The romance of linen

The long-awaited Ukrainian Fashion Week began on Friday, Sept. 29. This time it commenced with Trademark Defile, a parade of famous and not-so-famous trademark apparel that will soon appear in boutiques. The Day’s correspondent, who spent three days at the fashion extravaganza, knows what fashion-conscious Ukrainian women will be wearing next summer.

WOMAN MUST LOOK FEMININE!

Designers are clearly worried that contemporary women prefer comfort to elegance and sophistication. The first three days of the fashion parade was convincing proof of their preoccupation. Most of the featured designers emphasized romanticism and classic clothing. Olena Oliinyk (TN Colora) was the first to present her artistic vision of the spring-summer 2007 season. After communing with herself, the outside world, and nature, an activity reflected in the name of her collection “Listen to the world, listen to yourself, and talk with nature,” the designer decided that only natural fabrics should be used next season, namely, flower-printed cottons and silks. Olena’s collection, which mixes trends from the 1930s and the 1950s, is diversified.

“If I had the chance, I would create several collections. I like both classic and youth fashions, but most of all I like mixing them,” Olena says. The designer sews appliques and hand-embroidered pieces resembling eye-catching children’s sketches onto well-cut tapered jackets and fly blouses. In this mischievous and somewhat romantic mood, the designer created full skirts out of lightweight silk with unfinished hems, so during the show threads were dropping onto the catwalk. Olena also presented bell-shaped skirts, which are expected to be all the rage next summer.

Golda Vynohradska was also in a romantic mood when she was creating the Waltz of Flowers dress collection for TM Jolie Dame. Flowers were ubiquitous in Golda’s work, from the flowerpots that lined the catwalk to accessories, fabrics, and hats. The “floweriest” dress was the one that resembled a chamomile. It was yellow, with white petals around the low neckline.

The show, staged by the designer, was also a totally romantic affair. Stepping onto the catwalk, the models released butterflies into the air. Nobody cared what happened to the poor insects: the next day the black-winged beauties were fluttering under the ceiling of Fashion Lab, where the show was taking place.

To create her collection Golda used only expensive Italian and French silk, chiffon, and organza. The designer claims, however, that this should not affect affordability. “The dresses will not cost too much even if I lose money on them. Women should dress decently, nicely, without putting too much strain on their wallets.”

Many couturiers think that classics are eternal and inexhaustible, but they never stop experimenting with them. Hryhorii Nikolaiev (for TM Natalie Bolgar), presented a collection of women’s suits in the late 1960s-early 1970s style, using printed silk, flax, and pleated and crumpled fabrics. Nikolaiev showed bright and multicolored skirts and Capri pants paired with solid-color jackets for springtime and summer. The designer says he created his collection in the hope of making women look feminine again.

RUSSIANS TO “UNEARTH” UKRAINIAN COSTUMES

Trademark Defile also offered everyday wear. The Russians Anna and Aleksei Borodulin (TM TDL) presented a practical collection combining 1950s romanticism and modern megacity youth street fashion. The entire collection was made exclusively out of linen. “This fabric used to be looked down upon because it wrinkles and is preferred by ordinary people. But now natural fibers command a lot of respect, so we opted for linen,” Aleksei says. These couturiers also predict there won’t be a riot of colors in the spring-summer 2007 season. White, the focus of the Borodulins’ collection, will be popular.

Their spring fashions feature mostly black and white clothing decorated with small flowers or rhombuses. High-riding and hip-hugging skirts, blouses, and lace gloves are a spin-off of the Audrey Hepburn style. The couple’s collection also presented waist-hugging trench coats, so popular among Kyiv’s women. “For a touch of glamour, we added some fur to the collar. In Moscow, people like wearing fur-trimmed outfits even in summer. But in your country it is slightly warmer,” the Borodulins say.

Incidentally, the husband-and-wife team is considering using Ukrainian folk motifs as the basis of their next collection. “If you do thorough research into the history of Ukrainian costumes, you can find an unbelievable treasure-trove there,” the Russian designers say. But this hardly comes as a surprise: Ukrainian fashion designers have long been working on the reincarnation of Ukrainian traditional clothing.

AN ODE TO MINIMALISM

One of the main trends of the spring-summer 2007 season is the return of minimalism. This is reflected in a cocktail-dress collection from the young and ambitious designer Svitlana Bevza. “I like it when people can express their inner selves, not when clothing runs ahead of them. I like it when a woman puts on a dress and people say: she’s an intellectual,” the designer says.

Svitlana’s collection emphasizes short dresses in black and muted violet, with hip-level pockets, low necklines, and large zippers on the back. A minimum of superfluous detail and a maximum of elegance and sexiness form the motto of Upstairs. “It’s all about contrasting appearances, mood changes, and the complete absence of logic,” says Svitlana, explaining her designs.

In her opinion, the most difficult thing for a designer is finding inspiration and curbing fantasy before stepping beyond the collection’s limits. Svitlana’s own fantasy stopped at massive leather belts. “They can be combined with loose tunics. This puts the raised waist to advantage.”

The young Ukrainian designer also presented her own line of footwear. “I used the contrasting hues of a light-colored and dark pony shoe, black eel, as well as white and titanic leather. This footwear also looks best in contrasting colors. For example, a light-colored pony shoe will go very well with black stockings.” Svitlana’s collection caused quite a ripple among the spectators, who were a bit tired of Trademark Defile’s three-day-long focus on romanticism and classics.

Most of the collections presented at Trademark Defile have already taken a well-deserved place in boutique windows. There’s no doubt that next spring and summer stores will be crammed with riding breeches, bell-shaped skirts, and, in the more distant future, one-piece suits. Iryna Danylevska, the founder and organizing committee chairperson of Ukrainian Fashion Week, predicts that olive shades will remain popular. Many couturiers are continuing to emphasize black-and-white ornaments, such as polka dots, small rhombuses, and small and large flowers. But all the designers set their own prices depending on the quality of the textile and the number of items produced for every design.