Vegan Fashion Week​​ and Ukrainian Fashion Week united in Los Angeles to convey an unprecedented message of compassion and support

For three days in October, Vegan Fashion Week put Los Angeles on the world fashion map as the capital of sustainable fashion and presented a unique show in partnership with Ukrainian Fashion Week. Eleven Ukrainian sustainable brands took part in a joint show in Los Angeles, which took place under the slogan “Compassion” and demonstrated unprecedented support for Ukrainian designers. This was the final event of the UFW International Season SS23.

At the California Market Center in Los Angeles, as part of the “Support Ukrainian Fashion” Initiative, Ukrainian Fashion Week presented the looks of 11 Ukrainian designers, including Chereshnivska, Dzhus, House Martin, Gorohova, Ochis, Oversized, Roussin, Sheezen, Palingenisy, Devohome and Reviclo – all brands are cruelty-free and sustainable. The partners of the show were Dr. Martens, KVD Beauty, Artis and MOB Beauty.

Ukrainian Fashion Week gratefully welcomed the partnership invitation from Vegan Fashion Week. The direction of sustainability in fashion cannot exist in one separate country. Unfortunately, the negative impact on the environment has no borders. Only together we can overcome the crisis that exists. Only cooperation in the matter of preserving the Earth’s ecology, only cooperation in this direction, as well as a constant exchange of experience, can give positive global results.

“One of the biggest problems in the development of sustainability in fashion is the incomplete understanding of all aspects of sustainable practices in the creation of clothing. The strategy of sustainable development should be considered from several aspects: social, cultural, ecological and economic. As a rule, it is the social and cultural agendas that are considered, unfortunately, secondary in the system of complex solutions. When talking about sustainable fashion, we should not forget, in particular, about caring for people. We should think about humanity as the priority of our lives. This season of Vegan Fashion Week was dedicated to this aspect of sustainable fashion. And although the show of Ukrainian designers included many interesting and new cases, we all felt that fashion now demonstrates new priorities – solidarity and dedication to humanistic and democratic values.” – Oleksandra Kakurina, head of the Ukrainian Fashion Week designer department.

The City of Los Angeles awarded the VFW a Certificate of Recognition, recognizing the movement’s message of compassion as a foundation for world peace and highlighting the connections between people, biodiversity and our impact on the planet.

This season, Vegan Fashion Week founder and creative director Emmanuel Rienda presented a “golden hour” sustainable show under natural light in the atrium – no artificial lighting was added to the production of this show to reduce the event’s carbon footprint. A showroom of sustainable brands was also held during the VFW. Vegan Fashion Week is the launch pad for vegan fashion and a key platform for important messages. The VFW has become a beacon of hope for ethical and sustainable living and a catalyst for change in the fashion industry.

Photo:@thehendrys