FASHION SCOUT KIEV| Kalinichenko AW14

Svetlana Kalinichenko creates bold collections for the modern woman. Having previously designed for the fashion house of Victor Grigoryev and shown at both Moscow and Ukrainian Fashion Week, Kalinichenko is set to showcase her latest collection on the Fashion Scout Kiev catwalk. 

The brand's new season collection is inspired by movies of the 1950s and establishes a fusion between both past and present. Kalinichenko tends to take an artistic approach to her design aesthetic and in past collections has often explored asymmetry and the use of the sculptured line. Expect a depth of contrast from the designer's AW14 showcase as the brand combines heavy wool coats with delicately flowing silk dresses to toughen up an otherwise feminine statement piece.

Having studied Fashion in London and graduated from the Russian University of Theatre Arts in Moscow, Kalinichenko has gone on to achieve great success in her native Russia and looks set to continue to impress the fashion industry with her latest offering.

By Charlotte Muscat, Contributor.

FASHION SCOUT KIEV| Natali Dudka AW14

Another exciting addition to Kiev Fashion Days this weekend is Ukrainian born Natali Dudka, whose emphasis on strong femininity and an independent sense of self has created a brand with a seriously charismatic aesthetic.

A runner up in the Sabotage Designer Contest at LVIV Fashion Week, Dudka has since honed her skills and has quietly been refining her brand in preparation for her AW14 showcase.

Inspired by architecture and her surroundings, Dudka combines these influences with her own personal style. All elements key in developing a collection that’s so close to her own ethos yet designed with the consumer in mind, the Natali Dudka woman is strong and follows structural shapes whilst maintaining a surreal feminine charm. This is only emphasised with the touch of small details including cloud prints, split hem skirts and luxurious fabrics.

Catch Natali Dudka at Fashion Scout Kiev as she presents her AW14 collection on Saturday 29th March.

By Olivia Hunter, Contributor, (@oliviahunter).

NEWS| Graduate Fashion Week International Catwalk Competition Opens

We have partnered with Graduate Fashion Week and Vogue Italia Talents to present the International Catwalk Competition during Graduate Fashion Week 2014. 

The world’s leading fashion universities are invited to enter their top graduate’s collection. Each of the selected universities can enter just one graduate collection into the competition. The judging panel is headed by Sara Maino, Senior Fashion Editor from Vogue Italia and includes other industry experts including Prof. Wendy Dagworthy (RCA).

The prize for the winning collection is £1,000 for the graduate and £500 for the university plus the collection will be exhibited on our catwalk at Freemasons Hall during London Fashion Week in September 2014.

This year, Graduate Fashion Week will be held at the Truman Brewery, in the creative hub of London. The world's largest showcase of graduate fashion talent, it will feature 42 universities and 20 catwalk shows and has launched the careers of those among the likes of Stella McCartney and Christopher Bailey. 

The Catwalk Show and Judging will take place at GFW on Tuesday 3rd June 2014.

For full details and to confirm your interest, please email competition@gfw.org.uk for further details.

By Josh Walker, Editor, (@josh_walker_).

FASHION SCOUT KIEV| Yulia Yefimtchuk + AW14

A ready-to-wear womenswear label for individuals undeterred by the concrete nature of life's realities, Yulia Yefimtchuk + was founded in Ukraine in 2011 by Yulia Yefimtchuk herself. Designing for a women who travels cities and taking inspiration from those who dwell there, Yefimtchuk takes classic contours and complements them with constructive designs in the execution of an effective aesthetic. 

For her AW14 collection, it's the 20th century's man-made disasters and Kazimir Malevich's Black Circle and Black Square artworks that served as the starting point. Using black to symbolise the ultimate mystery of the universe through its absence of colour and connections with silence, security and solace and white as the combination of all colour on the light spectrum, it's a collection rooted in research.

Emphasising the important features of the human form, she creates to combine minimal lines with intelligent design and will show her collection on Sunday 30th March. 

By Josh Walker, Editor, (@josh_walker_).

FASHION SCOUT KIEV| Lara Quint AW14

Emerging designer Lara Tomashschuk is at the helm of Lara Quint. Having already shown for one season, we're looking forward to seeing what she has to offer for AW14. 

A graduate of Kiev University and Design in 2011, the designer went on to work with esteemed designers from both Russia and Ukraine before launching her own womenswear label shortly after. The Lara Quint philosophy is feminine and graphic but still focuses on clean lines and distinct cuts. This keen interest in shapes is what keeps the collection so fresh and the strong shapes and bright colours seen in the SS14 collection inspire a new take on minimalism for the modern woman.

Tomashschuk also plays with fabric, like many of her fellow designers and opts to use materials such as plastic to work cohesively with multiple textures and prints in order to build a strong collection that is unique yet practical.

The Lara Quint AW14 collection will show on the Fashion Scout Kiev catwalk on Saturday 29th March.

View the full schedule here, and be sure to check back to our blog for coverage throughout.

By Olivia Hunter, Contributor, (@oliviahunter).

