"Today love is a luxury" claims Ukrainian fashion designer Anton Belinskiy

Written By Nikolas Bernáth

Last year after the outbreak of the shattering war in Ukraine we teamed up with the Ukrainian Anton Belinskiy Studio to produce a "FREE UKRAINE" benefit t-shirt thanks to which many of ours readers showed support for Ukraine wearing them in the streets plus proceeds from the sales also helped the production of clothing for people who are defending their country. Now we crossed paths with ABS again to make this interview between Anton himself and our fashion contributor Viktoria Varga. The article is enriched with Anton Belinskiy Studio looks photographed by Kornelius Petrus (plus some snaps from Anton’s personal insta feed).

 

VV: Anton, as a young fashion designer in Ukraine during this difficult time of war – how are you feeling?


AB: Honestly, I've never felt like a fashion designer and no longer feel young (laughs), I just express myself in clothes. I always feel good because I have a philosophical approach toward everything, this way everything that happens tempers me and makes me stronger and kinder.



VV: Is there anything particular that has stuck in your mind about the first days of the war?


AB: A lot of tears on Instagram, pink sky from explosions, as well as animal fear and an unrealistic desire to do some things that previously seemed impossible

VV: How has your business been impacted? What about your studio, production and brand?


AB: We adapted and transferred all the work to another format. We started to work, and now a lot of unnecessary things have come off. There is time to do something interesting in new conditions

VV: What does your typical day look like since the war has started?

AB: Different day, different events, it's like riding a roller coaster without a seatbelt.

VV: In cooperation with the 032C Magazine, you’ve created the design of the Free Ukraine T-shirt, and you offered it as an open source not long after. In an effort to do our bit to help Ukraine, we also used it. What inspired you to choose the Ukrainian passport as the main element? Is there another personal meaning to it, apart from being a significant symbol of your national awareness and pride?

AB: This is a revival of the passport t shirt from the SS 17 collection. Days before the war started, my friend Venia Brukalin (the fashion department director of Vogue UA) and so to say "the Godfather of the T-shirt" (laughs) asked me to make an item to wear in Paris, we discussed the possibility to relaunch T-shirts again, a few days after the war has started. During the correspondence with 032c, they suggested doing a joint project and as a result, we have the reincarnation of this item with a very strong message. We combined our print with the inscription "FREE UKRAINE". Passport as an indication of a given territory's culture and free consciousness.

VV: In your previous interviews, you mentioned that it is your origin, background, and a certain sense of nostalgia that heavily influence your collection designs. Did your work always have a political leaning and deeper meaning?


AB: Politics is what surrounds me and I talk about it. The politics of the revolution have always interested me and I thought that they could help. Now I think that only God can help my country and our people since we are like in the movie "Don't look up".

VV: You’re well-known for your appreciation of your hometown, Kiyv. In what ways do you find it magical and appealing?


AB: This is my place of power, I love it for the incredible energy of kindness, spring in Kyiv is a complete ecstasy for me: the color of chestnuts, lilac, and jasmine; Kyiv blooms in spring. I am also impressed by the strong contrast of people, music, food in the markets, the Dnieper, and the hydro park.

VV: How well are you able to concentrate on fashion in these hard times? Is it necessary or even practical to focus on trends and fashion weeks during wartime? Many fashion shows of the major brands have remained ongoing during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How did you feel about that? Has the fashion field reacted in an appropriate manner?


AB: I never aimed at trends, I always perceived fashion from the angle of utilitarian clothes and what I see on the street. I show what is happening around me, and design is my soul. I considered the possibility of leaving the clothing industry, but this is probably necessary if I haven’t left yet. Regarding the reaction of the fashion field to what is happening, on the one hand, it feels like a feast during the plague, on the other hand, life should not end. I do not yet have a clear answer to this question, there is only internal reasoning with myself regarding this topic.


VV: Where do you draw the strength to go on? How do you get out of your head and stay creative?


AB: God and family give me strength. And speaking of the creative part, there are so many things that happen that it’s hard not to be inspired by this. Even the worst and most negative things can be turned into a super kind story with an interesting outcome.

VV: What will be the first thing you do on the day of Ukraine's victory?

AB: I don’t know, I’ll probably go for a night walk around Kyiv, due to the wartime curfew it’s impossible now.

VV: Is there anything you’d like to say to the readers of the New Translation Magazine?


AB: Learn to love and forgive. Everything else will happen.

Nikolas Bernáth