LILIA LITKOVSKAYA /

Place in the industry: Lilia Litkovskaya's design combines elements of minimalism, deconstruction and a great amount of handwork and attention to detail. Apart from runway collections, the designer has worked extensively on bespoke tailoring and stage costumes for celebrities, including Liudmyla Hurchenko, Philipp Kirkorov, Yolka, Ani Lorak, Taisiia Povalii and others. Creative path: Lilia represents the fourth generation in her family working with clothing. Back in school, she obtained a diploma in garment design from a design school. In 2009, she debuted at Ukrainian Fashion Week with a complicated deconstructive collection and a sensuous dramatic show; both became her signature features for years on. Soon, the designer industrialised her brand, reducing the percentage of bespoke tailoring. In 2013, she held her first Paris showroom and got her first buyer – Tsum Moscow. In autumn of 2017, she participated in Paris Fashion Week, making a debut with a Spring 2018 'Lora' collection presentation. In autumn of 2019, she showed her Spring 2020 collection as part of the official schedule of Paris Fashion Week. At various times, she worked with such concept stores as L'Éclaireur, Opening Ceremony and Selfridges. Collections by Litkovskaya are popular in China, Japan and Hong Kong. Work principles: 'I like volume and oversize; I like watching a dress from behind, I like the inside of a garment more than the outside – that is why we have so many double-sided clothes, overcoats especially. I like masculinity that serves to conceal tenderness, innocence, candour. Now, after years of working with complicated shapes, I arrived at purity, but purity with a nerve, a different quality that comes at a certain moment of creation and makes a garment exceptional. It appears by itself, and I set it free.'