Like all art, the world of fashion — both a necessity and an aesthetic luxury — is directly influenced by the changing state of current affairs. But in times of political turmoil and social unrest fashion can feel like a frivolous pursuit. No more does this ring true than in the past four weeks. It's impossible to ignore the kind of cognitive dissonance at play as celebrities and industry folk flock to fashion shows while Russia launches a cold-blooded attack on Ukraine — especially as many of collections are presented on the same continent.
That being said, many designers have come out publicly in support of Ukraine, both on and off the runway as we saw with Fall 2022 collections from Acne Studios, Coperni and most prominently, Balenciaga. More recently, in a movement spearheaded by Argentine model Mica Argañaraz, models who walked the Fall Winter 2022 season are pledging their earnings, be it partially or entirely, to organisations providing essential aid and services to Ukrainian refugees.
On March 7, Gigi Hadid posted on social media to share that she too would be donating her wages from the recent shows to Ukrainian organisations, following the example led by her "friend" Mica Argañaraz. She wrote, "We don’t have control over most of our work schedules, but we would like to walk ‘for’ something," then continued to draw links between the attacks on Ukraine with the continued violence against Palestinians, a cause which she, along with her sister Bella Hadid, are publicly vocal about.
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As well as both Hadid sisters, other models like Kaia Gerber, Aylah Peterson, Kiki Willems, Vittoria Ceretti, and Francesca Summers have also stated that they too would be donating a portion of their earnings to Ukrainian organisations. Scattered across these posts of solidarity was a common message calling the fashion industry to arms, especially since it's an industry held up by Ukrainian labour and creatives.
Wondering how you can help Ukraine during this turbulent time? Take this list of organisations and appeals currently providing aid to Ukrainian people.
