Svetlana Bevza unveiled her collection at a presentation in Paris yesterday, her first time showing in the French capital. The Ukrainian designer was a fixture of New York Fashion Week before the war upended everything and everyone around her—it’s now been little more than months since she’s back with her family in Kyiv and working out of her brand’s headquarters again. As she explained, the new collection was created and produced under particularly challenging conditions, amid intermittent blackouts and air raid sirens.
That’s why this season Bevza pared back her palette to simple black and white and drew on ancient symbols and rituals related to the cycle of life. A black turtleneck dress was cut to the floor with a subtle egg-shaped silhouette; a sleek white minidress came with flattering (and cleverly detachable) wing-like sleeves. Bevza has used pearl iconography as a leitmotif in her work before, and this time shell-inspired detailing appeared along the bustline of a standout floor-length spaghetti-strap black dress.
In addition to clothing, Bevza has managed to establish a robust accessories business. Her popular articulated wheat necklaces were designed as a nod to her Ukrainian heritage— grain has long been an emblem of fertility in eastern Europe—and helped sustain her brand when war first broke out as Ukrainians of the diaspora sought ways to show national pride. Bevza’s latest collection of vaguely egg-shaped silver and gold-toned pendants and earrings has a cool minimalism that feels in line with the current mood and is likely to have global appeal.
