How do you find beauty – and do you focus on that – in the midst of suffering? This question asked the Ukrainian Fashion Week again. For the second time since the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the start of the war in 2022, the event returned to Kiev. Already in September the event acted again for the first time as a beacon of hope in the fashion world. The Hoop theme remains central to the organizers of the Ukrainian fashion week, as well as for the 40 designers who presented their autumn/winter 2025 collections under the motto ‘Hope for the Future’.
For many designers in Ukraine, hope now take the form of resilience and solidarity, in particular towards those who are still fighting the front for their country. Fashion, often dismissed as superficial, has been experimenting for some time with the concept of adaptive clothing – but in Kiev this gets a new meaning.
Fashionable solidarity with the front
The Clothing With A Function program, which started this season, aims to do not involve people with special needs – whether due to injuries to hands, eyes or legs, or by using prostheses and mobility aids – Fashion world, but to actively integrate them into it.
A designer who brought the theme of adaptive fashion to the catwalk – without making it the most important focous point of his collection – was Andreas Moskin. His autumn/winter 2025 collection was strongly inspired by the Ukrainian cultural elite of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as by the avant-garde novels of the experimental author Mike Johanhansen.
Within the collection, which mainly included heavy tweeds, cashmere and wool, this concept was translated into extended jackets with belt – which are reminiscent of work clothing – and deconstructivistically designed suits with unexpected details such as stitched bags. To make the designs adaptive, functional elements were also integrated, such as removable sleeves with invisible zippers or pants with zippers on the inside, so that a prosthesis can be done quickly on and off.
“The asymmetrical placement of the seams at the front of the jacket is reminiscent of mutilation and destruction,” said the brand founders Andrew Moskin and Andreas Bilous in a statement. “In this collection we tried to reflect the stages of the rise of our cultural elite – of black and red images, reminiscent of times of censorship and war, to clear, open silhouettes, which stand for the era of independence.”
Adaptive fashion for people with prostheses is not the only sign of a changed consciousness of the Ukrainian fashion week. The charity initiative “Faces of Heroes”, a project to support people with facial injuries, was also introduced this season. This gives designers the opportunity to focus on the treatment and rehabilitation of individual victims.
Retain identity and stimulate young votes
The consequences of the war are not only noticeable in new initiatives and visual views – they penetrate the entire event. The Fashion Week took place just a few days after the announcement of the controversial plans for Ukraine of the US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, in which neither President Zensky has not been involved in nor European representatives.
Nevertheless, Iryna Danylevska, founder and CEO of Ukrainian Fashion Week, remains steadfast and emphasizes the importance of fashion in these critical times: “For us, fashion is not only creativity; it has become an instrument to protect our freedom, identity and future. “
A piece of this cultural identity was also transmitted by Ivan Frolov, founder and creative director of Frolov. At first glance, his collection of Dirty As An Angel seemed a homage to the emo and goth aesthetics of the early 2000s. But school a deeper meaning behind it. The show, set up as a rock concert, placed Ukrainian music centrally and treated “freedom in any form that it then took”, as the designer stated in his show notes.
Visually the designer-one of the best known in the country, who has already dressed stars such as Sabrina Carpenter and Beyoncé-translated his youthful rock and roll fantasies with Swarovski crystals occupied belts with studs, extended corset silhouettes and his characteristic, heart -shaped recesses in unexpected places. Frolov has already established itself internationally. But for many other designers, the career now starts. The Ukrainian fashion week is aware of this responsibility and is committed to this.
“Many internationally known Ukrainian fashion brands have started their career on the Ukrainian Fashion Week,” emphasized Danylevska. “It is precisely in these difficult times of a comprehensive war that we know how essential it is to support the next generation of Ukrainian designers-they are the future of our fashion industry. Our country is rich in talents, and we have been working on it for 27 years make their voices audible worldwide. “
To stimulate this new generation in a targeted manner, the Newgen Lab platform was created-a stage for young talent that wants to qualify for the Hoof Catwalk of the Fashion Week in the long term. One of these labels, which made his debut in the context of Newgen Lab, was APSARA. The “conceptual slow-fashion brand” founded by Yulia Psaryova strives to reinterpret existing items of clothing. Her designs are created by a rare, traditional technique – crocheting with a fork – and are made entirely by hand.
The leading theme for autumn/winter 2025/26 was transformation – a process that the designer describes as growth, adaptation and development, but also in a literal sense as a change in form. This metamorphosis was reflected in recycled objects that were given new life, as well as in the transformation of a bridal wear remarkable, of which the traditional white was immersed in a deep red.
Red, albeit a deeper Bordeauxrode hue, was also central to the collection of LVIV -based brand C.icon. The label began to experiment in 2017 with down filled items of clothing and has removed from the traditional perception of down jackets such as purely sportswear or casual wardrobe by integrating them into classic, playful and experimental looks. In Kiev the brand presented a collection with quilted jackets, long coats and a combination of an anorak and a skirt in the aforementioned dark Bordeauxrode hue.
Fashion may seem unimportant in times of global crises, but Violett Fedorova, online editor -in -chief of Vogue Ukraine, emphasizes the power of fashion as a universal language: “Since the beginning of the war, I have become more aware that fashion a powerful instrument is what you can speak to the world. Essential to stimulate young talent and make their development visible. “
This article previously appeared on FashionUnited.de. This article was translated by Susan Zijp using an AI tool.
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