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The war in Ukraine began a full month ago, on February 24. Milan Fashion Week was on its third day, and video clips of people preening at the fashion shows on social media were suddenly interspersed with ghastly images of war. Yet everything in fashion land seemed to be going on as planned, until Giorgio Armani made headlines for deciding to stage his show without music out of respect for Ukraine, reminding us that, oh yeah, fashion can react to this horrible, historic tragedy.
Since the collections were in the news, the industry was in the spotlight, highlighting calls for it to do something. On Wednesday, March 2, during Paris Fashion Week, LVMH announced a 5 million euro donation to the International Committee of the Red Cross and began a “fundraising campaign in support of the ICRC to facilitate the contributions of employees across the Group and its 76 Maisons.” Their announcement came around the same time as Balenciaga parent company Kering’s Instagram that read, “In order to contribute to humanitarian efforts to bring aid and support to Ukrainian refugees, Kering will make a significant donation to the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugees Agency,” alongside a graphic of the word PEACE in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
I previously noted here in Back Row that after Notre Dame burned, in a show of charity dick measuring, LVMH’s Arnault family (Bernard runs the place, his kids work there) announced a 200 million euro donation to the restoration, following Kering chief François-Henri Pinault’s announcement of a 100 million euro donation. Donations to help Ukraine were also announced by Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Armani, Burberry, Gucci, Valentino, and Balenciaga.
However, as has become typical when the industry tries to take a stand, the way brands went about this bothered people. Some were upset that Chanel called the war a “conflict” and asked why it was still operating there. Chanel then announced on LinkedIn that it would “temporarily pause its business in Russia.” (Similar LinkedIn announcements were made by Richemont and Kering. Why LinkedIn, you logically ask? Who knows. Do you think their social media managers were also looking for new jobs?) And after Louis Vuitton announced a 1 million euro donation for refugees on Instagram, the Financial Times pointed out that commenters said stuff like, “Close your stores in Russia if you are serious,” and, “Stop selling in Russia!” (LVMH did decide to temporarily suspend operations in Russia.)
Balenciaga designer Demna Gvasalia showed toward the end of Paris Fashion Week, and said he thought about canceling his show, set in a manmade snowstorm which evoked refugees fleeing. Demna was a refugee himself at the age of 10 when war struck Abkhazia, Georgia in 1993. From Vogue:
“It’s the same," he said. "The same aggressor, maybe even the same planes that did it to us. Who knows? And seeing this, I was thinking for a while, ‘What are we doing here, with fashion? Should I cancel?’ But no: I decided we must resist.”
The clothes were barely visible in runway photos, but that seemed to be the point — because fashion, after all, was beside the point.
During Paris Fashion Week, I heard from a representative for Kyiv-based fashion brand KSENIASCHNAIDER, founded in 2011 by spouses Ksenia Schnaider, a Ukrainian fashion designer, and Anton Schnaider, a Russian graphic designer. The whimsical label has been worn by celebrities including Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa. I was curious to get Ksenia’s perspective on fashion week continuing while her country was being bombed, and sent her some questions via email, which she answered after she had safely fled Ukraine earlier this month. Our exchange below has been lightly edited for clarity.
First, where are you right now? Are you safe?
I am in Budapest — physically safe. Mentally, I am not sure.
Did you encounter any violence when you left the country?
Personally, we did not encounter any violence. But we met people who got to the border by overcrowded train in inhuman conditions, and were forced to leave some things on the platform because they simply did not fit into the train full of people. We met friends who were driving their cars under shelling. I saw a lot of frightened children and crying women. And I also could not hold back my tears while standing in a long line at the border the whole night.
What would you like the global fashion community to know about your situation?
Fifteen days ago I was forced to leave my native beautiful Kyiv with my 10-year-old daughter to save our lives from Russian armed forces. Fifteen days ago, just like most of the fashion community, I was working on my fall/winter ’22 [collection], and was expecting a DHL courier to pick it up and deliver it to showrooms internationally. Instead, I and everyone in Ukraine woke up to frightening sounds of air-raid sirens and a message from our president that Russia started the war. All business operations stopped. We had to think about our safety first. The opportunity to present a new collection to the world was taken away. My usual way of life, my home, and office were taken away. My team was taken away (now, they are forced to hide in bomb shelters in Ukraine or look for a new job in safe Poland). My dreams and plans were taken away. My beloved city was taken away. And still it is very hard to plan anything for the future as the war is not over yet. We live constantly checking the news and praying for peace.
As I write this, we're in the middle of the spring 2022 show season — Milan wrapped and Paris is next. How does it feel to see fashion week carry on during this time?
Everything seemed pointless to me back then. I scrolled through all the shows and posts from fashion weeks and carefully read only the news on the situation with the war. I am very grateful to designers and brands who used their voices to show solidarity with Ukraine and made donations to our Red Cross and other organizations.
These actions saved someone's life and they are much more important than any fashion statement.
Prior to the Russian invasion, what was the fashion industry like in Ukraine? How was your business doing?
We have a very friendly creative community in Ukraine. We had a lot of collaborations and ecological initiatives before the war. Last year, we opened our first flagship store in Kyiv, it became a must-visit spot for fashion lovers. We had our own upcycling studio with very experienced workers, who are in our company for five to eight years. We used to rework up to 10 tons of old clothes per year and produced items for international retail including Shopbop, Zalando, Isetan, [and] Neiman Marcus, among others. Now I am in constant communication with our partners trying to find new possibilities for the brand. I am sure no matter what, we will continue KSENIASCHNAIDER’s development.
It may be impossible to answer this right now, but what do you think recovery will look like for your brand? Do you think you will recover?
I am sure we will recover. I have hard-working team and they inspire me everyday, they didn't give up and they help each other — many of them are now volunteering.
What support have you received from the global fashion community?
I receive a lot of kind words from my colleagues everyday on instagram or email. A lot of them [offered] me their places to stay, offered me their atelier to produce collections. When I came to Budapest without any plan, I received a very warm welcome from [the team at fashion market development firm] DFO — we used to work with them on distribution in Chinese market. They managed to find a free apartment for me, supported me with advice, [and] supported my family. When we opened donations on our online store, we received money from our clients and partners — our buyers, our suppliers. I am very happy to know so many kind people, they all give me hope for a peaceful future.
Did your brand do much business in Russia? What have your biggest markets been?
Russia has never been an important market for us. Since 2018, when our brand began to gain popularity, all our sales have been focused on Asia — Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong. United States was added later. Our product was not very popular in Europe and our goal for 2022-23 was to conquer the European market. In Russia, we have private clients who placed orders on the site, but their number was not significant.
Anything else you would like people outside of Ukraine to know?
I saw it on instagram and I can't argue: "Ukraine is the capital of Great People"
Where can people buy your pieces?
They are welcome to visit our online store and place pre-order (all orders will be deliver after the war). Also they can find our collection in London at Koibird. And in Paris at Paradise Garage.
All images courtesy of KSENIASCHAIDER.
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Thanks for this post, Amy.