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 Tetiana Chumak, the founder of TG Botanical, shares her recollections with the editors.

Since the start of the invasion in 2022, I have concentrated all my efforts on supporting the team, as saving the workplace was a priority. And the biggest discovery in these difficult times was the realization: the TG Botanical team knows how to work not only in comfortable conditions. We created during shelling, constant power outages and disruptions to all other communications.

I consider the status of a permanent participant in the official schedule of Copenhagen Fashion Week to be a significant achievement. It was at CPHFW FW23 that the first TG Botanical show took place when our brand became one of three finalists for the Zalando Sustainability Award, which recognised the craftsmanship, use of natural raw materials, and local production of TG Botanical.

We have made significant gains on the international fashion scene, although the journey in this direction began only three weeks before the start of the large-scale invasion. Currently, TG Botanical clothing is presented on the best platforms in the world – such as Moda Operandi and Revolve, and the brand’s collections have been featured in Vogue, WWD, The Guardian, and others, which proves that we are on the right track.

In terms of personal losses, my family business was significantly damaged. At the beginning of 2022, enemy missiles hit our agricultural lands in the Kyiv region, mined fields, and destroyed warehouses where crops were stored. This is still a harrowing moment: my passion for nature is connected with my family history and upbringing in a family of Ukrainian farmers. Thanks to the return to these roots in 2021 during the quarantine, the TG Botanical brand was created.

We promote the concept of “nature in fashion,” which combines modern design and environmental responsibility. Therefore, TG Botanical clients not only have fashionable clothes but also contribute to the preservation of the surrounding world without harming it. Despite the fact that this damage to our land is caused by the enemy, we are still working to restore what has been built over the years because this land and this farm are where it all started and what my values ​​are based on.

The past two and a half years have shown the endurance and stability of our domestic fashion industry. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian designers have been able to do the unthinkable: they have continued to work, support their brand teams, and donate to the needs of the defense forces.

We tell the world about Ukraine through creativity and stories, which we broadcast not only through things but also through nominations, victories in competitions, and participation in Fashion Weeks.

If you ask how much more complicated things have become, a lot!

But we still cannot be defeated because we have become billions of times stronger.