FASHION SCOUT KIEV| Ju by Julia Bialetska AW14

Juxtaposing classic silhouettes with modern fabrics, colours and pattern, Julia Bialetska’s feminine aesthetic is contrasted with architectural cuts. The use of modern technologies and materials in Bialetska’s designs echo the very nature of the design itself, simplifying the wearing process. Bialetska’s debut collection, entitled ‘Industrial princess’ channels the modern woman who favours luxurious designs that remain current in their styling.

A new face to the fashion industry, Bialetska left a career in business and IT to pursue her dream, opening an online store before going on to design and create her much anticipated debut collection which will be showcased at this season's Fashion Scout Kiev. Forging ultra-feminine design and shape with a contemporary edge, Bialetska is most certainly a fashioner newcomer to watch.

By Charlotte Muscat, Contributor.

FASHION SCOUT KIEV| Cathy Telle AW14

Launched in 2010, brand Cathy Telle presents wedding and evening dress collections. Oozing ultra femininity, each of Telle’s designs are intricately detailed and embroidered to create elegant, romanticised collections. Telle dresses embody both softness and light, as volumised transparent fabrics fall and float with ease. 

Contrasting modesty with sexuality, the designer's pieces often feature open back and applique bodice detailing which alongside fluid skirts juxtapose to create faultless femininity in each individual design. Perfectly constructed in the finest of fabrics including thin silks, cotton and lace each garment is charmingly seductive and encompass a feeling of delicate tactility.

Telle dresses have become a firm favourite for fashion-forward brides in Russia, Germany and Switzerland and look set to inspire an even wider audience as she showcases her latest collection at Fashion Scout Kiev on Sunday 30th March.

By Charlotte Muscat, Contributor.

FASHION SCOUT KIEV| D'Harmonique AW14

Ask anybody what their favourite thing about any fashion show is and they’ll probably tell you it’s watching the way the clothes, shoes and accessories move in harmony with the models wearing them. Achieving this symbiosis is not easy, but this is why the industry nurtures such unique talent. One upcoming designer putting her stamp on this aesthetic, is D’Harmonique.

Using alternative fabrics to those you might expect from most designers, combined with typically luxurious silks among other materials, the great thing about D’Harmonique’s collections is that every piece tells a story. With a huge emphasis on the meeting between meditation and geometry, beauty is formed when this collision occurs. This fashionable example of the ‘big bang’ allows a unique collection to freely develop and adapt naturally to each person who wears a D’Harmonique piece.

D’Harmonique will showcase her AW14 collection on the Fashion Scout Kiev catwalk on Sunday 30th March.

By Olivia Hunter, Contributor, (@oliviahunter).

FASHION SCOUT KIEV| Alisa Kuzembaeva AW14

In anticipation of Fashion Scout Kiev starting on Saturday 29th March, as part of the Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days, we're highlighting the designers who will be showcasing throughout the event.

Kicking off the Designer Spotlights is Alisa Kuzembaeva. Both a Central Saint Martins and Royal College of Art womenswear graduate, the skills she's picked up through her education are clear. Her designs are innovatively impactful and, taking an architectural and structured approach to her work, it should also come as no surprise that her education began at the Moscow Architectural Institute.  

Creating striking pieces of black and white for her SS14 offering (pictured), the collection was graphic, contemporary and emphasised not only the aesthetic she's made for herself but the skillset she's acquired along the way.

Alisa Kuzembaeva will showcase her AW14 collection on the Fashion Scout Kiev catwalk on Saturday 29th March.

View the full schedule here, and check back to our blog for coverage throughout.

By Josh Walker, Editor, (@josh_walker_).

Images, taken by Arthur Sysoev.

NEWS| Mercedes Benz Kiev Fashion Days AW14

Fashion Scout and Mercedes Benz Kiev Fashion Days join forces for another season. Running from March 28th to March 30th, Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days is the only international fashion event in Ukraine. Drawing international press season after season including Vogue and Interview, the event is highly regarded not only in Ukraine, but also in all the Eastern Europe.

The first Fashion Scout Kiev designers will hit the catwalk on Saturday 29th March with NataliaDUDKA, Taras Volyn and Krasilnikova, and wil continue showing until the end of Sunday. 

Designers who showcased in our Fashion Scout Paris showroom, including Anna October, Andreeva, and Paschal will also be showing their designs on schedule. To view the full Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days schedule, click here. 

The designers showcasing at the Fashion Scout Kiev Showroom are:

ALISA KUZEMBAEVA

ATELIER ISA

CATHY TELLE

D’HARMONIQUE

KALINICHENKO 

KASS

KATERINA KVIT 

KRASILNIKOVA 

KRISTINA MAMEDOVA 

LARA QUINT

 NATALIDUDKA 

OSTEL

SHELDON

TARAS VOLYN

YULIA JU

YULIA YEFIMTCHUK+

Be sure to check back to the blog for Designer Spotlights and catwalk coverage.

Follow us on Twitter @FashionScout #FashionScout #FASHIONFORPEACE #MBKFD

By Josh Walker, Editor, (@josh_walker_)
Image, Anna K AW14, mbkievfashiondays.com