DORÉ

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Bevza‘s fashion show titled, ‘Closet’.

Walking up to the location from our office (which is just about fifteen minutes away), I saw the all too familiar storefronts of Ukrainian Village in Manhattan. Ironically, the designer Svetlana Bevza is Ukrainian herself. And, I was surprised and pleased to see that she picked Ukrainian National Home to present her collection.

Little did I know that the whole presentation would be weaved with nostalgia and throwbacks to the designer’s hometown of Kyiv.

The runway was set in a big hall with a high ceiling, adorned with constructivism-esque wooden panels. Black chairs lined up in four even rows reminded me somewhat of a Cultural Center gathering, which would take place in every city in Ukraine. But here instead, was filled with tastefully dressed spectators. Maybe I’m going too deep here and projecting my own longing for my home country, or maybe that is what the designer was trying to evoke amidst a fashionable crowd.

When the models finally came out, one by one, a woman would describe every individual look, giving the audience insight into what inspired the designer to create particular pieces. Some of the comments were quite straightforward, sometimes with a quirk that some might miss due to the nature of Eastern European humor – dry and and hard to read for more outgoing nations. This irony, I imagine, was at the very core of this season’s show and designs.

Of course, I can’t forgo telling you about the awe I experienced looking at these slender and elegant pieces. So feminine, they seem so simple at first, but in reality are very eloquently constructed. Should I even insert a cheesy “Isn’t that exactly what we women are like?!” here? Um, hard to avoid.

My favorites were the variations on a white dress, which Bevza presents every year, and a jacket with big square shoulders à la the 80s. Another piece, which I love for the pure wow factor, is a puffer that from afar looks like a fur coat. You heard me right. It’s a puffer, but it’s graphic print resembles luxe fur. Another great, chic quirk.