Double Agent: Litkovskaya’s Coordinates

#Latergram: I want to note this milestone for Lilia Litkovskaya, a Ukrainian designer y’all should bookmark for your wish lists. Diffusion lines are often just an excuse to slap some initials on over-priced basics and milk that branded cow dry. When I first saw her work two years ago on a Ukrainian fashion week assignment for Forbes, I commended “bold, imaginative tailoring and exquisite handmade lacework, a highlight of the week for many fashion critics.” I was worried this light vision would negate that lasting impression. I am happy to report I was wrong.

In September, Litkovskaya presented her secondary line LL by Litkovskaya on the steps that connect a Kiev shopping center with the cathedral turned National Home of Organ and Chamber Music across the street. “Urban democratic” is how the designer described the collection and everything supported that claim. I loved all the inside-out denim pieces and the polka dot transformer dresses. LL scored extra points for featuring requisite naming on scarfs instead of full-on prints on garments. There was nothing diffused about this collection’s sense of style! [More images after the text]

Shortly after, she held a spring-summer 2019 presentation of her namesake line during Paris Fashion Week in France. Staged a few steps from the iconic Champs-Elysees, it had all the creative elements that made me fall in love with Litkovskaya in the first place and that are turning more and more buyers and influencers onto the brand each season. The innovative lacework, the offbeat layering, the muted glamrock vibe. The designer had recently added Kyiv-Paris to the brand moniker. A textbook PR move to hand-hold gloss-fed clients. However, I believe Litkovskaya has a point of view worth contributing to both the Parisian fashion discourse as well as the Post-Paris fashion universe. A rare ability to fully inhabit diverse conceptual spaces at once. Now, the two lines make sense! In fact, after the highlight, I’ll post them intermixed…