The best thing that happened on fashion weeks in Kiev
TEXT:Olga Dyachuk
After the world fashion weeksin London, New York, Milan and Paris, it was the turn of local ones, where designers showed collections of the fall and winter of 2015-2016. Two fashion weeks took place in Kiev at once: Ukrainian Fashion Week and Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days are events that are different in many respects and to some extent compete with each other. One of the main differences of the weeks is a set of designers. UFW collaborates with well-known, mature fashion designers like Litkovskaya and Poustovit. MBKFD discovers and develops new faces such as Anton Belinskiy and Anna October. Due to the existence of these two weeks of fashion, you can create a more or less holistic picture of the Ukrainian fashion industry. We talk about the best shows of both weeks and explain how important they are.
Poustovit
Traditionally, the show of Lilia Pustovit opens Ukrainian Fashion Week. The designer appeals to the ideas of Suprematism and combines rich colors: carrot, yellow, orange, - diluting the collection with pastel shades and dark blue, as well as prints. Pustovit knows his client well and shows traditional home-dresses-shirts, straight coats and wrap-around dresses. The details are pleasing: laser perforation on the culottes and ties on the sleeves of the shirts, flowing like ribbons. Styling in places resembles the shows of Christian Dior, largely due to lacquered boots and eye makeup, but there is nothing wrong with that.
Litkovskaya
In the new season, Lilia Litkovskaya surpassed herself and thereby set a very high competitive bar for her colleagues. The collection of the season autumn-winter - 2015/16 is made very professionally, although in some places it reminds of the work of Marni. The theme of the intersection of East and West was finely worked out. Architectural silhouettes of coats and dresses, on the one hand, resembled kimono, on the other - a European costume. Dresses and skirts decorated flounces, men's shirts - wide belts. Among other things, the collection found a place for flared trousers and elongated jackets, as well as straight cut dresses with a throat. Interesting work with geometric inserts from different fabrics, as well as drapery. The collection includes bags and fan sandals on the platform. The Litkovskaya collection is the case when mixing different cultures and styles does not cause additional questions.
LAKE
For the second season in a row, the LAKE collection (a brand formerly known as KamenskayaKononova) makes Olesya Kononova alone. If half a year ago everyone only tentatively assumed that another designer of the brand, Natalya Kamenskaya, had left LAKE, then this season they had already begun to speak out loud. Kononova herself repeats: "Natasha on sabbatical." Viewers are beginning to have questions: when will the vacation end and is Kamenskaya's brand interesting in general? As always, Kononova has succeeded well in voluminous coats and concise dresses, as well as a number of everyday things: turtlenecks and wide trousers. Of the details, attention is drawn to cuts and knitted collars on concise dresses, the use of patent leather.
BEVZA
Svetlana Bevza is one of the most sought-after Ukrainian designers in Europe. Surprisingly, each season the designer manages to create extremely relevant clothes. So, she is the fastest in the Ukrainian fashion grabbed the spirit of the 70s six months ago. The collection Autumn-Winter - 2015/16 continues the theme of this era. Loose coats, flared pants and turtlenecks indicate this. Separately, we note the coat of ocher color, laconic overalls, geometric details like a circle on a skirt and dresses, as well as cutouts on clothing in the form of circles, work with knitwear and shoes with a fluff. Among other things, the interpretation by the designer of the works of Mark Rothko is interesting: bright stripes, like in the artist's paintings, adorn sweaters.
Frolov
The second full collection of Ivan Frolov was again tied to a sexual fetish. Compared to the first striptease, this one is less courageous, but it only benefits from this. Black velvet, juicy green skin, lace and denim - it turns out, all this can fit into one collection. Particularly noteworthy is a two-piece suit made of green leather, jeans embroidered with beads, and dresses in the floor with asymmetrical cutouts. Ivan continues to follow the concept, which he himself called "intelligent provocation" and, I must say, actively occupies this niche.
Anton Belinskiy
Anton's show was the most anticipated on the Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days. It is not surprising: this year Anton Belinsky became the only representative of the CIS countries that reached the semifinals of the prestigious LVMH Рrize award. They say that Raf Simons himself praised Anton, and also Karin Roitfeld and Jonathan Anderson approved his new collection. Belinsky really deserves praise - the guy grows with each season. This time the designer was inspired by constructivism, Bauhaus and the theory of color by Johannes Ittena - all this resulted in a fantastic work with color and shapes. Separately, it is possible to distinguish black dresses in the floor with massive flounces that open to us another Belinsky. The collection also includes ski jackets, overalls, knee-highs, knitted dresses, crop tops and tracksuits from the post-Soviet 90s. I must say that the concept of "Poor But Cool" causes a little dissonance. Yes, all things are cool, but whether young people, whom they are inspired and addressed, can afford them are a big question.
Ksenia schnaider
Every season, Ksenia Schneider manages to find something new and interesting in simple silhouettes, shirt dresses, sweatshirts and trapezium skirts. First, the brand continues to develop the theme of "pixel" prints. Secondly, it shows a good styling, which not only young but also mature brands are often neglected. So, orange clothes and clothes with prints go together with something monotonous, a balaclava with a hood is put on under a coat, and dresses are combined with comfortable sneakers. Thanks to the natural make-up of the models, orange and black in the collection look fresh. Traditional dresses with an emphasis on the waist watered down with quilted things, but all together looks holistic. Wearability, functionality, interpretation of national embroidery make Ksenia Schnaider things unique not only in Ukraine. By the way, on the eve of the show Ksenia received the MBFD Prize award as the best designer. And deservedly so.
Zirochka
Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion showed a new Ukrainian brand Zirochka. Daria Shapovalova said before the show: “Today a new strike has come up” (which means “asterisk” in Ukrainian), and was right. Dasha Lagenberg, founder of the Zirochka brand, won an award as the best young designer during fashion week, and Rebecca Voitt from W Magazine and Alexander Hilary, a critic of her first collection, were honored. Before the show, Lagenberg showed a video manifesto calling on girls to preserve their individuality and naivety. The Zirochka Manifesto says: "Believe in good. Evil is petty. Beauty is inside you. Dress smartly. Cheer up. Love is everywhere. You're a unique person." Immediacy is reflected in the collection itself. Sculptural forms of dresses, stripes and patch pockets, fancy berets, crop tops and flared pants, denim - it is clear that the designer is aware of what is fashionable now. The success of the brand largely determines the previous experience of the designer as a stylist.
Anna October
Anna October is almost the only one of the young designers who showed a very feminine and at the same time modern collection. The designer avoided sporting elements by turning to feminine silhouettes, delicate materials like silk and chiffon and decorative details: appliqués, laser cutting, beadwork and multi-layered ruches. Despite the decorative, things look restrained. Largely due to the laconic cut and the use of pure shades: black, bright blue, white, orange. It should be noted that, unlike her colleagues, Anna refused to show and turned to the perspective format of a small presentation for clients and the press during breakfast in a restaurant.