On June 3 in Berlin, as part of Berlin Fashion Week and the Neo.Fashion platform, the collections of the finalists from the 26th All-Ukrainian Young Fashion Designers Contest, A Look into the Future, were presented on the runway. This season marked the fourth time the finalists have taken part in Neo.Fashion — Germany’s premier platform for emerging fashion talent.

This season, the following young designers presented their collections:

• Alina Hnidenko
• Anastasiia Navrotska
• Oleksandra Sakhaudinova
• Vasylina Staryk
• Anastasiia Stelmakh and Viktoriia Mykhailiuk

Alina Hnidenko / Brand AGE

A year ago, Alina Hnidenko lost her partner in the war. “This is an incredibly personal collection for me,” she shares. “Every detail reflects the emotional journey I’ve gone through since his passing.”

Her collection, Between Earth and Sky, is a deeply intimate expression of grief and hope — a visual conversation with the world about pain, resilience, and the inner world of women coping with loss. Each piece captures the emotional states she experienced over the past year.

Anastasiia Navrotska

With her “Ars Vulnerata” collection, Anastasiia explores the consequences of war for the individual, their heritage, and their nation. The collection invites vulnerability, asserting that recognition of trauma is the first step toward healing. Inspiration came from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum, particularly its historicist interiors.

“I believe contemporary fashion has the power to engage with meaningful issues — war and recovery, memory and the future,” Navrotska says. “My aim is to design garments that do more than clothe the body. I want to create pieces that speak, that act as tools of identity, as arguments, and as emotional support systems.”

Oleksandra Sakhaudinova

Oleksandra Sakhaudinova’s design philosophy centers around experimentation and material exploration. Her work blurs the lines between fashion and sculpture, continuing her investigation into clothing as a form of bodily, sculptural expression.

“Sustainability is essential to my process,” she explains. “I intentionally avoid mass production or replication of my designs. Instead, I take a more artistic, reflective approach — using fashion as a medium for personal and cultural inquiry.Through my work, I aim to address important issues, reflect on personal experiences, and engage with current social topics — making fashion not only visual but also meaningful,” shares Sakhaudinova.

Vasylina Staryk / Brand CANTADORA

Her collection “Patterns of Memory” draws inspiration from the decorative interiors of the Khanenko Museum. For the designer, handcrafting is more than just embellishment; it is a symbol of continuity, timelessness, and respect for craftsmanship that retains its value in a fast-paced world.

“Patterns that once adorned grand palaces are now finding new resonance, proving that true beauty is not subject to time,” comments Vasylina Staryk. Patterns of Memory becomes a dialogue between eras — where echoes of the past resonate in the present.

Anastasiia Stelmakh and Viktoriia Mykhailiuk

This design duo took inspiration from an antique tiled stove in the Khanenko Museum’s collection, whose decoration mirrors the style of Kosiv ceramics — a Ukrainian craft inscribed in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2019.

“We wanted to reinterpret cultural heritage through design — preserving the essence of handcraft, care, and soul,” they explain. “Every print in the collection was made by hand, with the same attention to detail and intention as traditional clay ornamentation.”

Their collection forms a bridge between old and new — between Ukrainian craft traditions and contemporary global design language.

The show was supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises (Berlin Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe).

Credits: Eric Fischer, Jana Abel, Robert Schlesinger