FASHION 4 UKRAINE PREMIERS DESIGNERS AND MODELS FOR FASHION WEEK SHOW DEBUT AT TRIBECA’S MRIYA GALLERY 

Among the multitude of events during New York Fashion Week, there is a new semi-annual fashion show to watch out for - Fashion 4 Ukraine (F4U). On September 14th, 2024 Ukrainian-born and American beauty and fashion industry professionals came together for the first time in Mriya Gallery, the first Ukrainian gallery in NYC located in trendy TriBeCa neighborhood, to celebrate Ukrainian fashion and help the most vulnerable during war with fundraising efforts. The idea behind Fashion 4 Ukraine is for Americans to know more about Ukraine, its culture and its freedom-loving people, but not only through the lens of war, military struggles and hardship. The team at F4U wants to show that Ukrainians still appreciate and have the ability to create LOVE and BEAUTY. The first event started a movement that will host fashion shows during each New York Fashion Week - a Ukrainian Fashion Week. The next show is scheduled for Saturday, February 15th, 2025 in a NYC Financial District location.

Fashion 4 Ukraine founder and executive producer, Olga Ivanidi, is a model with more than 10 years of experience, who’s graced major runways all over the country, from NYC to L.A. In February 2024 when she took part in fashion shows during NYFW she noticed the lack of representation of Ukrainian designers. She decided to put her modeling experience, business education and Ukrainian heritage to work and produced the Fashion 4 Ukraine fashion show in order to give a platform to Ukrainian-born designers. She also wanted the event to be the cultural bridge between the United States and Ukraine, and invited a couple of American designers in the show, as well as American-born hair and makeup professionals.

Although Olga has been in the States for almost 15 years, she still has strong ties with her homeland. Her mother currently resides in the South of Ukraine, in the city of Kherson, which has been under Russian occupation. Keeping in touch with her mother, Olga was able to observe the atrocities happening in her home city during the past couple of years. There, since 2022, Russian soldiers have systematically kidnapped and tortured many innocent people, destroyed buildings and infrastructure, and spread terror. She felt powerless and wanted to somehow help her homeland on a bigger scale.

With Fashion 4 Ukraine she got a chance to do so by donating hundred percent of ticket sales to an organization the Bird of Light Foundation (BOL), a 501(c)(3) that has been deeply involved in providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine since the start of the war. The charity is focusing now on addressing the urgent needs of Ukrainian children who have been forcibly kidnapped by Russia. According to Ukrainian sources, 19,546 Ukrainian children have been kidnapped by Russian forces to date, with only 446 successfully returned. When they return, the children often require temporary housing, medical care, educational support, clothing, food, and other essential humanitarian needs. The event raised about $7 thousand to address such needs. It was sold out and strongly supported by the local Ukrainian American community. And it’s just a start. Olga and BOL co-founder, Zhanna Galeyeva, have partnered up for the next season and F4U will continue supporting BOL initiatives.

Besides being charitable in nature, Fashion 4 Ukraine is first and foremost a representation of up and coming, as well as established Ukrainian brands and designers. Olga Ivanidi was fortunate to not only produce the show, but also walk as a model for two brands: Anna Yudaeva and Olya Mak. It was a hard choice for her, as all the brands represented were worth the praise.