SIDLETSKIY: Woven by Nature
PublishedOne of the best parts of Fashion Week is still discovering a brand and having the chance to learn the story behind the clothes. In Copenhagen, one of those discoveries...
One of the best parts of Fashion Week is still discovering a brand and having the chance to learn the story behind the clothes. In Copenhagen, one of those discoveries for HAY-HAY was SIDLETSKIY, the Ukrainian brand founded by designer Igor Sidletskiy.
We visited its presentation at Ukraine House in Denmark, where the brand introduced the first part of its SS27 collection, Woven by Nature. And once you start looking closely, there are quite a few stories hidden within it.
Nature gives the collection its starting vocabulary. Whites and earthy shades recall linen, straw, wood, soil and dried grasses, while natural fibres, hand-weaving and textile craft create much of the texture. The silhouettes bring another dimension: voluminous transformable tops, balloon trousers, shorts, jackets and laser-treated denim.
The accessories were especially worth stopping for. Raffia was shaped into bags, belts, brooches and a beautiful sculptural white peplum. There was also Ukrainian blown glass, used for jewellery - a craft Sidletskiy has been incorporating into his collections for several seasons.
What makes the story more interesting is the relationship with the people who keep these skills alive. Traditional craft enters the collection through actual techniques and materials, giving handwork a place within contemporary fashion. It is a reminder of how much knowledge can sit behind something we initially notice simply because it looks beautiful.
Fashion designed around different bodies
SIDLETSKIY also introduced us to another important part of the brand's work: adaptive clothing for people with prosthetic limbs.
Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Sharkyi, who lost a leg after being wounded while evacuating fellow soldiers in 2023, joined the Copenhagen presentation as an honorary guest. He has previously modelled for Sidletskiy and has become part of the story around the brand's adaptive work.
Created together with Ukrainian prosthetics and rehabilitation centre U+ System, these garments address very practical details: easier access to a prosthesis, simpler dressing and undressing, considered fastenings and cuts that work with the wearer's daily movements.
It is perhaps one of the most valuable things we learned while visiting the brand. Inclusive fashion can begin with something very simple: listening to how people actually live in their clothes.
Copenhagen was only a preview. The complete Woven by Nature collection (around 40 looks) has been presented at Ukrainian Fashion Week in September. But this first encounter already gave us several reasons to remember the name: craft, material curiosity, cultural knowledge and a very human approach to design.
And that is exactly why discovering new brands during Fashion Week remains so interesting. Sometimes the most memorable part isn't simply what you see on the rack. It's everything you learn once you start asking about the story behind it.
