagined she would be
able to open an own store so quickly. But when she got an offer to rent a
building in the center less than a year ago, she started investing money from markets
in the new store.

She said that only the most popular brands on a market, made
by those who make clothes for a living rather than hobbyists, won spots in the
store. Once a brand has launched its own mass production, she said, they tend
to make clothes of good quality for reasonable prices.

With the opening of the store, the market will now focus on
young designers who are just presenting their first collections.

“People are sometimes very critical of local brands,”
Lukovkina said. “If they see flaws in the clothes at mass markets, they’re OK
with it. But if some local brand makes mistakes (with their clothes in the
store), the negative feedback will be very strong. So I think we need to
support them, and, in turn, they won’t let us down.”

Where:
Vsi Svoi store
27 Khreshchatyk St.
10 a.m. – 10 p.m.