The fashion designer inspires life in Ukraine at the Paris show

“From a war zone to peace,” read a sign outside Paris’s Grand Rex cinema, a model of New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Inside, guests gathered in an art deco hall designed by Ukrainian designer Lila Litkovska, who continued the radio theme.

Titled “Up in the Air,” it was a metaphor for the unexpected way life in Ukraine is unfolding by the minute. The show’s ready-to-wear soundtrack flitted between radio stations, with constant interruptions. Litkovska’s collection reflected this sense of anxiety, mixing styles with a generally loose and extravagant display.

There were more commercial looks, such as a black tuxedo coat worn over a floppy black slit skirt and sneakers, alongside more subtle plays, such as a long-sleeved black coat rolled up in the middle to deliberately evoke the image of a kilt.

Simple menswear dresses were ultimately chic in the low-key show, with long belts made from silk undergarments that swung gracefully behind like a train.

But it wasn’t just about fashion. A video link near the airport showed live footage from the Litkovska team in the Ukrainian capital.

Ukrainian fashion movement

In the year “Made in Ukraine” designs by relocating the studio to a safe place in the country.

“During the first week of the Russian invasion, we moved to Lviv in western Ukraine. But at the beginning of the summer we returned (to Kyiv) with our products and with the people there,” she told The Associated Press.

“It’s the same factory, one office, one team,” Litkovska says now as it was before the war, adding that she “extended our team in the first year of the war because we ran out of orders.”

Last year, she organized activist fashion events with other Ukrainian designers, including pop-ups in Paris, Berlin, Munich and Milan, and raised about 50,000 euros ($53,000) for medicine and to support Kiev’s older children. Hospital and Armed Forces. She asked for 30% profit to go to Ukraine.

“It’s an amazing process,” she says, explaining how one of her initiatives involved selling Little Angels.

The fashion community is key to raising awareness and raising money for the war effort because it “has a huge following, millions and millions, and can attract their audience to what’s going on,” Litkovska said.

DRIES VAN NOTEN, GENDER BENDER

The Belgian maestro flipped women’s menswear for his fall collection, smashing it with floral lashings and gold sparkles. They were the touches that gave the superb collection a softness and edge.

A soft silk crop top topped a charcoal pinstripe menswear jacket, while another pinstripe style – this time double-breasted – was worn over a silk-print floral dress draped across the neckline. Stealth was the name of the game.

Even glam rock elements such as gold leather coats were handled with care. The coat had a slightly wrinkled vintage feel and was worn over a bare chest.

Undercover makes a comparison

Jun Takahashi, founder and designer of Japanese streetwear-focused brand Undercover, once cited British designer Vivienne Westwood, who died in December, as an inspiration.

Westwood’s signature punk was in the air as Takahashi performed an exciting set with ambient flourishes and contrasts.

A shiny gray foam material became a parachute-like shawl. He wore Formula One-style wader boots and a black and white racing check motif on the cleats.

This high and low musings continue in a crisp bomber jacket made from posh tweed and kinky boots in bright violet. Sartorial outfits came in acid tones.

Gloves on one side, and a hand motif on the pants that looks like it suddenly wants to sneak up on the leg must be the gimmick of the year.

Fashion experts gathered at the Musee d’Orsay to celebrate a new book about former Chanel front man Karl Lagerfeld, whose death in 2019 at the age of 85 still casts a shadow over Paris Fashion Week.

To celebrate the global launch of “Paradise Now: The Amazing Life of Karl Lagerfeld,” author William Middleton spoke with magazine editor Elizabeth von Guttmann about the book’s origins.

Middleton’s biography focuses on the German-born couturier’s business acumen – beyond his design skills.

The man whose decades-long stewardship of Fendi and Chanel made him one of the most influential designers of the late 20th century discussed the man’s lasting legacy.