On 16-17 May, the 32nd season of Odessa Fashion Day took place – a project that for many years has remained not only a fashion event, but also a professional platform supporting young designers, independent brands and Ukraine’s creative industries.
At a time when the world is changing faster than ever, and Ukrainian reality continues to test people’s resilience every day, each new season of Odessa Fashion Day becomes much more than a showcase of collections.
Today, creating fashion in Ukraine means more than working with fabric, form or silhouette. It means continuing to create despite air raid sirens, uncertainty, fatigue and difficult circumstances that have become part of the country’s everyday life. It means not allowing fear to stop creativity, and not losing the ability to bring something new into the world.
That is why Ukrainian designers today create more than collections. They create stories, memory and the future.
Despite the challenging period for the country, the Ukrainian fashion industry continues to live and develop. New brands appear, new names emerge, new ideas are born. Designers continue to speak to the world through culture and aesthetics, preserving their own identity and shaping a new vision of contemporary Ukraine.
But behind every season there are not only designers. Behind every season stands a large team of people who continue to believe in the development of Ukrainian fashion: producers, stylists, photographers, videographers, model agencies, partners, media and dozens of people whose names often remain behind the scenes, but who turn ideas into reality.
The ONE OF A KIND Concept
Perhaps this is why the 32nd season of Odessa Fashion Day received the name ONE OF A KIND.
The concept of the season became a conversation about the person and their uniqueness. About the value of individuality at a time when the world often leans towards standardisation and repetition. About the inner strength to remain yourself, even when circumstances force you to adapt, change and search for new points of support.
True luxury today is no longer defined only by status or material things. True luxury is the ability not to lose yourself, to preserve your own voice and to remain honest with yourself.
ONE OF A KIND became a story about those who do not try to resemble anyone else. About designers who create their own artistic language through form, texture, cut and emotion. About a generation that increasingly chooses meaning over imitation, and authenticity over a perfect picture.
Official Odessa Fashion Day Campaign Project
A special place in the season was given to the official Odessa Fashion Day campaign project, starring Kateryna Zakharchenko – Miss Ukraine.
The campaign became a continuation of the season’s main idea and its visual embodiment – a story about femininity, character and inner strength.
The look for the campaign shoot was created by designer Dima Makeiev and based on the Hôtel Le Mirage collection – an aesthetic built on the interaction of light and shadow, openness and mystery, reality and illusion.
Semi-transparent textures, sculptural forms and a deep dark palette created an atmosphere in which contemporary femininity received a new interpretation – strong, independent and magnetic.
Runway Shows at Luxury Gallery
The main day of shows took place at Luxury Gallery Sady Peremohy Shopping Centre – a location that has already become an important part of Odesa’s fashion history.
This season, the runway brought together design students of Ushynsky University, VEO BRAND with the support of Mira Models agency, Magnat Dress, Stahova, Saiman El Sabari, BUDU, Babyface, CIAO CIAO, Mint & Lonza New York, Nimblescissors and Tetyana Paliy.
Each show became a separate story. Behind every collection are talented people who continue to create despite all circumstances.
Public Talk at BRIK Hotel
On 17 May, the season received a different continuation – without a runway, but with a conversation no less important for the industry.
BRIK Hotel became a meeting point for designers, media representatives and guests of the season. As part of the second day, Odessa Fashion Day, together with PR agency N1 Buro, held the PUBLIC TALK “Designer, Media and PR: How Contemporary Fashion Communications Work”.
The discussion focused on how fashion brands can build communication today, work with media, shape reputation and find their own voice in the modern information environment.
The public talk speakers were:
Margarita Aftandiliants – Head of Marketing Communications at Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design;
Olena Lapko – PR expert at Woman In, N1 Buro and Diia.Business Uzhhorod, holder of the Certificate in Creating Brand Value from Harvard Business School;
Kyrylo Savchenko – PR specialist and CEO of N1 Buro.
The discussion was curated by Odessa Fashion Day producer Oleh Shkilniuk.
The second day became a natural continuation of the season and once again confirmed that contemporary fashion is shaped not only through collections, but also through dialogue, a professional environment and the people who create it.
Partners of Odessa Fashion Day Season 32
The 32nd season of Odessa Fashion Day became the result of the joint work of many people, teams and partners who continue to support the development of contemporary Ukrainian fashion, even during a difficult time for the country.
The season took place across two Odesa venues – Luxury Gallery, Sady Peremohy Shopping Centre and BRIK Hotel.
Exclusive partner of the season: SMILE FOOD online restaurant.
Educational partner: Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design.
Image partners of the season: Make Me Up Studio and School, MARAMAX ACADEMY, Ultimate Trend Store online platform, ART – Podium and TOTALITE model agencies.
Accommodation for guests and participants was provided by Black Sea Hotel Group.
The project received information support from the season’s media partners: FASHION, Best People Club, Merlaine Magazine, FOSTYLEN, SYNDICATE NEWS, 048.UA, FABIOS Magazine, ЧАС ПЕРШИХ, ABSURDU.NET, BUT.IN.UA, Culture Trend, TrueUa, EPOQUE Magazine, GLORY magazine, GOSSIP magazine, Lucky Ukraine, Super Lady magazine, TOUCH magazine, Studio of My Dreams, Cool’baba, Фаворит, Одеса Медіа, GLAM WEEK magazine, SEWING BUSINESS AND FASHION та PROMINENT MAGAZINE.
The season’s international partner was traditionally London Fashion Day, continuing to develop a professional dialogue between the Ukrainian and international fashion communities.
And perhaps this is what matters most today: to continue creating, supporting, believing and shaping the future of Ukrainian fashion.
Because today, Ukrainian fashion is not only about clothing. It is about people, strength, culture and the future. And about those who remain one of a kind.
Odessa Fashion Day – Season 32. ONE OF A KIND
Фото: Славік Котляренко, Дарія Веку
