Homecoming: 9 most interesting events of Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kyiv

The first fashion week in Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale invasion was held at different locations: Ukrainian House, Mystetskyi Arsenal, historical places of Kyiv and brand stores.

During four days designers presented collections on the catwalk, organized performances, presentations and tested a new format — trade show with 15 brands of clothing and accessories.

DTF Magazine takes a closer look at the most interesting events and collections of the fashion week, from the fashion circus and uniform collection to the show in K41 and caps made of sugar and wax.

UFW started with the Opening Manifest — more than 50 representatives of the fashion industry took part in the demonstration. On the stairs of the Ukrainian House they held placards with slogans ‘Stand together till our victory’, ‘We design hope despite the war’, ‘Solidarity is new humanity’, ‘russia’s war against Ukraine is not over yet’.

‘The war continues. But we live in this war, we fight for victory, we work for the sake of the present and the future. And the world should remember that’, Iryna Danylevska commented.

Each catwalk show began with a moment of silence, and at least three of the fashion shows featured prosthetic war veterans, notably Andreas Moskin, GASANOVA and Nadya Dzyak. The latter also appeared on the runway at the end of the show on Sept. 3 with a Ukrainian flag reading ‘Poltava’, when russia shelled the Institute of Communications in the city and a hospital nearby. For four days, the fashion week raised money for equipment for the palliative care department for veterans at the Svyatenko Rehabilitation Clinic in Tsybli village, Kyiv region.

At the KSENIASCHNAIDER show, models walked down Sofiivska Street to the Sophia hotel, next to which the brand’s store is located.

‘My vision was to create a show that unfolded organically on the street, seamlessly integrating any unexpected moments, random passers-by, trolleybuses and even tractors into the narrative, — KSENIASCHNAIDER described the show on Instagram. — Each and everyone was adding a unique element to the overall experience’.

The Spring/Summer 2025 collection includes traditional for the brand items in patchwork technique, knitted dresses, cardigans. The show also featured some items from two collaborations. From the collaborative collection with Kyiv O (FourFour) — swimwear with price tags, shorts and bodysuits with denim print. And from the new collaboration with adidas Originals — corsets made of denim, 2-in-1 sports pants, as well as sweatshirts and T-shirts. Among the shoes are adidas SL 72 and Gazelle Bold sneakers.

The new KSENIASCHNAIDER x adidas Originals collaboration is already available in Ukraine.

In the collection ‘Viltse’ the brand returns to its traditional theme — Ukrainian wedding. The collection is named in honor of viltse — a wedding tree that was an essential part of the ceremonies.

At the Golden Gate they presented clothes and accessories. Among the items are geometrically cut jackets, lightweight dresses with syliankas, ceramic horses, sweaters with voluminous knitted patterns and plakhtas. All pieces are one-of-a-kind and will not be reproduced, available as exclusive collectible items.

‘Through a creative prism, the designers convey the devastating impact of war, using their art to critique the aggressor and celebrate the unbreakable spirit of Ukrainians’, Ukrainian Fashion Week tells us.

Among the presented items were a Poustovit scarf with Lina Kostenko’s poetry, a PASKAL charity dress with laser perforation technology, a bracelet ‘Azovstal. The Symbol of Indomitability’ by SOVA, made from the final pre-war batch of steel produced at the Mariupol plant, a Litkovska dress which she decorated by embroidering an abstract of the ‘Prayer of the Ukrainian Nationalist’ poem, a Syndicate shirt created in collaboration with artist Oles Derega from the ‘Weapons of Mass Creation’ drop, and an interpretation of BEVZA’s signature necklace from ‘Burned spikelets’ with black elements. It was created in 2022, when huge wheat fields in southern Ukraine were burned down as a result of russian shelling.

NADYA DZYAK created a dress dedicated to Polina Raiko, whose home and museum were destroyed by flooding after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was blown up. And KSENIASCHNAIDER presented a jacket made from ties as a symbol that ‘since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more and more men don’t need ties because they wear military uniforms’.

