This morning I was talking to a Ukrainian and a few days ago to Frost Magazine’s medical correspondent, Dr Kathleen Thompson, who is not only an award winning author with From Both Ends of the Stethoscope, but a prize winning ballroom dancer. She was telling me how delighted she was with a dance dress she had ordered from Ukraine very recently. It was not only a perfect fit, but beautifully made, and arrived on the day they had promised. All this in spite of all the difficulties Ukraine is enduring.
So Frost Magazine was delighted to view the stunning LITKOVSKA collection, especially at this heartbreaking but inspiring time.
The latest collection by LITKOVSKA, entitled «Vesnianka» as a tribute to traditional Ukrainian spring-greeting songs, and explores the beauty of life and its stages, linking coming-of-age not only to one’s own individual development, but to cultures and nations as a whole. Honouring the solar year,
Traditional Ukrainian culture, I understand, celebrates every phase of nature’s cycle, associating spring – and its «Vesnianka» hymns – with rebirth. For LITKOVSKA, «Vesnianka» is a visual tale about hopes for tomorrow, and fears and choices to be made: a documented metaphorical transition, the collection praises a fearless step towards the new dawn, the new spring, a new world.
Who can’t empathise with this and so much of all of the above is there, in the collection.
Ukraine is facing a fundamental change – and while initiation is often dreadful and gruesome, it invariably leads to a hopeful tomorrow.
The brand’s founder Lilia Litkovska sees Ukraine as an unquenchable source of inspiration: a young nation going through its adolescence and fighting for its freedom. Hurrah to that.
The designer’s homeland is still in its «Spring» years, which became a core of the collection’s concept. Since the beginning of the invasion, Lilia Litkovska has been committed to helping her country financially and artistically, raising awareness about the struggles of the war, creating charitable projects and championing the work of her fellow Ukrainian designers. For the SS’23 collection, the designer also aimed to combine couture with a bold statement. Several pieces are decorated with an embroidery of a heartbreaking poem called «A Prayer of a Ukrainian Patriot», which was initially written by a political dissident in his blood on the walls of his cell in 1930-s.
In terms of visual aesthetics, LITKOVSKA stays true to its refined, arts-inspired chic – an intersection between sophisticated tailoring and daily comfort filled with allusions to traditional Ukrainian costume. The neutral colour palette ranges from innocent raw linen to strict and bold black pieces – a subtle way to accentuate the diversity of choices youth brings. Weightless fringed dresses and crocheted accessories sit alongside tailored masculine suits and intricate gowns. SS’23 LITKOVSKA styles are unified in their difference: ceremonial and down-to-earth, androgynous and feminine, bountied with pitch-perfect lines and charmingly chaotic silhouettes, they embody youthful energy in a humble, intimate way.
An absolutele triumph of heartfelt imagination and original design. Bravo..
From Both Ends of the Stethoscope by Dr Kathleen Thompson