Fashion Guest: Lilia Litkovskaya, Ukrainian fashion designer The - Yarns - Fabrics - Accessories - Première Vision Paris
Discovered at the last Tranoï show, we wanted to share with you the beautiful, strong work of Lilia Litkovskaya.
Coming from a family of four generations of tailors, Lilia Litkovskaya has always seen it her mission to preserve this profession and the crafts surrounding it. With her namesake brand she unveils the way traditions could be integrated in a modern context and is committed to working in an ethical and sustainable way.
Known for her taste for bold shapes, refined tailoring and intricate craftsmanship, Lilia Litkovskaya explores the idea of contemporary dressing through sleek yet quirky silhouettes and edgy yet fluid designs.
Deconstructing the very concept of modernity through tailoring and a bold touch, she offers a radically realistic wardrobe for today’s woman who is free to be both fragile and fierce.
With a subtle yet pulsating sensuality seamlessly sewn into every garment, LITKOVSKAYA creates a unique relationship between a woman and her clothing.
Her DNA
The brand’s motto is “there is no wrong side” meaning that the things we do and words we say don’t have a wrong side – the inside out. That statement is reflected in double-sided outerwear, reversed denim, and the simple fact that the inner side is always meticulously worked through.
The brand’s clothing label is always covered with another label – a plain white one – to symbolize that every garment is a fresh start, a new page of a new personal story for its wearer.
With her background in art history and a master’s degree from Kyiv Polytechnic Institute – Ukraine’s leading technical university – Lilia Litkovskaya has achieved recognition both in her native country and beyond.
Her ecological commitment : the Artisanal Line
Most of Litkovskaya’s fabrics are of locally sourced fabrics, cotton, lines, silks and viscoses, from Ukraine and neighbour countries that are important producers of these fibers and fabrics.
Some models of each collection are from the Artisanal line, meaning they are produced in a sustainable and ethical way, using various recycling techniques. From recycled fabrics, to reusing leftovers from previous collections or vintage garments from the Kiev fleamarkets, it is especially the re-weaving (“kilimok”,”dorizhka”, a carpet made from vintage clothing ) ‘scraps’ that are broken into thin threads, and woven again into unique pieces of skillful tailored garments and bags.
As every life is a single story consisting of millions of different moments, every garment from the ARTISANAL LINE is constructed from hundreds of smaller pieces – snippets, “leftovers” of textile production and reused clothing. Using traditional sewing and weaving techniques of Ukraine, Litkovskaya breathes new life into the garments that had already told their stories once.
Each garment is reworked entirely by hand, and the complexity and specificity of each step make each piece unique.
This is herr manifesto. Her will to state that there is nothing old and nothing new, nothing primary or secondary. There is just a never-ending wheel of Samsara, a cycle of transformations. A piece of textile becomes a garment, a garment gets worn out, then it gets torn into pieces and we transform it into a new form of textile, that eventually becomes a new garment. This is her attempt to emphasize infinity, to grasp the moment where things transform. It is an ode to generational continuity, to the traditions that were wise enough to create something that can save us now. And this is a modern view on how to adapt those traditions.
“ « Artisanal » means pieces created in harmony with nature.
They are produced from remnants, from somebody’s experience, being filled with some other kind of force, another life. So that upon their return to the city, they can bring this pure energy of nature.
And to make people rethink their approach to clothes in general, their attitude toward consumption.
Not to use it somehow, but to exchange, respectfully treat what seems to be given to us as is.
There is air, there is water, and being grateful for this is the least we can do. If something exists, if there is a beautiful lake that is so marvelous, if it inspires and fosters creativity in a human being, well, at least be appreciative of that.
I wanted to show modern Ukraine, but with non-trivial features.
I wanted to show the local craftmanship principles and culture, to rework it all through the eyes of Litkovskaya. “
Her Team
In 2009 LITKOVSKAYA opened its own experimental production in the heart of Kyiv. Now it counts 23 people, including craftsmen who preserve the arts of traditional embroidery and weaving. With most of the team working in the company from 2 to 8 years, they have got the tradition of passing knowledge to the ones who have joined recently, as a tribute to the art if tailoring, that four generations of Lilia Litkovskaya’s family took to the level of excellence.
Each garment of the Artisanal line is unique and traceable, including the handwork hours of the team working on it, showing the virtue of the traditional craftmanships.
Litkovskaya surely is a unique womenswear brand that we share with the passion of meaningful fashion, to be discovered more in detail on her website. She is now showing her collections in Paris during official womenswear fashion week. LITKOVSKAYA is present in stores in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Kuwait, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and others.
Discover our other fashion guests and stay tuned for discovering he latest eco-innovations for fabrics, leathers and accessories at the Spring-Summer 23 show!