Also the photos of fashion industry representatives who joined the army were part of the Creative resistance exhibition.

The designer continues to rethink men’s uniforms, having created a collection of layered looks consisting of 3-5 items each. As noted in the press release, Anisimov believes that menswear is rooted in utilitarian clothing, and in military uniforms in particular, which later transitioned into civilian attire.

‘The well-considered military references are a reminder of the uniform’s origins — before becoming part of the civilian wardrobe, menswear has come a long way from the purely utilitarian to the urban attire common to us today’.

He uses khaki colors and camouflage prints, as well as orange, gray and red, creating jumpsuits, elongated bomber jackets, vests, oversize shorts and jackets.

The location, which the invited guests learned about a few hours before the event, was the space of the ∄ club on Kyrylivska Street, 41 — Concert Hall and Glass Tower. FROLOV together with theater director Ivan Uryvskyi reinterpreted the Ukrainian folk tale about ‘Ivasyk-Telesyk’.

‘For Ivan Frolov, this tale holds special significance not only because it was one of his childhood favorites, but also due to a personal connection – his grandfather was a carpenter, — Frolov says. — Ivan dedicates this show-performance to him’.

In the Spring/Summer 2025 collection Ivan Frolov explored ‘mystical and folk, intimate and eternal through design techniques’. When members of the brand’s team created the items, she combined traditional Ukrainian techniques and modern clothing manufacturing technologies. A new interpretation of the iconic FROLOV corsets was combined with dresses with plates that ‘create a mirror effect’.

Among other elements are the Ukrainian brown viper snake print, mallows on silk chiffon shawls that resemble towels, each of which they embroider by hand for about 2.5 weeks.

The main roles in Frolov and Uryvskyi’s tale were played by Solomiia Kyrylova (‘Pamfir’) and Akmal Huriezov (‘Homeward’). In addition, fashion figures such as Nadiia Shapoval, founders of Bibliotheque Nationale and Sociopath Studio brands Nika Malykhina and Yuliia Hordiienko, DJ Anna B and founders of Kyiv Angels took part in the production. The show was stylized by Olena Polyvian, and Nastya Vogan was responsible for the music.

The presentation of the collection called Ivasyk took place in Kyiv and then in New York at Fashion Week.

In the Artisanal Journey exhibit, curated by the designer, he blends ‘traditional with contemporary’. This includes a beeswax cowboy hat, a baseball cap made of sugar, and the signature Baker Boy Cap made of wax and straw, which was also placed in the courtyard in the format of a large-scale art installation.

The exhibition included bags that can be transformed into hats, necklaces made of beads from the first jewelry collection SKARBY (Ukrainian for, TREASURES) ( we told you about it here) and a sculpture by Lviv artist Mykhailo Dzyndra — in July 2024 Ruslan Baginskiy released a collection inspired by the artist’s works.

‘I have long dreamed of telling you about craft, which has become an integral part of Ruslan Baginskiy’s collections. Artisanal Journey is my first curated space, — the designer says. — It is a journey into the world of artisanal techniques that I admire and to which I invite you all’.

The exhibition will run from September 5 to 15 at the Naked Room Gallery by pre-registration.

The presentation of the collection took place in the courtyard of Vozianov’s space, where a banner ‘vozianov fashion circus’ hung, and then they unfurled another one with the name of the collection ‘In apocalypse’. The idea is explained by the fact that ‘we live inside the apocalypse and discover that even here a full life is possible’.

The non-commercial collection is created from the brand’s signature squares that can be transformed into a dress.

At the presentation, Fedir Vozianov with a black clown nose dressed the model, at first glance, in pieces of fabric. But then he tied, buttoned and draped them, and they turned into dresses with different silhouettes.

The model was wrapped in a suit and resembled a mannequin. This idea was in line with the principles of ‘bodiless fashion’, i.e. without using the body as a model for creating a cut.

In the new project, the Ukrainian brand united the past and the present through the symbolic ‘Zhnyva’. One of the sources of inspiration was the hidden network of the Underground Post of Ukraine, created after the Second World War.