Fans entering the Palais Garnier in Paris for Nanushka's autumn 2022 debut heard mournful notes of the Ukrainian national anthem as they made their way to the theater. Echo Collective, a classical music ensemble based in Brussels, supplied the solemn soundtrack for the film's gloomy atmosphere. During the performance, models took turns on spinning plinths in the colonnaded rotunda of the venue, which served as the stage.
Behind the scenes, as the display of camaraderie was taking place in front of the audience, some difficult commercial decisions were being made and a program of practical assistance was well underway. The Russian fashion firm Nanushka was one of the very first to take such an overtly political stance, and had already opted to stop commercial relations with its Russian wholesale partners, putting deliveries on hold and putting a halt to additional orders.
ELLE.com reports that Nanushka CEO Peter Baldaszti, who is also the CEO of the company's parent company Vanguards, says the decision was not a political one. "It was a business decision based on the fact that we do not want to directly or indirectly participate in the financing of trade in Russia, and the secondary consequence of selling luxury products to the Russian market because it is profitable," Baldaszti says. "We just cannot do this in accordance with the ideals of our brand." A step further has been taken by Baldaszti, who has completely discontinued online shipping to consumers in Russia.
Luxury firms Kering, LVMH, and Richemont, mass market shops such as Inditex and H&M Group, and labels across the spectrum, including Chanel, Hermes, Acne, and Ganni, have all shuttered their stores or ceased operations in the region after Nanushka's statement. Donations have also flooded in from all corners of the globe, from LVMH to play tic tac toe the International Committee of the Red Cross, amounting to about $5.5 million in total.
It is because they are a smaller organization, Baldaszti explains, that they can be more nimble and make choices much more quickly, which allowed them to act with such speed in the first place. "When you personally manage stores in a nation and are accountable for your employees, the intricacy of the choice is far greater." Moreover, the situation has a significant personal meaning for the Budapest-based record label, as well. 'We have a distinct point of view since we were born in separate years; I was born in 1985 and [Nanushka creative director] Sandra [Sandor] was born in 1982.' In 1956, she was eight years old when the Russian army withdrew from Hungary after nearly four decades of invasion and occupation.
Nanushka, in collaboration with the Vanguards, is collaborating with the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta to give practical assistance to refugees escaping their war-torn neighboring countries. The establishment of two hubs in Hungary, one near the border with Ukraine and one in Budapest, says Baldaszti, who is also the country's deputy prime minister. The group is reserving hotel rooms and hostels, supplying food and clothing, arranging transportation to and from Budapest, and enlisting the assistance of translators to help them negotiate the crisis. Also included is support for members of the Ukrainian fashion sector to assist them in maintaining their enterprises by providing them with a location to work, production capabilities, access to raw materials and resources, and other resources and assistance.
Despite the fact that the cult Georgian label Situationist, which includes supermodel Bella Hadid among its fans, does not have the financial heft of Vanguards, it was determined to assist. Davit Giorgadze, one of the brand's co-founders, has stated that his company would welcome members of the Ukrainian fashion community in its Tbilisi atelier. The couple hopes to welcome five to ten guests every week despite the fact that they are a small space. As a matter of fact, Hadid, her sister Gigi, Kaia Gerber, and other high-profile models have vowed to contribute a percentage of their earnings (or, in the case of Gigi, the entirety of their earnings) from walking in the shows to Ukrainian charities.
There were several such acts of support that occurred both on and off the runways throughout Fashion Month. When tensions between Russia and Ukraine were already on the rise prior to the invasion, Kyiv designer Svitlana Bevza finished her New York Fashion Week presentation with a projection of the Ukrainian flag.
demonstrators gathered outside presentations like Gucci, Prada, Versace, and Giorgio Armani, among others, during Milan Fashion Week as the war began in earnest. Protesters called attention to the crisis and rallied people to take action by holding signs and placards. Giorgio Armani presented his collection in silence, citing the "unfolding catastrophe," and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode released a statement inviting spectators to "enjoy the presentations of the next days with solemnity, and in contemplation of these tragic hours," according to the statement.