With so much loss around us, the loss of fashion may seem minor — and compared to how much so many have suffered, of course it is. But fashion is also a symbol of hope, writes Julia Marich.
on February 24, 2022, I packed my family’s life into two black suitcases. From my own large wardrobe, I chose two pairs of jeans, two hoodies and a warm down coat. Just before leaving the house, I ran back to my bedroom and threw in a red lipstick and my favourite perfume, Lancôme’s Magnolia Rosae. It was irrational, I knew. Already, the lives of my family — my husband; son, 15; and daughter, 9 — were divided into before and after the bombs. But later, friends told me of similar impulses.
Our family fled to the countryside. Ukrainian women generally take pride in their appearance, but in the first weeks of the, we didn’t care about how we looked. We sat in bomb shelters in the same clothes day after day. Our celebrities appeared on live broadcasts without makeup, their eyes full of tears. One famous Ukrainian actress said in an interview that she did not take off her black hat for the first two weeks of war.
The panic and chaos intensified. All shops were closed for two months; it was possible to buy only some food and medicine. In eastern Ukraine, where hostilities were active, most shopping centers were bombed. Shop owners tried to save their clothes by transporting them to safer cities and offering pieces at deep discounts, but there was no demand for fashion. All the luxury brands — Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton — left Ukraine.
Sometimes my friends and I indulge ourselves with tokens from an earlier life. We meet in a safe café, put on dresses and give each other sincere compliments. During these sweet meetings, I realize that, although our eyes have lost some brightness, we have become stronger. We learned to live in the here and now — we know there might not be a next day or next year.
At night, when my kids are asleep, I take out my fragrance — the one I packed a year ago that awful morning before I could imagine how much pain and grief my country would go through. Head bowed, I inhale deeply, and remember. That scent is the smell of freedom — and of peace.
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