Rock Projects opened a first-of-its-kind presentation of contemporary Ukrainian design inside the Luisa Via Roma New York flagship at 1 Bond Street. The intimate launch gathered editors, buyers, and friends of the house for runway looks, debut collections, live modeling, and a cocktail reception with the designers in attendance.
The installation remains open through the end of the year, with a shoppable selection and rotating highlights from three women-led brands—J’AMEMME, Khrystyna Rachytska, and SOLO for Diamonds—each advancing a modern idea of luxury through heritage, innovation, and artistic intent. A second evening will follow on November 20, co-hosted by Julia Kisla, CEO of Lions Management, and Anya Vasylenko, founder of Rock Projects, with all three designers present.
This initiative extends a dialogue ignited during Fashion 4 Development’s First Ladies Luncheon at The Pierre Hotel, held alongside the opening of the 80th United Nations General Assembly—where fashion was framed as a language of diplomacy and cultural identity. Here, that discourse moves from the diplomatic stage to the retail salon, where garments speak as eloquently as words.
Julie Yarmoliuk of J’AMEMME sculpts fabric into living architecture, her jewel-toned pleats rising like columns, defying gravity and fragility alike. Hers is not romanticism, but structure — quiet power in motion. “Femininity flows through structure. Each pleat we create turns fabric into something architectural — a wearable art.” Says Julie Yarmoliuk, the founder of the brand.
Khrystyna Rachytska works in metaphor, threading folklore into contemporary form. Her latest collection, Rooting, draws on the apple tree, a maternal emblem of endurance, tracing a path from blossom to harvest. “We do not design for trend,” she says. “We design to preserve a language.”
And through light, not thread, SOLO for Diamonds speaks: lab-grown diamonds of absolute purity, forged through pressure, reflecting a modern sovereignty. A new luxury — ethical, precise, and future-facing.
Together, these three narratives form a single gesture — insistence. At a moment when Ukraine is tested by war, its fashion industry has not slowed; it has sharpened. Ukrainian Fashion Week has officially returned to Kyiv, with 57 designers presenting SS26 collections — not as spectacle, but as cultural continuity. Brands born from heritage, like J’AMEMME, Khrystyna Rachytska, Gunia Project, and HVOYA, now walk global runways in New York, Paris, and Copenhagen, carrying identity beyond borders.
“In a time when fashion must speak rather than simply adorn, our goal is not only to present Ukrainian brands to the world, but to build respect for their heritage and craft.” said Anya Vasylenko. “These women are proving that even under siege, Ukraine continues to innovate, evolve, and inspire.”
This showcase is not a seasonal presentation. It is a cultural offering — a reminder that fashion, at its highest form, is preservation. At Luisa Via Roma New York, garments become guardians of memory, and beauty becomes an act of endurance.
Image credit: Iryna Liapina
