This year’s pret-a-porter Paris fashion show, The Heart of Fashion, lasted from Jan. 30, 2008, until Feb. 2, 2009. This major event in the world of fashion usually attracts more than 45,000 visitors. Each time it displays 1,500 garment brands. A great many sparkling idea and the prestige of this fashion house in Paris attract buyers from all over the world.
Olha Hromova, Olena Dats, Oksana Karavanska, Andre Tan, Tetiana Zemskova, and Olena Vorozhbyt were the first Ukrainian designers to take part in The Heart of Fashion. They brought their fall-winter 2009-10 collections. The Ukrainian stand entitled “Ukrainian Fashion Games” was placed in the exhibit’s most creative sections — Atmosph?re’s. The Ukrainian designers also took part in the fashion parade, displaying 15 samples of each brand.
Iryna Danylevska, chairperson of the Ukrainian Fashion Show’s organizing committee, later told a press conference in Kyiv: “We tried to emphasize the Ukrainian element and adopted a woman’s figurine of the Trypillia culture as a basis. We explained the Trypillia culture. The idea proved to be well-formulated: Ukrainian designers have their own vivid style and are keeping pace with European fashion trends, yet their creativity is inspired by culture, both that of Trypillia and the image of Serge Lifar.”
Collections by Ukraine’s leading designers drew the attention of the Italian fashion agent Amanda Bertrandias, who offered to open two showrooms, in Milan and Berlin.
Hromova believes that the Ukrainian designers made a worthy presentation of our country in Paris. “Numerous critics approached us after the first parade, she says, telling us that they did not expect to see such silhouettes and proportions. They had expected our display to be more on the ethnic side. Our stand was also visited by the French prime minister’s wife who said that women in her circle would be glad to wear our clothes. This was a very pleasant compliment because we all know how elegant French women are.”
In Paris the organizers offered the Ukrainian designers to take part in similar fashion shows in New York and Berlin, yet these projects may be frustrated by the economic crisis. Danylevska believes that the Ukrainian fashion business lacks attention on the part of the domestic media: “I realize that this lack of attention can be explained by the fact that fashion is not being regarded as business in our country, unlike France and Italy that make profits from fashion. However, what surprises me is that, while they may not see the Ukrainian fashion business as a component of this country’s economy, they can and must see its great cultural potential and the kind of positive message it conveys.”
