INDIVIDUAL BY DESIGN: HOW ODESSA FASHION DAY KEEPS UKRAINIAN FASHION MOVING FORWARD

Some cities refuse to go quiet. Odessa is one of them.

In May, the city hosted the 32nd season of Odessa Fashion Day — and what unfolded over two days was far more than a series of runway shows. It was a statement. A reminder that creativity doesn’t pause for difficult times. That culture continues even when circumstances demand otherwise.

For a country that has been living through war for several years now, that reminder carries real weight.

Ukrainian designers have not stopped working. They are building brands, developing new collections, connecting with international partners, and shaping a cultural identity that speaks far beyond fashion. Their work has become part of a much larger conversation — one about resilience, independence, and what it means to keep creating when the world around you is uncertain.

Odessa Fashion Day has long been one of the spaces where that conversation happens most honestly.

More Than a Platform

Over more than three decades, the project has grown into something genuinely significant for Ukrainian fashion. It has been the first professional runway for hundreds of designers. A launchpad for independent brands. A gathering point for the creative community of a city that has always had a strong artistic identity.

This season carried the title ONE OF A KIND — and the choice felt deliberate.

In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and global homogenisation, individuality has become a rare and valuable thing. To have a distinct voice, a clear point of view, a style that belongs entirely to you — that is no longer just a personal preference. It is an act of courage.

That idea ran through everything the 32nd season presented. And it is one that Kostiantyn Lieontiev, founder of Odessa Fashion Day, has built the project around from the very beginning:

“Our goal is to give designers and brands a voice through our runway. For an emerging designer or brand taking their first steps in Ukrainian fashion, it is essential to present yourself in the right way — to make that first statement and become visible to others. Odessa can be exactly that starting point.”

— Kostiantyn Lieontiev, Founder, Odessa Fashion Day

The Campaign

The visual identity of the season was built around a collaboration that embodied the concept perfectly. Model and titleholder Kateryna Zakharchenko — Miss Ukraine — became the face of the official campaign, dressed in a collection by designer Dima Makeev from the Hôtel Le Mirage line.

The resulting images were cinematic in quality. Translucent fabrics, sculptural silhouettes, a restrained palette of shadow and light — together they created a portrait of a contemporary woman who holds contradiction with grace. Strong and vulnerable. Quiet and commanding. Entirely herself.

No grand declarations. Just presence.

On the Runway

The main showcase took place at Luxury Gallery in the Sady Peremohy shopping centre. The lineup brought together emerging talent and designers already defining the direction of Ukrainian fashion.

Collections were presented by design students from Ushynsky University, VEO BRAND supported by Mira Models agency, Magnat Dress, Stahova, Saiman El Sabari, BUDU, Babyface, CIAO CIAO, Mint & Lonza New York, Nimblescissors and Tetyana Paliy.

Each show told a different story. Different aesthetics, different references, different moods. But across all of them ran the same quiet insistence — on authenticity, on individuality, on speaking in one’s own voice rather than borrowing someone else’s.

Beyond the Runway

The second day of the season moved from the catwalk to conversation.

Held at hotel BRIK in partnership with PR agency N1 Buro, the professional programme centred on a public talk titled “Designer, Media and PR: How Modern Fashion Communications Work.” The discussion addressed questions that matter to every brand navigating today’s media landscape — how to build relationships with press, develop a public reputation, and find a distinctive voice in an oversaturated information environment.

Speakers included Margaryta Aftandiliants, Head of Marketing Communications at Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design, PR expert Olena Lapko, and Kyrylo Savchenko, CEO of N1 Buro. The session was moderated by Odessa Fashion Day producer Oleh Shkilniuk.

It was a reminder that modern fashion is not only shown — it is discussed, debated, and built through community.

The Ecosystem

Behind every season of Odessa Fashion Day stands a network of partners who share a commitment to the development of Ukrainian fashion.

The educational dimension was supported by Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design. The visual and beauty side of the event was backed by Make Me Up Studio and School, MARAMAX GROUP, Ultimate Trend Store, ARTpodium model agency and TOTALITE model agency. Accommodation for guests and participants was provided by Black Sea Hotel Group. And continuing a relationship that reflects the growing international profile of Ukrainian fashion, London Fashion Day joined as the season’s international partner.

When the lights go down and the models leave the runway, what remains is the thing that mattered most — the feeling that something real just happened.

Not an event. Not a showcase. A proof of concept.

Ukrainian fashion is alive. It is evolving. And the people building it — one collection, one brand, one creative decision at a time — are, without question, one of a kind.

Images courtesy of Odessa Fashion Day.