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7th International One Dress Contest Kryshtalevy Syluet discovers new talent in fashion design

At the 7th International One Dress Fashion Design Contest Kryshtalevy Syluet (Crystal Silhouette), which was recently held in Kyiv, there were pleasant surprises and even sensational discoveries.

Such signs of evident progress in Ukrainian fashion design were to be expected. Last year, Vyacheslav Zaytsev, an iconic figure in fashion design in this part of the world, said at the closing ceremony of the Kryshtalevy Syluet Contest 2004 that the organizers should invite Russian fashion designers from among his best disciples. The advice was paid heed to, and this year, Masha Sharoyeva, one of the Zaytsev’s most loyal followers, showed her collection in the capacity of an honoured guest. She became well-known after the release of the film The Turkish Gambit, to which she contributed as the costume director.

One of the debutantes at the Kryshtalevy Syluet Contest, Iryna Kharchenko, showed a dress, which demonstrated her ripening maturity as a fashion designer. Masha Loseva’s Fine Ukraine dress, in which she used denim in all possible ways, was hailed as a daring achievement. The Confederation of Designers and Stylists of Ukraine does its best to search for a new talent, thus widening the circle of designers, who will successfully compete at the Ukrainian pr?t-a-porter catwalk shows.

For Taras Kraskin it was by far not the first time that he took part in the contest, and as always, his design was hailed as innovative. He showed three dresses — a velvet dress for the MC (Oksana Novytska), the Opium dress to compete at the contest, and a third dress, Fashion Alex, which was presented outside the contest. Taras Kraskin will present a new collection in the autumn shows within the Kryshtalevy Syluet Contest.

25 dresses at the Kryshtalevy Syluet Contest were shown in the Pret-a-Porter nominations and 16 dresses in the Fantasy nominations. Alla Rashevska from Lviv, another debutante at the contest, presented the Scandal dress, which was not appreciated by the jury but by the enthusiastic audience who shouted “Bravo!” The dress was shown on the catwalk to the accompaniment of the Kryminalne chtyvo (Detective story) rock band.

Olha Lynnyk’s Pivnyache pobachennya (Roosters’ Meeting) had a lot of colour with a touch of humour. This designer from Kyiv also showed the Vesna v buzku (Blossoming Lilacs in Spring), which looked fresh and light.

Ayna Gase with her Diva (Virgin) and Meduza (Jellyfish) was as always impressive. The opinions as to the allusions in the former dress differed, but the latter did look like a graceful jellyfish floating above the catwalk.

Olena Zhurba’s Golden Grace and Zvaba (Seduction) by Yuliya Zhuk were warmly received, but Andre Tan’s dresses did not evoke much enthusiasm either in the audience or among the jury. Probably, this designer’s work was too predictable, with no elements of surprise.

Olena Bila traditionally designs for men, and her Narcissus was laconic and much admired by the female part of the audience.

Viktoriya Baron presented a dress in each nomination and the catwalk appearances were accompanied by dance shows, which were supposedly to emphasize the theme of harmony, but which, as far as I am concerned, failed to do so. But the jury liked Baron’s Favoritka (Favourite).

Yuliya Sumenko, Khrystyna Yevhlevska, Natalya Dmytriyeva and Iryna Serhiyenko showed that they were particularly good in designing accessories, shoes and decorations that were integral parts of the dresses. In general, it seems to be a progressing tendency on the part of the designers to pay increasing attention to accessories.

Olha Chilkis from Dnipropetrovsk showed quite charming dresses, but all in all, there were few dresses with ethnic elements in them. Valeriya Dyachenko and Oksana Tymonina were among those few designers who introduced ethnic elements into their design.

The Inter Models Agency provided excellent models, thanks to whom the dresses were shown on the catwalk to their best advantage. The agency’s involvement in the Zolota Korona Ukrayiny (Gold Crown of Ukraine) Beauty Contest did not in any way interfere with its involvement in the Kryshtalevy Syluet Contest.

The third day of the shows was dominated by young designers among which Russian designers were particularly successful. Ukrainian designers at the contests represented all the design centres of Ukraine. Prizes for the winners included vouchers issued by the Delta Travel Company for trips to Prague, the Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary, and Krakow, Poland, as well as stays at the Savoy Hotel at the Black Sea coast. It is planned to make it possible for the winners to show their collections in Manchester, England, next year, with the Delta Travel Company being the major sponsor.

Kryshtalevy Syluet Contest winners:

Grand Prix — Heometriya krasy (Geometry of Beauty)

by Iryna Kharchenko

Pret-a-porter de luxe

1st prize — Plomenysta kralya

(Flaming Follower of Fashion) by Oksana Tymonina

2nd prize — Probudzhennya (Awakening)

by Tetyana Ostroverkhova and Viktor Zavadsky

3rd prize — Bon Voyage by Svitlana Kalynychenko

Fantasy

1st prize — La Meduse Magnifique by Ayna Gase

2nd prize — Vichni poneviryannya (Eternal Troubles)

by Olha Slobodyanyuk

3rd prize — Favorytka (Favourite) by Viktoriya Baron

By Oksana TALKO

Photographs have been provided by
the Kryshtalevy Syluet Contest organizers

Maryna Kinakh.

From Iryna Kharchenko’s collection.

Lucien Pila-Rine and Oksana Fursa.

From Olha Slobodyanyuk’s collection.

From Olha Chilkis’ collection.

From left to right: Maryna Kinakh, Oleksandr Sokolovsky
and Iryna Horobets.

Masha Sharoyeva and Valeriy Shamotiy.

Lyudmyla Omelchenko.

From Ayna Gase’s collection.

From Ayna Gase’s collection.

From Olena Zhurba’s collection.

From Yuliya Zhuk’s collection.

From Oksana Tymonina’s collection.

From Olha Lynnyk’s collection.

From Yuliya Sumenko’s collection.

From Tetyana Ostroverkhova’s
and Viktor Zavadsky’s collection.

Valeriy Shamotiy presents Fashion Alex dress.

From Svitlana Kalynychenko’s collection.

From Taras Kraskin’s collection.