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The Ukrainian Runway Is Changing—and Adaptive Fashion Is Part of It
As Ukraine’s veteran population grows, Ukrainian designers are pushing adaptive fashion forward—creating clothes for changing bodies, rather than asking those bodies to conform.
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Ukrainian fashion brand JULIYA KROS presented its SS2027 collection, RECONSTRUCTION, on September 4, the third day of Ukrainian Fashion Week, placing adaptive fashion and the changing needs of Ukrainians at the center of the show.
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The collection is built around the idea that clothing should adapt to people and their changing bodies, rather than requiring people to adapt to fashion. Dedicated to those who continue to create despite the war, RECONSTRUCTION explores rebuilding not only physical spaces, but also lives and ways of thinking.
For designer and brand owner Yuliia Perekriostova, reconstruction is primarily about the ability to adapt, with transformation serving as the collection’s central theme.
This approach was reflected on the runway, where two Ukrainian veterans from the 3rd Army Corps and the Azov Brigade presented looks from the collection. Their participation continued a practice that JULIYA KROS has incorporated into its shows since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale war, people with disabilities, particularly veterans, have taken part in each of our shows. These include veterans who have undergone limb amputations,” Perekriostova told UNITED24 Media.
As of August 2026, the number of veterans in Ukraine had exceeded 2 million and was expected to continue growing, according to Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
The theme of reconstruction also carries a direct connection to the brand’s own experience of the war. While the SS2027 collection was being developed, a Russian strike damaged the JULIYA KROS production facility in Sumy. The team was unharmed, but the attack disrupted production processes and the brand’s working routine.
Despite the damage, the team continued developing the collection. According to the brand, RECONSTRUCTION subsequently evolved from the name of a future collection into a reflection of its own experience of rebuilding and searching for new solutions.
“We create adaptive solutions for them—clothing designed to make their everyday lives more comfortable while remaining contemporary, fashionable, and stylish. As part of the brand’s philosophy, we insist that if a person has lost a limb, they still have the right to beautiful clothing and, first and foremost, comfortable clothing. That is why we integrate this approach into our brand identity,” she added.
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