English Version | Once upon a time there was a war

The early morning of 24 February will go down in history as one of the saddest of all time. After the first bombardments and the confirmation of the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow troops, the world as we knew it changed. Vladimir Putin is not only attacking the freedom of millions of Ukrainians, but of all those who believe in democracy. This is a global struggle. These are some voices of its resistance. Voices which, until a few days ago, led perfectly ordinary lives, like those of any of us.

Illustration by Nuno da Costa
Illustration by Nuno da Costa

Ruslan Baginskiy, hat designer and founder of Ruslan Baginskiy (@ruslanbaginskiy_hats) 

“If you still don't know Ruslan Baginskiy's work, it's because you've been living under a rock”, wrote a a lifestyle website. It sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. The Ukrainian worked as a stylist for ten years and launched his eponymous brand in 2015 in Lviv, Ukraine — he is currently based in Kyiv, the capital. Baginskiy's intent was to bring back the glamour and elegance of other decades, when wearing hats was a must. And he succeeded. Inspired by the national costumes of his country, archive photographs and fashion editorials, he revamped traditional models and created a cult following around his brand. Among the dozens of names that have succumbed to his fedoras are Kaia Gerber, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Gigi Hadid, Madonna, Janelle Monáe. Baginskiy's work was applauded a bit all over the world — the same world that sold his pieces, from the giant Farfetch to the select Mytheresa or Matches Fashion. And it will continue to be. Now is the time to take a break and fight for victory. He says so himself, in an exchange of emails with Vogue Portugal. “We believe in our victory, and that gives us strength. On Thursday [February 24] I was woken up by the explosions. Me, my family, my team, we had to leave our homes in Kyiv, we left our life there. I can’t help my team members much at this moment, and it is very painful, but we pay the salary in full, and also we are proud to see how brave they are. Our staff member, Artem, has enlisted [in the army] and is now fighting for his city. Me and my family are in a very safe place, and we can only think about our friends and team in Kyiv and other cities suffering from Russian invasion. At the same time we are doing our best to help. As we work in fashion and have a lot of contacts, we are trying to reach all the influencers we used to work with. We believe that our mission right now is to spread awareness and to tell the truth. While our army fights bravely for our cities, we fight in an information war. Twenty four hours a day. Seven days a week.” Ukraine's identity, Baginskiy assures, comes out of this ordeal strengthened, and the same applies to the fashion industry: “Putin wanted to divide us, but he made us more united like never before. I’m sure that fashion industry is now focused on situation in Ukraine, not business. We will come back to work soon, I’m sure. But now we all want to defend our freedom.” And how can the world help, not only Ukraine, but also its designers and other creatives? “At this moment you can support all Ukrainian citizens. You can spread information, donate, volunteer. And later we will need to rebuild our country. When we win, all Ukrainian designers will need your support. And I really hope that the world will respond. This war is not about Ukraine. This is a war against humankind, against our freedom, against the whole world. The whole world supports us now, and we are so grateful! And we hope for your support later.” The situation forces one to believe. A dose of optimism and the strength to seek out who knows where. “We were supposed to be in Paris now. Drinking champagne, welcoming guests to our showroom, presenting our fall/winter 2022 collection. But we’re in Ukraine, fighting for the whole world freedom. We don’t ask you to fight with our army. But we ask you to join us in information war.”  

Maria Mokhova, co-founder e PR architect boutique agency White Rabbit Agency (@wr_agency) 

In one of the first emails exchanged with the members of White Rabbit Agency, a Ukrainian communications agency responsible for names like Norba (@norba.clothing) or Santa Brands (@santa. brands), the words were thoughtful and anguished. “During the past week, our lives changed drastically and there’s not enough words to describe our grief and anxiety. However, our team and our clients are united and brave in the face of these new circumstances, trying to do our best to support our military and civilians. The Ukrainian fashion industry was booming over the past few years, readily bringing new talents into the international scene. This new reality of ours is devastating, but the vitality and fearlessness of the Ukrainian people must be an example. […] We try to spread the word about what’s really going on here, resist the disinformation and Russian propaganda, support charities and volunteer organizations.” Two days later, and as promised — despite the chaotic situation and the fear in which they live, Maria Mokhova's response arrived. “Every day is different, and one thing that has changed is that it is absolutely impossible to plan anything for more than a day in advance. And even that is a crazy optimism, because every morning we wake up (after sleeping maybe a couple of hours, being worried for our loved ones and checking the news about what is being bombed at the moment non-stop) and we don’t know what new horrors are unleashed on our heads. Mentally we are all in survival mode, this explains the anger, the resilience, the incredible unity and strength our nation shows, because it is needed to save our lives. But once all is over,  it is clear that we all will need proper psychological help, support, to heal our broken hearts. This is a very deep trauma for millions of people, we shouldn't underestimate that, but Ukrainians are strong and have been through a lot, so this we'll survive too, by being kind and caring to each other, the way we are now.” Notwithstanding the attack on its freedom and independence, Ukraine is a united, strong country. "Now our national identity is even stronger, clearer and richer than it has ever been throughout centuries of Ukrainian history. It will of course result in more and more talents blossoming, and with the whole world looking at us it can be a great opportunity for our cultural scene to establish itself even stronger on the global map. Fashion industry now is at a loss when it comes to maintaining our businesses, especially for brands and retailers. Everyone now is focused on two things — safety and security of employees, and trying to be as helpful to our country as possible, using all resources, connections, influences for that. It is what we have been doing with our agency too — speaking to media, from the industry but not only, almost non stop since war started — to make sure that they all are aware of what is really going on, to make sure that they take actions to help our country and our people, make their position loud and clear, donate, organize humanitarian help etc etc. And we see every day more and more fashion companies from around the world standing with Ukraine and showing solidarity by real actions.” Fashion is, for now, on standby, but Maria leaves some hints of what we can all do to help, in the hopefully near future, Ukrainian designers. “Once they are back in business, buy their pieces via retailers, as most of them are widely represented worldwide. Financial support is crucial now and will be of essence once the war is over and we have to rebuild our country and our industry. Media — by appreciating their talent, by supporting them with coverage — can help to make  a good change too, because they will be seen around the world. And they will do the rest — the products are of high quality, made with pure talent, care and precision, they do speak for themselves.” What message should the world read from those in the midst of war? “As a nation we have already won. We will never be broken and now the world knows how strong, courageous and resilient we are — finally! Now we need support from the whole world to win the actual, physical war, to stop bombs and rockets falling on our homes, hospitals, schools and kindergartens. And once we do that - we will all be so very happy to welcome you as guests at our land, in our beautiful country, show you its diverse talents, culture and nature — as a very hospitable and welcoming nation we do enjoy having guests, so very much. I do see it all in the future and remain certain that our truth, which is the only truth, will prevail. And new dawn will come.”

