London-based fashion designer NATASHA ZINKO presented the Spring Summer 2023 Collection with a show dedicated to her homeland Ukraine. For the Queen of the Boxes Vol. 3 collection, Zinko reflected to the recent events happening in her motherland and created a collection that reflects the way she feels and what she’s seen. This marks Natasha Zinko’s most personal collection to date, an exploration of the clothes we cherish for life, imbued with a defiant attitude that declares survival and demands optimism. This season, silhouettes appear more dramatic, more daring, and more twisted.
SPRING SUMMER 2023 COLLECTIONS
I’m Ukrainian, I was born in Odessa on the Black Sea. All my mind – and my heart – is with Ukrainians, my family and friends there. I could not make a collection without Influence of the war. Focusing on this collection helped me to regain mental stability and to feel hope. – Natasha Zinko
Elsewhere, there are typically Ukrainian floral dresses that are shredded and lovingly repieced together, emerging with a tougher edge and protective leather jackets — and similarly native garments embroidered in Odessa, such as the Vyshivanka Shirts, which Natasha rediscovered through the 1930 film Earth by Oleksandr Dovzhenko, which shows the pastoral traditions of the Ukrainian people. It affirms the message of this collection, that beyond the rage and despair, the heartbreak and grief — that this is a heartfelt and hopeful love letter to the country that Natasha will always consider home. – from Natasha Zinko
