VBefore the show, sirens wailed like a bomb alarm, at the end the models carried a huge Ukrainian flag down the catwalk: the designer Jean Gritsfeldt from Kyiv made a statement against the war in his homeland at the Berlin Fashion Week. “Today is not the time to talk about fashion, but through fashion,” said Gritsfeldt in a video message on Wednesday evening. So they didn’t show the new season or the new looks, because when you’re in the bomb cellar, nobody cares what you’re wearing. The main thing is to feel warm, comfortable and protected.
Because Gritsfeldt could not come, helpers had implemented his ideas. In the reduced, simple designs, the words printed in English and Ukrainian were in the foreground, messages such as “respect”, “freedom” and “love”. Or, as could be read on a bright, blood-red ensemble, for “peace”.
About 30 volunteers helped tailor the designs spontaneously. The managing director of the association Fashion Revolution Germany, Carina Bischof, had said this in advance. “Somehow it felt pointless to prepare a fashion week in these times.” But the project for Gritsfeldt makes sense, so she said “yes” relatively quickly. He briefed the team by phone from Kyiv.
According to the production notes, Gritsfeldt is a popular designer in his homeland. His show was the finale of fashion week in an old Berlin power plant.