Ukrainian Fashion Designer Svitlana Bevza 'Just Wants Peace'
Svitlana Bevza speaks candidly with L'OFFICIEL about fleeing Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
On February 24, as Milan Fashion Week was in full swing just a few hundred miles away, people around the world turned their attention to Northern Europe as Russian forces invaded Ukraine's eastern border, triggering the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Over 4.6 million civilians (roughly a quarter of the country's population) have been forced to flee the country, while many have either been drafted into service or chosen to stay behind and defend their homes.
Svitlana Bevza, the designer behind the Kyiv-based, sustainable womenswear brand Bevza, experienced this firsthand. It's been over a month since she fled her home with her two children, aged 3 and 7. After a 24-hour bus ride from Kyiv to Lviv, it took her two days to reach Czechia (formerly known as the Czech Republic) by way of Poland. Her brother, who was in the Dominican Republic when the war began, has business there.
However, she worries about how long she can stay. Prior to leaving Kyiv, Bevza and her team managed to get back into their warehouses and take a portion of their stock so that they could continue their business elsewhere, but this is not a long-term solution. "I am currently here but not for a long time because all the production in Kyiv stopped and I need to somehow find factories abroad to produce for winter and the next collection. So I will have to travel somewhere," says Bevza.
Despite the threat of war and the uncertainty of what's to come, Bevza maintains steadfast in her mission to return to work. "I have no other choices...I have to feed my kids now," she explains. "I have to find a way to produce collections, how to go on, how to restructure everything abroad. I try to think about work, to concentrate on it… I’m trying not to think [about] when shall I see my husband, etcetera. It’s hard to realize all that in my head." She also notes that, in the midst of this situation, she has to find a school for her 7-year-old son.
But she says that this desire to work is not exclusive to her. While in Czechia, Bevza says she has received calls from seamstresses in Kyiv "sitting at home with their machines" who are asking for work. "We just want to have our jobs back. We want to have peace."
In many ways, Bevza's work is a testament to that. Her collections reference specific historical and visual codes to show the world a side of Ukrainian people and their culture that is rarely seen in traditional media. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine was recognized once again as an independent nation. While history has often tied Ukraine and other former Soviet territories to Russia, Bevza emphasizes that the nation is rich with its own customs and communities.
In her latest collection, she harnessed the idea of a "love letter" to her country by creating bags in the shape of actual letters, using recycled bottle caps as the wax seals. However, Bevza says it wasn't just a love letter to Ukraine, "but to all the civilized worlds."
Looking back at her Spring/Summer 2022 collection, she notes its foreboding nature. "The key message was, 'We are all in the same boat,' and it means we're responsible [for] what will happen with our future," explains the designer. "I don't know. I never predicted war. Maybe somehow I felt it felt like last season. My husband always told me that there is no way to deal with the Russians— that someday they will show their real face again. And he was right. He was so right."
While she and her children remain in Czechia, Bevza is steadfast in doing what she can to help her country and its people. "We're fighting for our country in many ways," she says. "A man can fight with guns. Volunteers can fight with their help to people who are in need. Designers can produce and maintain working places and the [economy] somehow. That's what we're doing. And please don't judge us for that."
Right now, 10 percent of all Bevza orders are being donated to the Ukrainian army. She has been donating directly to those she knows personally that stayed behind, a method that she recommends above donating to larger charities.
Looking ahead, Bevza sees the burden of her uncertain future. Between finding a new production site, trying to fulfill current orders, supporting her country, and caring for her children, a clear path forward has yet to appear. But for now, she hopes that people around the world can understand and support the Ukrainian people.
"Just because we have like different mentality or just because we're fighting so much for our land—I mean we're not taking from anybody something. It's just our country. We love it. That's it. I want to go back home. I want to see my husband, of course, and I just want to work. That's it."
If you're interested in donating to help Ukrainian refugees, please visit Spilka.link for more information on how you can help.