Nata Zhizhchenko, frontwoman of electro-folk band Onuka (@onukaofficial) 

“For all of us this time turned out to be really scary. Despite the fast spreading news, we did not believe that our cities, houses, churches, hospitals could be shelled and bombed so bad. We did assume that our country could be attacked, but we really hoped to the very last moment that it wouldn’t happen. The fact that everything happened on such a large scale and in such an inhumane way shocked the whole world. My husband and I were woken up in our home near Kyiv at 5 am by the sounds of explosions. At first I thought it was the sound of thunder. Then these sounds started to repeat and I realized that the worst nightmare became reality — the war had begun. We opened all the group chats in messengers and in each of them we saw the same message: «We are being bombed». Then I posted on my Instagram page about the explosions and people from different cities started texting me that they also heard them nearby. It was too unexpected and scary. The first 2 minutes I felt abnormal fear, then we quickly pulled ourselves together and began to observe the situation on its scale. We stayed at home for 6 days, not trying to go anywhere. My husband and neighbors took turns on the watch of the area where we live. I was constantly online, commenting, writing messages. In some ways I was like a coordinator, telling people where they can bring medicines, how they can help others, how they can safely leave their city. My Instagram has become like a bulletin board. We all follow the news now. Each day for the past week started for every Ukrainian with a roll call — we want to know if everyone we care about is alive. During this time, values and priorities have changed. I have never seen such unity before in our family, nor among musicians, nor people in general. Everyone helps each other, saves children, animals, and the elderly people. We as a nation are so united right now. The connections became way deeper. It also hurts to see how our cities are just razed to the ground. The Russian army destroys ancient temples and churches, historical buildings, dishonors or heritage and culture. But, after finding out all the bad news about the destruction of our land and about the people whose lives are constantly in danger, the news about our victories and our brave confrontation to the occupants give us hope, encourage us and cheer us up. Ukraine will not surrender, the army will not surrender, Putin will enter Ukraine only if he wipes it off the face of the earth. But even then we will win, because we defend ourselves and our motherland in full dignity. We have shown incredible resistance and are a very spirited, proud, loyal and devoted nation. After a week we have decided to leave Kyiv, because we have a baby son who is not even two years old. We have been on the road for two days now. We spend nights driving through rural areas by car, because it’s safer. We are on the way to western Ukraine. I'm not going to cross the border. I believe that in a few weeks or even days, we would be able to return back home. I think that Ukraine and Ukrainians have shown themselves to the world as a new elite. Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine!”

Yaroslav Lodygin, screenwriter, director, producer (@lodygin) 

“From my very young age I saw the same dream repeatedly. I’m hearing loud thunders. I’m going out to my balcony in my hometown apartment. Bomber planes are crushing the clouds, enters the sky and starts dropping the shells. Or, I am somewhere in the woods, sitting with the rifle behind the wall of destroyed building. Silence, birds singing. There are my comrades with me, armed, in uniform. We are waiting for the enemy to arrive on the road. In dreams, you’re always know more than you see. And I always knew that this was Russians coming. And they do now. Bombing my native Kharkiv, my hometown Kyiv, other cities of my beloved country. The dream stopped pursuing me. I now live in it. I’m waiting till it’s over. Meanwhile, I’m packing my family, friends, drive them to the safe hideaways by countryside roads, trying to joke sometimes, teaching them the shift overnights, going through checkpoints, police suspicions, looking for a sense and a job that would help to win. I always knew it’s gonna happen. No chances it could not. But now it's easier. No doubts, all is defined and moving on. And the morning will come and we will awake.”

Translated form the original on The Body Issue, from Vogue Portugal, published March 2022.Full stories and credits on the print issue.