Behind the Scenes

Getting ready for the upcoming Ukrainian Fashion Week SS25, which will take place in Kyiv from September 1 to 4, the UFW team reached out to the participating brands with a question: How is your brand coping with the full-scale invasion? In this article, designer Olena Guranda, the founder of her eponymous brand, GURANDA, shares her reflections.

Russian forces occupied Kherson, the first major city to fall, in early March 2022 – a week after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is my homeland and the birthplace of GURANDA. Temporarily, the business had to be relocated to the country’s west, as it was a much safer region for creativity and production.

Since then, drastic changes have taken place… My husband and I managed to leave for Mukachevo after two months in Kherson. And already there, in the west of the country, with new forces, we rearranged the production of GURANDA. At first, it was difficult because we had to start everything from scratch: patterns, materials, tags, packaging – everything was lost.

We faced the problem of supplying fabrics and other materials because our partners in Ukraine had completely stopped working, and it took time to find new ones. The same story unfolded with other team members, for example, with sewists and tailors. It took time to form a team of specialists of the appropriate level of expertise. Despite all the difficulties, we managed processes.

We faced the problem of supplying fabrics and other materials because our partners in Ukraine had completely stopped working, and it took time to find new ones. The same story unfolded with other team members, for example, with sewists and tailors. It took time to form a team of specialists of the appropriate level of expertise. Despite all the difficulties, we managed processes.

The full-scale invasion greatly affected Ukrainians’ needs because priorities changed. This also applies to elegant things. The brand’s sales figures have decreased in Ukraine, which is logical since we produce collections for festive events. But this does not stop the GURANDA team: we have increased the scope of international orders in two years. Now, we are actively working in an offline format with stores in the USA, UAE, and Sweden.

Some regular clients from Ukraine have moved abroad and still buy our things in different quantities and frequencies. Now is the time to rethink the scope, principles of work and needs of our supporters. The GURANDA brand plans to expand its range and find new partnerships. It is necessary to remember that Ukrainian fashion plays a vital role in the current situation because it is one of the ways to communicate to the world about the cultural values ​​of our state and nation.