Runway

VOROZHBYT&ZEMSKOVA: Fall/Winter 2026/27

Creating fashion in Ukraine requires navigating a uniquely fraught reality: a bitterly harsh winter landscape of frozen mud and driving rain, heavily compounded by the ongoing realities of war. Yet, VOROZHBYT&ZEMSKOVA’s Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection proves that intense practicality does not have to come at the expense of beauty.

By Jordan Brower

Updated 08:06 pm EDT, March 16, 2026

Published 07:32 pm EDT, March 16, 2026

Photo Courtesy: Ukrainian Fashion Week
Runway Photos: Volodymyr Bosak
Backstage Photos: Serhiy Khandusenko
Special Thanks: Lisa Ushcheka

Updated 08:06 pm EDT, March 16, 2026

Published 07:32 pm EDT, March 16, 2026

Photo Courtesy: Ukrainian Fashion Week
Runway Photos: Volodymyr Bosak
Backstage Photos: Serhiy Khandusenko
Special Thanks: Lisa Ushcheka

The climate in Ukraine is…fraught. Unless you’ve lived somewhere with comparable winters of rain and snow that turn the world grey for months at a time, it can be hard to convey. Fashion in this environment needs to be practical, ready for anything from driving rain to frozen mud and ice-slick sidewalks. This doesn’t mean that it can’t also be beautiful.

VOROZHBYT&ZEMSKOVA Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection during Ukrainian Fashion Week - March 2026

Aggressive Optimism in the Face of Conflict

VOROZHBYT&ZEMSKOVA’s Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection is deceptively simple. There’s a utilitarianism to it that, in less practiced hands, would be frankly boring. This collection is defined by straight, simple lines, with an emphasis on squared torsos. Waists on a number of pieces are tightly cinched in, creating a startlingly feminine geometry that contrasts with the materials and androgynously sharp lapels.

This feminine edge is also explored through materials. A number of pieces, such as a blush-pink suit, would read as starkly practical (something like a rainsuit common in Northern Europe) if not for the diaphanous material that it’s made from. The combination of color and material gives it a cheery sort of optimism.

VOROZHBYT&ZEMSKOVA Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection during Ukrainian Fashion Week - March 2026

Likewise, a simple trenchcoat, a perennial sight in any number of collections, is given new life with a silver exterior punctuated by a spring-blue lapel and lining. As is common in this collection, the waist is cinched in hard, giving it an almost retro-futurism look.

This ability to play with materials makes the collection far more interesting than at first glance; it requires a close, nuanced viewing to ascertain all the details. While there may not be anything groundbreaking, there’s a quiet dignity and assertiveness to the collection.

VOROZHBYT&ZEMSKOVA Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection during Ukrainian Fashion Week - March 2026

Given the political situation of Ukraine (that of a country at war), I feel it’s necessary to compare it to other wartime collections. Fashion never grinds to a halt, and even in the depths of conflict, designers reach for creativity. It’s hard to say how much of the practicality of this collection is a reflection of that reality; it’s impossible to ignore the context. The city is no longer just a place of culture and economic progress—it’s also dangerous.

So with this context in mind, it’s not hard to see the appeal of an imminently practical collection. However, instead of getting lost in this practicality, VOROZHBYT&ZEMSKOVA maintain a playful edge: Just because they are serviceable doesn’t mean that the pieces can’t also be feminine and flirty, joyful even. The simplicity of the pieces is the point and the appeal, just as much as the sharp, almost aggressive, optimism.

The Collection

Jordan Brower

Editor, Fashion & Culture

Jordan emerged from a cornfield in Indiana in 1986. She went on to gain education in history, art history, and literature. She has predominately made a living writing for a variety of media, as well as a dress/fashion historian. She currently resides in a bog in Sweden and emerges every so often to forage for cheese and point at dogs.