SSWEEP, an alliance of streetwear brands, presented a corner of Ukrainian brands in Dubai at Sole DXB, an annual brand show that offers a platform for local brands from different countries and large global brands. SSWEEP, which has been revamped and which has brought together some players from Ukraine, was founded by Kharkiv-based formation Some People with support from the USAID ‘Competitive Economy of Ukraine’ program. DTF Magazine shows what Ukrainian brands brought to Dubai and asked Some People co-founder Anton Nazarko to tell more about the alliance.
About the launch of SSWEEP
According to Anton, the eponymous project of the formation worked for several years in the format of a lifestyle blog.
In the spring of 2023, after the launch of the brand Sneaker Mate Studio (a continuation of the chain of Ukrainian sneaker dry cleaners. — Note from DTF Magazine), the team began to explore the possibility of entering the global market and came to the conclusion that ‘in many aspects it is easier for Ukrainian streetwear to exist as a small community, an alliance’.
‘We decided to unite the Ukrainian brands we like into an alliance to work together. We learned all the grant opportunities, created a project, and we were supported under the USAID program’.
Nazarko added that in the future the alliance will focus on brands entering the global market, in particular on cooperation with marketplaces and buyers.
Які бренди входять до SSWEEP
Seven Ukrainian brands are listed as part of the alliance: m0d44, Sneaker Mate Studio, O(FourFour) (read our interview with the brand), Low Blow, Unmere, ObjectX (read our interview with the brand) and VVHY ME.
‘If you study the list of brands, you will see that despite the fact that all of them can be characterized by the phrase ‘Ukrainian streetwear’, they are all quite different. We are not competing, but on the contrary, we can strengthen each other. Even when we were discussing the creation of an alliance, we have already started to exchange experience and ideas — this allows us to take a broader look at our brand’, Anton explained.
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About the corner at Sole DXB
Nazarko calls participation in the brand show ‘an opportunity to introduce brands to more than 20 thousand festival visitors who did not know about their existence, and to enter the markets of the Middle East and Asia, which are usually given less attention by Ukrainian brands compared to European ones’.
The Ukrainian corner became ‘one of the few multi-brand stands at the exhibition’.
‘The brands presented at the stand can cover any segment of the market: there is technology and functionality by ObjectX, sports background that has been moved to the city streets by O(FourFour), original designs by m0d44, skate aesthetics combined with premium materials by Low Blow, femininity and sophistication by Unmere, and lifestyle by Sneaker Mate Studio and WHY ME’.
Sole DXB is an annual festival of brands, music and contemporary art. It has been held in Dubai Design District since 2011.
In 2023, the main theme of the brand show was the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
