Photography by Jordann Wood.
Founded by designer Lilia Litkovska in 2009, Litkovska is a womenswear label that has become a profoundly inspiring symbol of Ukraine’s powerful creative spirit. Presenting in Paris and Berlin, the Litkovska shows of the past year were soundtracked by traditional Ukrainian spring songs called vesnyankas. Such songs have been performed in Ukraine for thousands of years, representing the sun, a new harvest and new life.
“I have more memories of shchedrivkas [ancient folk winter carol songs] rather than vesnyankas, since this style of song was more common in my family,” explains Lilia. “The sound of these carols takes me back to times when friends and family gathered at my great-grandmother’s house. We’d cook food and sing for hours on end,” she shares. “We also used to sing Kupala songs for Ivana Kupala – the summer holiday of worship and warmth, which is now dedicated to the summer solstice. I especially loved the Ivana Kupala holiday, so much so that I chose this day [7 July] to be my wedding day. Kupala is filled with memories of warmth, appreciation and love.”
Emotional connection is a foundational element of Lilia’s design process. “Openness to one’s own feelings is such a rare feeling in fashion,” she explains. “With the Litkovska collections, we strive to provoke a dialogue within our audiences. We want them to question who they are, where they come from and what they are bringing into the world. I believe that a woman’s femininity, sexuality and sensuality are the purest and brightest when wearing masculine silhouettes. That is something immutable for me: working with sharp, masculine activewear and translating it into the fragile, delicate feminine world.”
Combining tradition with the contemporary, the label’s latest collection is a pure reflection of Lilia’s feelings about the zeitgeist in Ukraine. “It explores the beauty of life and its stages, celebrating a fearless step towards the new dawn, the new spring, a new world,” she states. Litkovska sees it as her mission to preserve the profession and craft that has surrounded her since childhood. “Traditions are carried over for centuries, handed down from mother to child. They hold the strongest and purest kind of energy – love. That’s why I do everything possible to explore traditions, keep them, create them and inspire others to do the same. All for love.”
“And isn’t that the real, most wonderful aspect of fashion?” I ask.
“For me, fashion is a language. It has always been important for me to be able to deliver a certain message through the vessel of fashion. It’s a way to understand your senses and have sincere conversations with yourself, when no one else is listening. Design without senses is empty. It has no meaning; it’s useless, dead.”
“I’ve always been curious about exploring all the various manifestations of art,” Lilia reveals, “especially music. It’s less cumulative than fashion. It has its own narrative language that generates currents and forms taste. Sinking into decades through music is one of my favourite areas of inspiration.” And, for Lilia, this inspiration can come from anywhere. “History of art, cinema, architecture, theatre, the ballet, a book, my feelings. I like to combine different eras, dilute them with the cinema of the 20th century and voice the whole picture with resonating music. Every new moment, every morning is the start of new life, new opportunities, new discoveries. Translation of any artistic expression into the language of fashion excites me.”
Often before the start of a new collection, Lilia finds herself feeling an unusual sadness. “I fall into a melancholy,” she says. “I feel sad, I feel down and I start to second guess what I’m doing. But melancholy is an agent of change. It gives me an impulse to be reborn into something new.” It seems that these qualities, which lie deep in Lilia’s personality, are also interwoven with her clothes. Here, a delicate momentum is created which is carried into the ways her pieces can be worn.
“What is it you want to communicate to women with your designs?”, I ask.
“Every woman is unique. The way we speak, write, walk, smile, react, think, feel is unique and beautiful. I want to make women light and confident but also mysterious and sexual. We don’t have to pretend or imitate others. I want every woman to be herself, to feel herself. My pieces should emphasise her character, become an extension of her history, roots, hopes and beliefs. As women, we need to be fearless at every stage of our life, carrying the beauty inside and out, growing and changing with the ambition within.”
Finally, I wonder what Ukraine means for Lilia today both personally and creatively.
“Ukraine is my heritage, one that the enemy is desperately trying to erase. My friends and family live at constant risk. Ukraine represents my mother and uncle who survived the awful occupation of Bucha; my team whose creativity and love are being targeted by missiles; the beautiful old cities that are being destroyed, turned into nothing but rubble. I regularly visit Ukraine to keep a sense of hope, to connect to my home. And, am I scared? Sometimes. I think of my daughter and how she would live without me. But, I understand that my risks are incomparable to the risks of our soldiers on the frontline or civilians in the cities under constant bombardment such as Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, or those who live in the now occupied cities. I am totally touched and moved by my people.”
As featured in SLEEK 76 FREEDOM. Available in print and digital here.