No one expected this from haute couture week in Berlin, writes DW. The sound of a siren, bloody models and a huge flag of Ukraine, stretched over the entire podium - the show of the collection of Ukrainian designer Jean Gritsfeldt, held on the evening of March 16, will be remembered for a long time. " Jean Gritsfeldt is in Kyiv, where he tries to morally support his mother. She works as a doctor in a children's hospital..

Where there is war, nobody really cares who wears what.. Thousands of people flee for their lives, leaving their homes and leaving all their belongings. A young designer hears the sirens every night. " But there are such terrible things happening around, - he shared his experiences with DW. - I feel tremendous support around the world. What is happening now in Ukraine leaves no one indifferent. We are in the very center of Europe."

Due to the outbreak of war, Jean could not come to Fashion Week Berlin. What the public saw in Berlin was created after the start of the war. For Jean himself, there are quite a few surprises in this collection, because he was preparing at a distance. 30 volunteers worked on the creation of this collection in Berlin and assisted the designer who led the process from Kyiv. " This collection is like a manifesto! "

On the clothes of the models in large letters in Ukrainian and English is written " On the top of the model in bloody make-up - " It is symbolic that this word is spelled the same in both languages, the designer emphasized.. " - We forget about the most important. After all, the most valuable thing we have is our life." Of course, the designer dreamed of coming to Berlin for fashion week, but the war ruined these plans.. " This is an extraordinary spirit,"

His brand is 10 years old. The book is due out for the anniversary..

And the last chapter in it will definitely be devoted to this unusual collection, which the world saw in Berlin.. Fashion during the war? The young designer is very hopeful that the next interview will be about fashion and not about war. He recalls when, at the peak of the pandemic, there were voices that fashion would never be the same again and could disappear.. Jean Gritsfeldt did not believe in it even then. And even now he believes that our common future is a future without war..