This year, the Ukrainian brand VIKA ADAMSKA turns fifteen, having continued to work and develop in its native Kharkiv all these years. Despite constant shelling and extensive destruction, the city lives on, and the VIKA ADAMSKA brand operates with a flagship store on Svobody Square, where from time to time the windows have to be boarded up with plywood. On the eve of the anniversary date, we spoke with Viktoriya Adamska about her journey as a designer and entrepreneur, collaborations, and new challenges.
Vika Adamska
Advertising.
— The brand is soon to turn 15. Tell us about its brightest moment from the past, present, and what the VIKA ADAMSKA team dreams of and plans for the future?
To be honest, the VIKA ADAMSKA brand didn't have one “brightest” moment – it was always a journey. Like a samurai (smiles). In the past, it was the moment when I first understood: the things we create live their own lives – in memories, important events, women's stories. When clients started coming back again and again – it was a special sign for me. I realized that what we do together with the team gives happiness to others. And today, the brightest moment is the awareness of sustainability… We work, create, open new formats despite the war, blackouts, uncertainty. And it's very much about strength.
Now my dream is to preserve the soul of the brand while scaling. That is, to remain myself in the universe of big business, to see people, stories, and beauty around me between graphs and numbers. I want to grow not only geographically, but also emotionally: so that everything continues to be about a feeling, not just a trend.
— Your hometown is Kharkiv. The flagship store and production are still operating in the city. How did the war affect you personally, the team, and the brand as a whole?
Kharkiv is not just my hometown, it is part of my DNA. I was born here, my brand and children were born here. And even my third child, although physically not born in Kharkiv, is still a Kharkivite for our family – that is how deep this connection is. The fact that the production and flagship store are still operating in the city is not a business decision, but our conscious position. The war changed everything: my perception of time, values, the level of responsibility for people. The team became even more united and aware. We learned to work in conditions of instability, adapt quickly and at the same time constantly support each other.
For the brand, this was a moment of internal growth. We became deeper, more honest, more attentive to details and meanings. And, perhaps, that is why, over time, I have the idea of expressing this attachment separately someday – very intimately and personally, as a gesture of gratitude to the city that shaped me as a person and a designer. I have certain ideas on how to do it in my own way, brightly, for people – and with our team I am already taking the first steps towards implementing what I have planned. So, as they say, stay tuned.
— Two fashion collaborations with TSUM, dozens of pop-ups in Europe, star-studded special projects – and all this despite blackouts… What do you think is keeping the Ukrainian fashion industry going at such a frenetic pace right now? And what is keeping you going?
Two collaborations with TSUM Kyiv, our incredible pop-ups in dozens of European cities, star-studded special projects — all this was made possible thanks to the incredible inner strength of the Ukrainian fashion industry. We are kept by a sense of meaning and responsibility: we don’t just create things, we tell the world who we are. Personally, I am kept by faith in my work, the team, and the women who choose our brand. Even in the most difficult conditions, this gives me the energy to move forward.
— How has the brand's style changed in recent years?
If we were to tell the story of the VIKA ADAMSKA brand through the prism of iconic items, it would look like a living evolution along with life. The beginning of the brand was very light and fun — it was T-shirts, simple everyday looks, things that organically fit into everyday life. Over time, more complex models, customization, denim jackets with original illustrations and personalization appeared. At the same time, there was always a special place for outerwear in the collections, which gradually became one of the key categories of the brand. Every year, VIKA ADAMSKA grew up together with its client. We sought to create a space where a woman can close all her needs — come to the store, get emotion, pleasure and find things for different occasions. At the same time, the focus always remained on real, everyday life, and not on abstract fashion.
All the events we went through were somehow reflected in the brand's clothes. During the pandemic, it was humor and lightness as a way of support. With the beginning of a full-scale war, deeper meanings emerged — reflections on identity, on who we are and who Ukrainians are. This is how patriotic collections were born, including projects inspired by Ukrainian culture and cuisine, as well as collaborations with the capital's TSUM.
Today, the brand is entering a new stage of maturity. Things are becoming more mature, structurally more complex, with a more complex architectural cut, a multi-layered and multifunctional combination of elements with each other – as, for example, in our latest collaboration with TSUM Kyiv. For me, this is a logical continuation of the brand's path, which matures along with the lives of the women for whom it is created, carefully sensing their experience, rhythm and reality of time.
— Is online or offline your priority right now?
Online provides scale and accessibility, opens up opportunities not only for Ukraine, but for the whole world. I am especially a fan of offline spaces and the reopening of our flagship in Kharkiv – this is exactly why it is confirmed. The atmosphere we create there, the customer experience, the attention to detail – all this is very important. It is important for me to support and develop this space, as well as scale the brand through offline history, while using online as a powerful tool for a global audience. It is the combination of the two directions that makes the brand complete and alive.
— Who would you dream of collaborating or cooperating with if anything were possible?
I really like it when fashion intersects with art and creativity — when clothes become a dialogue, a story, an emotion. These can be collaborations with artists, poets, musicians, with those who have their own view of the world. For example, I would be interested in creating a project with Serhiy Zhadan — he is from Kharkiv, and his work is very close to me in spirit, or with Lina Kostenko, whose poetry inspires and can organically combine with fashion. It is important for me that collaborations are not just names, but give new meanings and emotions to those who wear our things.
— Describe your creative process. How does it happen?
Magic begins with observations: people, the city, moods… Then – intuition, searching and selecting fabric, many fittings. Often this is additional work with another creator – an artist-illustrator. I will not describe the technical and production process (smiles). And finally there comes a moment when the thing “comes to life” – you understand that this is it.
— What advice would you give to those who dream of becoming a designer?
Be patient. Build not only talent, but also endurance. And remember: fashion is a marathon, not a sprint.
— What is success for you?
For me, success is when a brand grows and finds its response in people, but at the same time retains its character and DNA. When things give joy, comfort and emotions. And at the same time, success is a balance between work, family and yourself. I am a mother of three children, and it is important for me that all these areas of life support each other, so that I can create, be present for my family and remain myself. Success is when it all works together, and life feels full.