Luxury and patriotism

A team of top Ukrainian hairstylists recently traveled to Paris to take part in the festival Mondial Coiffure Beaute. The veteran member organizations of the Intercoiffure Mondial call it the main event of the year. During the event Ukrainian hairdressers, together with representatives of 11 teams from 35 countries, set new world fashion trends. After the stylists returned from Paris, The Day asked Natalia Balabanova, art director of Intercoiffure’s Ukrainian section, to share her impressions of the Mondial.

“We spent half a year preparing for the show,” Balabanova said. “It was important for us to convey our ideas to everyone who would be seeing our work. We drew inspiration from Ukrainian history. We developed hi-tech for the show, which was wonderfully produced by Iryna Diudenko. For example, our collection “Fresh Wind of Freedom” consisted of three trends. Braids were the main trend in the “National Renaissance.” In creating these images, we were oriented toward our national traditions. In “Gothic” it was important above all to demonstrate concision, simplicity, and one-tone hair. Volume is fashionable now, and it’s the main trend of the hairstyles in the collection “Fresh Wind of Freedom.” The third trend, “Baroque Fiancee” was represented by hairstyles designed for unconventional girls who can easily change and who dream of luxury. The clothes worn by these models featured bright colors, many layers, and a variety of styles. Their hair was ultra-blonde, and hairstyles included brilliant and unusual decorations. Imagine: in a 10-minute show we used 40 kilos of hair, 5 kilos of wire, and 3 liters of glue. The result was spectacular — even grand. And when the models appeared on the catwalk, the audience and even those backstage went wild. We didn’t expect such an enthusiastic response.

The demanding French press also gave high marks to the Ukrainian team. The general mood of the articles and features dedicated to the show could be described in one word: sensational! This is not the first time that the French public has been swept away by Ukrainians. Parisians vividly remember the overwhelming success of Viacheslav Diudenko and Natalia Balabanova’s collection “High Street Evolution” in 2001.

Natalia Balabanova believes that the recipe for success of this year’s collection is “luxury and patriotism.” Europe appreciates both. Our team’s patriotic sentiments were strengthened when Olena Sedykh was awarded the Chevalier Medal at the Gala of Stars evening show. Serhiy Nikitin from Kharkiv was named Person of the Year.