Designer Sasha Shmatko unveiled her first drop entitled «Home», dedicated to the «industrial heritage of eastern Ukraine». It is a collection of T-shirts with the names of Ukrainian factories and brief information about them, as well as prints dedicated to Vasyl Stus, who grew up in Donetsk
Sasha was born in Sievierodonetsk and moved to Kharkiv when she was 15, but she continued to travel home regularly. She told DTF Magazine that she often went hiking, thanks to which she «knows a lot of hidden corners, rivers, and forest trails».
«Once my father and I planted an oak tree near Lysychansk, on the banks of the Donets», Shmatko recalled.
On T-shirts Sasha printed a series of nine posters created for the defense of her master’s degree at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. The prints depict plants and enterprises that were destroyed, demolished, and liquidated in different years, such as Sievierodonetsk Association «Azot», Sloviansk Ceramic Combine, «Avtosklo» and «Krasytel».
«Nine pictures about a heritage I constantly heard about as a child, and which, to some extent, shaped the mentality of the region. Thanks to you, the world will have little stories about the East that will one day grow into a new story (ours)», Sasha described the idea of the drop.
According to the designer, the idea to talk about her home came even before the full-scale russian invasion on February 24, because in 2014 Sievierodonetsk also experienced occupation. And during the war in 2022, the city became one of the main goals of russia again — in June, after several months of fierce fighting, the russian army occupied Severodonetsk.
«Everything was shrouded in different opinions: why this happened, what the region was all about. So I wanted to attract the attention of the community in a “stylish” way. So it would be interesting to read, to figure it out, to try to understand, — Sasha explained. — But this is just the beginning, because, of course, the east of Ukraine is not only factories. However, we have heard their names since childhood, so I started with the industrial heritage».
You can place an order in advance on Instagram, the estimated production period — two weeks. The price is 1,350 UAH.
Sasha will donate 50% of the proceeds to support the AFU and volunteer initiatives.
In the future, the designer plans to scale the project and involve friends and acquaintances from other regions of Ukraine.
«I know there’s a lot to tell and there’s even more to explore. I definitely want to illuminate history with visual images… I plan to collect small facts, subjective perspectives, and tell local things beautifully so that others want to wear it, use it, share it, and explore it».
In April 2022, co-founder of design agency CREVV Anton Ivanov together with Yegor Lytvynenko, frontman of «Deti Deputatov», and Tanya Liuta, head of product department at Big Money University, launched ALCHEVSQUE brand.
The name refers to Alchevsk, the designer’s hometown, and the first drop is dedicated to the war in Ukraine.
In December, the brand team unveiled the second drop.
