KSENIASCHNAIDER presents ‘UTC+1’ SS27 as Anton Schnaider takes creative lead

Ukrainian fashion brand KSENIASCHNAIDER presented its Spring/Summer 2027 collection, UTC+1, at London Fashion Week on 17 September 2026. The presentation marked a significant creative shift for the Kyiv-based label, as co-founder Anton Schnaider took the lead as Creative Director for the first time.

Developed and produced entirely in Kyiv, the collection explores belonging, identity and the visual symbols that connect people to communities. Football shirts, racing uniforms, club merchandise and sportswear provide the starting point for a wardrobe that combines practical construction with fictional branding.

Founded in 2011 by Ksenia and Anton Schnaider, the label has built its design language around experimental denim, upcycling and unconventional garment construction. For SS27, Anton’s background in graphic design moves to the forefront, introducing a new perspective to the brand’s established approach.

Football culture and invented identities shape UTC+1

The collection borrows visual codes from sport, travel and fan culture. Numbers, flags, crests, sponsor graphics and surnames appear across garments, recalling the uniforms and merchandise people use to express collective identity.

However, UTC+1 deliberately avoids conventional affiliations. Instead of representing real teams, organisations or countries, Anton creates a fictional system of belonging.

“I like the idea of belonging, but I don’t necessarily want to have to belong to something all of the time,” said Anton Schnaider, Creative Director of KSENIASCHNAIDER.

Invented logos resemble familiar branding without referring to existing organisations. The word Erm becomes a graphic emblem, while fragmented versions of KSENIASCHNAIDER appear through numbers and visual puzzles.

The collection also experiments with the language of names. Daughterson resembles a conventional surname, while Frijondz references older Germanic associations with friendship, love and kinship.

Elsewhere, faded surfaces and ghost-like markings suggest logos that have disappeared, leaving only traces behind.

Even the title UTC+1 follows this logic. Rather than identifying a particular country, the collection uses a time zone as a temporary geographical reference.

Walkwear introduces a new approach to everyday clothing

Alongside its fictional graphic identities, KSENIASCHNAIDER introduces walkwear, a practical concept developed around movement and contemporary urban life.

Where workwear traditionally responds to labour and sportswear to athletic performance, walkwear considers the needs of people moving between places.

Multi-pocket garments offer alternatives to carrying bags, while sunscreen bodysuits adapt protective elements from performance clothing for everyday use.

Other details deliberately question their original function. Pseudo-belts maintain the recognisable appearance of a belt without necessarily serving the same practical purpose.

This approach creates a relationship between utility and visual expression. Functional elements become decorative, while familiar graphic symbols take on unexpected roles within garment construction.

The result is a wardrobe that moves between sportswear, streetwear and travel clothing without committing to a single category.

“I like the idea of belonging, but I don’t necessarily want to have to belong to something all of the time.”

Anton Schnaider, Creative Director of KSENIASCHNAIDER<br>Copy fields

KSENIASCHNAIDER and Lee Cooper continue their collaboration

The SS27 collection also introduces six looks developed through the ongoing collaboration between KSENIASCHNAIDER and Lee Cooper.

Previous chapters of the partnership explored utilitarian design through denim. For UTC+1, the brands move towards a softer interpretation of practical clothing.

Romantic floral prints appear alongside cargo pockets, while checks and colourful patchwork introduce contrast into functional silhouettes.

The collaboration combines fabrics associated with domesticity and summer dressing with details more commonly found in utility clothing.

Each of the six looks also features a specially designed flower bag, incorporating floral forms into the overall silhouette.

These accessories reinforce the contrast between practicality and romantic decoration, connecting the collaboration with the collection’s wider exploration of shifting meanings.

Made in Kyiv: craftsmanship and material experimentation

Although UTC+1 explores fictional identities and changing geographical references, its production remains firmly connected to Ukraine.

KSENIASCHNAIDER designed and produced the entire SS27 collection at its own atelier in Kyiv.

The facility has operated for more than a decade and remains central to the brand’s creative development. Its work focuses on upcycling, zero-waste techniques, experimental denim construction and finding new uses for existing materials.

For the label, production is closely connected to design. The possibilities and limitations of fabrics, construction techniques and existing garments influence how each collection develops.

This approach continues through UTC+1, where the relationship between function, appearance and meaning becomes part of the creative process.

Ksenia Schnaider and Anton Schnaider worked together on the collection, with Anton leading creative direction.

Richard Phillipart led hair, while Rossino Elia-Griffin headed make-up with CMC Agency using Anua Global.

The project also involved photographers Leonardo Korfu, Jimin Kwon, Yana Kasa and Maria Salinonova.

Lee Cooper served as collaboration partner, while Palladium joined as Official Footwear Partner. Blonstein handled show production, with Soorty supporting denim and 4trans serving as Official Fashion Transfer Partner. Spraga provided hydration, and People Pleaser Salad handled catering.

With UTC+1, KSENIASCHNAIDER introduced a new creative chapter while continuing its established focus on experimentation and production in Ukraine.

Anton Schnaider’s first collection as Creative Director brings graphic design, sportswear and fictional identities into a wardrobe shaped by movement, utility and the freedom to define belonging on individual terms.