On the eve of Textile and Light Industry Workers' Day, the Textile and Light Industry Week was held at Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design on May 27 - May 31, 2024. After all, every year on the second Sunday of June, Ukraine celebrates a professional holiday - this day was first celebrated on June 9, 1994. The purpose of introducing the Textile and Light Industry Workers' Day is to thank experts in this field for their hard work, due to which Ukrainians are able to consume goods of their own production; to involve the authorities in the modernization of the light industry of Ukraine in order to fully utilize the potential. After 30 years, the Day of Textile and Light Industry Workers is also celebrated on June 9, 2024.
During the week, the Faculty of Arts and Fashion offered a rich program of events - public by professors of the Faculty's departments and foreign partners, professional specialists of the fashion business of Ukraine, master classes for students and teachers, as well as representatives of the material supply department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the development of clothing for the military, who have been cooperating for many years with departments of the Faculty.
According to the program of the Week on May 29 and 30, a series of lectures by modern fashion creators, young and successful ladies in the fashion business of Ukraine Nadiia Shapoval, Anna October, Sofia Kvasha took place.
The moderator of these events was Ivan Frolov, a famous Ukrainian designer, founder of the fashion brand FROLOV, a lecturer at the Department of Fashion and Style, KNUTD.
On May 29, 2024, a public lecture by Nadiia Shapoval, stylist, model, creative director of the NADIIA brand, was held on the theme "Working with ethnological and archaeological materials. Application of research and own archive in the product and STORYTELLING of the brand".
An interesting, frank story about her own formation, creation and development of the brand, fascination with Trypillia culture, studying Ukraine in her own expeditions through the stories of people, documenting the beauty of everyday life on film. "We find it in everything: as a pumpkin lying in the garden, as a decorated window in the house or as a dressed-up grandmother," says Nadiia Shapoval.
Creative director and stylist Shapoval often refers to Ukrainian tradition in her work. In 2018, she founded the NADIIA project — an online site where she presents ceramics, textiles, and useful items created in collaboration with Ukrainian designers and artisans. She has long-standing friendship and work with photographer Stepan Lisovsky. "We worked together a lot on fashion shoots, so we understand each other well," says Nadiya, “it was interesting what kind of people live there now, whether there is any connection between the ancient inhabitants and us”. It was this shooting that gave the impetus to create a photo book , on which they are currently working. While working on the Nadiia brand campaign, they went on an expedition to the villages of the Kyiv Oblast and Cherkasy Oblast to find the echoes of the ancient culture. naive statuettes and pendants created manually by Ukrainian ceramists: now with pleasure students and teachers had the opportunity to watch the teaser of the author's documentary film "TRIP", where the concept combines Ukrainian fashion and traditions.
It was from this that a new convergence began in Nadiia's work with Ukrainian designers, with whom she never lost contact - Nadiia Shapoval, one of the sought-after Ukrainian models, a professional demonstrator of clothes of world brands. Following in the footsteps of the people of Trypillia: the advertising campaign of Nadiia for BEVZA, because in September 2020, the Ukrainian brand BEVZA presented its spring-summer 2021 collection during NYFW (New York Fashion Week). One of the main features of the line was ceramic accessories and decorative items, which were created in collaboration with the Nadiia brand. The purpose of cooperation was to reveal and show the world the unique culture of Ukraine. Cooperation with the fashion magazine Vogue UA added confidence, for which it also recorded a series of home professional training sessions with model Nadiia Shapoval during the quarantine.
Prior to that, Ukrainian ceramics were shown within Milan Design Week in the Nadiia & Masha Reva project, dedicated to ceramics and the rethinking of Ukrainian pottery. Six months later, they take their collection to the international design exhibition Milan Design Week’19. Even earlier - the debut at Dutch Design Week, where for the first time there was a MDW project in collaboration with Pepsi, which is closely connected with the Ukrainian heritage, which the authors turn to, research, and inspire. The series of ceramics from the Nadiia brand is unique, each item is made and painted by hand: it is always interesting to present new items of national heritage in new markets, to study the reaction of the audience, consumers of the art product.
Even earlier, in 2016, Nadiia Shapoval presents images from the autumn-winter collection from the Anna October brand. Stylist and model Nadiia Shapoval is a long-time friend of the brand: she often styles various shoots for him or acts as the face of collections. This season, in addition to the official advertising campaign, October and Shapoval decided to present several additional images that demonstrate how romantic things from the Anna October collection can be worn with each other in a new way.
And precisely on the second day, May 30, 2024, from 10 o'clock at KNUTD, a public lecture "Ukrainian Brand ANNA OCTOBER - the way to success and world recognition" was delivered by the founder and creative director of the brand Anna October.
Anna October is a Ukrainian brand of women's clothing that combines the spirit of sensuality and freedom, creating images in which women feel happy and bold. With experience in cut, tailoring and fine art, the designer recreates vintage styles of past decades in a modern aesthetic. The brand's collections are created in carefully selected local manufactories using raw fabrics and ecological materials.
