Created in Kiev amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Lilia Litkovska’s new collection, On Air, pays homage to her home country and its rich traditions
After paying a vibrant tribute to her native Ukraine in the French capital’s Jardin des Tuileries for the spring-summer 2023 season, Lilia Litkovska presented her new collection at the Grand Rex at Paris Fashion Week.
These creations, made in Kiev amid endless power cuts and the constant threat of new attacks, bear witness to the designer’s resistance and the love she and her team has for a country to which she is waiting to return. In this interview, conducted ahead of her show on March 1, Litkovska speaks about her deep-rooted love and respect for Ukrainian tradition, and the new ways of interpreting it.
You might also like: Ireneisgood founder Irene Kim on having Blackpink as fans, learning to be a brand owner and building on her success
What is the theme of this new collection presented at the Grand Rex in Paris?
In every Litkovska collection we [strive] to encourage people for discovery of oneself, [to have] sincere conversations with their inner world. The new On Air collection is not an exception. In the modern buzz of life, we often do not realise our consumption, whether it’s food, clothes or information. What if we question ourselves on essential desires and needs first, rather than blindly follow the tendency? Presumably, that will help to become the main character of life instead of being the audience.
Last season, you paid tribute to Ukraine through traditional elements and crafts made in Ukraine. Will it be the same again for fall-winter 2023?
Perhaps last season it was more obvious, though tradition and Ukrainian culture has always been sewed into Litkovska—those are our fundamental roots. At the same time, I love finding ways of new interpretations, creating new senses. In the On Air collection, the trace of tradition is mostly found in accessories.