PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Vegan Fashion Week® and Ukrainian Fashion Week Join Forces in Los Angeles to Share a Message For The Planet
Los Angeles, California (Wednesday, October 5 2022) — It is with great excitement that Vegan Fashion Week® and Ukrainian Fashion Week announce their partnership in Los Angeles on October 10-12, 2022. With shared core values surrounding creativity and sustainability, the collaboration offers a unique opportunity to share an inspiring message in connection with the state of our planet to a global audience.
While fashion week is about the clothes on the runway, it’s also a creative medium of expression, an insight into the environmental, socio-economic and political situation of the world. This year’s event comes with a strong message inviting all people to reflect on the importance of compassion as a pillar of world peace, to highlight the connections between humans, biodiversity, and the pressing need to stop our negative impact on the planet. This important fashion collaboration aims to introduce the best of Ukrainian fashion through a collective runway, a sustainable fashion & beauty designer showroom and authentic conversations surrounding ethics and sustainability in fashion hosted by the newly renovated California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles.
“For 25 years, we have worked hard to become the unifying force of the fashion industry and its most influential player. In 1997 designers received a call from the Ukrainian Fashion Week to unite in the industry, and today UFW is developing in key areas – sustainability, digitalization, inclusion and diversity. Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, all of us are living in a state of incredible stress and survival that everyone feels in every corner of our country. However, Ukrainian designers found the strength during the war to create new collections to tell the whole world about Ukrainian resilience and courage, as well as to show Ukrainian national identity through fashion,” – Iryna Danylevska, co-founder and CEO of Ukrainian Fashion Week.
Though not one of the major four, Vegan Fashion Week has, in recent years, been the launchpad for vegan fashion and a hotspot for messages that matter. As one of the most influential international fashion weeks, VFW has become a beacon of hope for an ethical and sustainable lifestyle, emerging and established designers, and is creating industry-wide change. It has also made a name for itself by pioneering collaborations between plant-based textiles, brands and industry leaders in its quest to end the use of animal-derived materials in the fashion industry.
“As we continue to focus on the responsibility of our movement to incubate and strengthen the future of vegan fashion, we are incredibly humbled and proud to welcome Ukrainian Fashion Week as this year’s guest and take the opportunity to introduce their exceptional vision to our international audience. I look forward to activating our partnership and parallel dedication to celebrating creativity in meaningful design." says Emmanuelle Rienda, Founder of Vegan Fashion Week.
This historical event promises to be an inclusive platform of education, discovery, and collaboration, showcasing an entirely cruelty-free experience from the fashion we wear, the beauty we put on our skin, and the food we eat. It encapsulates a world where ethics and trends intersect as a celebration of human evolution.
The Ukrainian Designer lineup includes: CHERESHNIVSKA, DZHUS, GOROHOVA, OCHIS, OVERSIZED, RCR KHOMENKO, ROUSSIN, SHEEZEN, and more to be announced.
Ticket purchases and additional donations will benefit the VFW Mentorship Fund, which provides continued support for emerging sustainable fashion designers to increase their exposure and business opportunities in the US market. This season’s benefits will support Ukrainian Fashion Designers.
For more information visit www.veganfashionweek.org
For interview requests and high resolution imagery, please email press@veganfashionweek.org
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About Ukrainian Fashion Week: Ukrainian Fashion Week, which was founded in 1997, brought together Ukrainian designers in the industry and became the first Fashion Week not only in the post-Soviet area, but throughout Central Europe. 2022 is the year of the 25th anniversary of Ukrainian Fashion Week and modern Ukrainian fashion. Today UFW is a center of sustainable fashion, education and networking in Ukraine. It is a platform that unites the creative community and a place where Ukrainian fashion is becoming global.
About Vegan Fashion Week: Vegan Fashion Week® (VFW) is a leading platform bridging the gap between sustainability and ethics since 2018. It has proven to be a historic event because of its unique message and global impact both in the media and the fashion industry. The concept awoke the interest of governments and companies, as well as activated several collaborations to solidify Los Angeles as the leading ethical fashion destination in the world.
About California Market Center: California Market Center (CMC) is the hub of the West Coast Fashion and Creative Industries, home to elevated Showrooms, Events, Creative Offices, and Businesses connecting the DTLA community. Built in 1963 by the Morse family as the first wholesale fashion marketplace west of the Mississippi, “California Mart” quickly became the primary center for fashion business in Los Angeles. The iconic CMC property was acquired by Brookfield Properties in 2017 and has undergone an exciting $250-million redevelopment of its campus. The newly transformed CMC is a stunning, mixed-use creative complex featuring Fashion Showrooms and Events, Creative Offices, Restaurants, and Retail. The new CMC will continue to build on its rich fashion industry legacy while welcoming a new era of creatives and visionaries.