The brand's designer and founder, Anna October, uses her background in patternmaking and visual arts to uphold femininity through her brand's pieces. The brand was founded in 2010. The second significant date is 2014, when the Anna October brand entered the LVMH shortlist; In 2017, the brand became part of the Mercedes-Benz "Generation Now, Generation Next" project, which introduces the world to promising designers and trendsetters. Since then, the brand has increased its presence on the world's main shopping platforms and gained a reputation in the fashion media as a brand that "turns femininity into a new, naughty game" (Vogue Italy). Anna October invented a special permanent brand standard. Collections are created using natural textiles. The brand adheres to high tailoring standards. A significant number of products are made by hand using artisanal techniques reimagined for modern clothing. The brand's ethical strategy is reinforced by Anna's desire to create clothes that will live long and carry love.
Anna October interestingly told about all this and a little more in her journey and growth to the students and teachers of the university, who listened attentively and with pleasure to the lecture and asked many questions, slightly disrupting the further work schedule of the well-known Ukrainian fashion diva: a high professional, interesting personality, beautiful a creative person.
Today, Anna October clothes are available in more than 30 online and offline stores, including Moda Operandi, Kyiv TSUM, REVOLVE, SSENCE and others. Just the other day, the Ukrainian brand Anna October presents a new off-season collection, which explores the theme of motherhood and the diverse nature of women. The founder of the brand finds beauty in such an important period for a woman's life. Anna October lady - that's how the designer calls her muses - brings chic to every manifestation, even motherhood. For her, being a mother is her logical and joyful continuation as a woman, and not a burdensome duty.
The collection is also inspired by the works of American artist Issy Wood. The subject of her works seems unclear, but it is clearly saturated with her personality. The crockery from Wood's "Helping yourself 4" project, which she recreated from the pages of auction catalogs from the 1970s and 80s that she found in her grandmother's house, turned into elegant beadwork on clothes.
The bright color range of the collection is combined with the geometric silhouettes of evening dresses - already classic for Anna October. From black and ivory to pastel pink and soft blue, in Pre-Fall 2024 Anna uses contrast to emphasize the diversity of the woman. The Anna October Pre-Fall 2024 collection is a logical and consistent result of reflection on the life of a modern woman. It changes, grows externally and internally, reserving the right to lightness, sexuality and elegance.
After a short break, the creative director, producer, founder of the creative studio BABY PROD - Sofia Kvasha, who can easily be mistaken for a small first-year student, confidently entered the audience. But the topic of the announced lecture was very serious "How to be a creative director, if such a profession does not exist".
Creative director Sofia Kvasha creates powerful and effective projects at the intersection of fashion, commerce and culture. She is one of the young Ukrainian talents who are shaping the new cultural landscape. "I adore talent," says Sofia Kvasha.
For the past two years, she has been dividing her time between Paris and Kyiv: "In Kyiv, I feel a great cultural, aesthetic and human density — it's a cathartic experience".
In the professional environment, she is often called a unicorn: because of her great talent and amazing work capacity. Sonya started her career in Ukrainian Vogue at the age of 18. Before that, she studied at the London College of Fashion (for her entrance portfolio, she independently developed a store interior design with flying pink mannequins in the ArchiCAD graphic program), but due to family circumstances, she was forced to return to Ukraine. By chance, I came across the news about the launch of Vogue in Ukraine. At the interview, she flunked the test task due to excitement, but was accepted to the position of editorial assistant to the Vogue team: soon Sonya already held the position of senior fashion editor, and then performed the role of creative director: she ordered fashion shoots and tirelessly tried to "reach the sky" - she negotiated with agents of star photographers, stylists and models. There is no word "no" in the work for Kvashi. And there is no "later": "We didn't know it was possible to be timid," she recalls. Sonya sent arthouse star Chloë Sevigny, wearing nothing but BVLGARI jewels, to splash around in a lake in New York State for a cover shoot with legendary photographer Nan Goldin. Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos filmed actress Margaret Qualley with a fake tongue in a prop studio. Cinematographer and photographer Stuart Weinkoff came to Ukraine to shoot the programmatic photo project "Lulu in Kyiv" for Vogue. American top model Lulu Tenney posed in semi-neglected gyms and against the background of planned development in Pozniak together with local models from the alternative agency Cat-b. In the fall of 2021, Sonya left Vogue.UA and went to Paris. "I was very much in love with my husband - and then we broke up. At that moment, it seemed that Kyiv no longer made sense. I needed a breath of fresh air." Kvasha planned to spend a month in Paris, and stayed for almost two years — to produce shoots and do castings for the brands Ienki Ienki, Nili Lotan, for Italian Vogue and The Wall Street Journal.
Today, Sofia Kvasha is the founder of her own Baby Production agency with the perfect punchline for clients: treat each project as your own business. And it's all about fashion, art projects and love for Kyiv.
The moderator of this art project about Ukrainian fashion, Ivan Frolov, summing up the event, warmly thanked the fashion speakers, noting that all the invited lecturers are truly special: lectures with a powerful inspirational element and an incredible source of useful information. He also announced that this is just the beginning: in October-November, Ivan plans to invite new faces that will be interesting to students, for their successful professional career, new professional achievements, success and inspiration!
Ivan Frolov sincerely thanked his alma mater - Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design, personally the Rector, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, Honored Education Worker of Ukraine Ivan Gryshchenko for his support of fashion and design development at the University!
The main thing in fashion was and still is to be fashionable!
07.06.2024
