Fashion
lovers’ wait for this year's Ukrainian Fashion Week is finally
over -- the country’s main fashion event kicked off on March 17 in Kyiv.
For those less au fait with this season’s couture trends, the Kyiv Post offers
a brief overview of most interesting and creative Ukrainian fashion brands.
Pustovit
Liliya Pustovit is a very popular label among Ukrainian
celebrities. Ukraine’s first lady Marina Poroshenko appeared on public in the
charming blue dress by Pustovit on July 7, 2014, the inauguration day of
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
The designer launched her label in 1998, and now her
collections can be found in Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Pustovit’s
clothes are on sale in four Kyiv stores, with the label’s main showroom at 15
Khreshchatyk Street. Prices for previous collection clothes start from Hr 15,
000.
Litkovskaya
Ukrainian designer Lilia Litkovskaya launched her label in
2009, and in the seven years since Litkovskaya designs have gained popularity both
in Ukraine and abroad. In 2013, Vogue Italia named Litkovskaya among the world’s
best 200 designers. Her Fall-Winter 2016 collection was showcased in Paris on
March 2-9.
The famous fashion clothes retailer Opening Ceremony now sells
Litkovskaya label clothes in the United States and Japan, and Litkovskaya
clothes can also be found on sale in France, Cyprus and South Korea. In Kyiv, her
clothes can be found in the Helen Marlen shop in Mandarin Plaza shopping mall
at 6 Baseyna Sreet. The prices of casual dresses start from Hr 6,000. Mixing
different, contrasting styles is Litkovskaya’s design hallmark.
Bevza
Svetlana Bevza came into the spotlight of the Ukrainian
fashion industry thanks to her minimalistic white dresses with unusual forms.
The designer created her first collections under the Bevza label in 2006. In
2014, Bevza appeared on the prestigious list of young designers in Vogue
Italia. Her collections are sold worldwide through the online shops and a
number of stores in the United States, Israel, Italy, Japan, China and the
United Kingdom.
The Bevza label showroom in Kyiv is located at 10/7
Zankovetskoi Street. The designer’s clothes can also be found at the Corner
concept store at 9-12 Vozdvyzhenska Street and the Icon concept store at 94
Velyka Vasylkivska Street. Prices are moderate – sweaters from Bevza’s previous
collection cost around Hr 10,000.
Podolyan
Volodymyr Podolyan is a renowned Ukrainian designer who
makes elegant feminine clothes from high-quality natural materials. He prefers
simple loose dresses and pleated skirts. Podolyan launched his label in 2004.
He created the outfits for the UK-based Atelier 1 concept store that were
featured at the London Fashion Weeks from 2006 to 2009.
Podolyan‘s clothes are sold in eight stores in United States,
Sweden and Saudi Arabia, and last year the designer opened a showroom in the
center of Kyiv at 32 Esplanadna Street. The label’s clothes can also be found
at the kapsula.com.ua online shop, and in eight other stores in Kyiv. (Check
out the full list on Podolyan’s website, www.podolyan.com).
The price of a dress starts from Hr 5,000.
Frolov
Ivan Frolov, 20, one of the youngest Ukrainian designers,
creates sexy and provocative clothes decorated with transparent lace inserts,
bandages, leather and seductive cutouts. In his collections, the designer
explores sexual taboos and fetishism. Frolov says he gets his inspiration from
Stanly Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” film and mysterious Masonic Lodge doctrines.
Frolov’s work first appeared at Ukrainian Fashion Week in
2014, the same year he graduated from Kyiv National University of Technology
and Design.
This spring, Frolov featured his works in collaboration with
other seven Ukrainian designers at London Fashion Week. The label’s showroom is
located at 34 Hoholivska Street. Prices for dresses start at around Hr 5,000.
Olena Dats’
Olena Dats’ specializes in elegant, feminine dresses and
transparent blouses with machine embroidery. A graduate of Lviv Academy of Arts,
she first presented her work at yjr Ukrainian and Paris Fashion Weeks in 2005. Since
2012, she has taken part in prestigious fashion shows such as Beverly Hills
Fashion Forwards and Who’s Next Prêt-à-Porter Paris.
American actresses Sharon Stone and Nathalia Ramos and
British actress Jessica Clark frequently appear on the red carpet wearing Dats’
dresses.
Outfits by Dats’ are available in various stores in United
States, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, France, and Egypt. In Kyiv, the designer’s
clothes are sold in three stock shops at 36v Andriivskuy Uzviz, 2 Obukhibske
Highway and in the Ocean Plaza shopping mall.
Dats’ dresses sell for around Hr 15,000. Dress rental in the Oh My Look
store costs Hr 2,000-3,000.
The Coat by Katya
Silchenko
Katya Silchenko is a young Ukrainian designer who presented
her first collection in 2013. The same year Silchenko, who is also a
TV-presenter and former Ukrainian ballroom dance champion, launched her label,
The Coat.
This year, Silchenko exhibited her collection in Paris on
March 6-9. In Kyiv the label’s showroom, which is located at 48 Vozdvyzhenska
Street, sells coats, shorts, dresses, skirts and suits in bright colors. Two-color
coats with amusing prints are the main feature of Slipchenko’s autumn-winter
2015-2016 collection. The price of a coats start from Hr 19,000.
