Kyiv's shoemakers make small work of custom fits
step on his blue suede shoes, but for anyone wanting to step out with such a custom-made pair in Kyiv, that shouldn’t be a problem – at least not for long, says Kyiv fashion and shoe designer Sergei Byzov.
Working in Ukraine’s “very embryonic” shoe industry, Byzov knows the reality of the few but respected shoemakers here who labor under less-than-ideal circumstances: suffering long hours, crazy designer specifications and little international exposure.
More than anything else, it is the lack of exposure that bothers 26-year old shoemaker Andry Diachenko. Even from a family where making shoes has been a tradition since long before he was born, Diachenko knows it’s easier to work and grow as a shoe designer in Italy, for example, than in Ukraine.
“In the West, [shoemaking] is a thriving industry. There you have Patrick Cox and Tom Ford and the like, each with a star client roster. In Ukraine it’s a completely different story altogether. The industry hardly exists here at all,” Diachenko said. “In fact, our industry was only just born. But the shoes we make, I think, are up to (Western) standards.”
With shoemaking and design as much in their infancy as the country, Byzov is aware of the business’ problems.
“It all started when we were showing our first clothing collections,” Byzov said. “I wanted shoes to go along with the theme of my collection.”
“At that time, nobody really knew about how to make the shoes we were designing. The skills were there, but you had to take the first steps, literally.
“I worked first with Diachenko, then Igor Senin, with whom I continue to work. We are miles behind the West, but I guess that just as a seed grows, so will we.”
The inspiration to create something as small and relatively insignificant as a shoe may not seem as simple as planting a seed, but for Senin, who works with exclusive clientele in Kyiv both with Byzov and on his own, it’s just the opposite. Shoes as an accessory, he feels, play an important albeit subtle role in fashion.
“As for me it’s the person, the wearer, that provides inspiration,” Senin said. “[My understudies and I] often work on the definite choices of my clients. I suggest something from my side and then work it out with my cobblers. Most important is the client’s comfort and satisfaction.”
“I love making different kinds of footwear – from 12 cm high-heeled shoes to simple moccasins and suede sandals,” he said.
“Since we work exclusively for such clients, the demand for handmade shoes is not yet as great as in the West. But everything has a beginning,” he said.
Victoria Zubenko, fashion editor of the Ukrainian edition of the French magazine L’Officiel is the proud owner of a pair of Igor Senin military-style boots. She swears by Ukrainian craftsmanship and skills.
“Considering the conditions in which our shoe designers work, kudos to them,” Zubenko said.
Shoes, although made independently of other articles of clothing in an ensemble, need helping hands for them to really ‘step out’ in Ukraine. About these very hands, shoe and accessory designer Snezhana Nekh speaks plenty.
“What are really missing are skilled cobblers,” Nekh said. “Designing shoes is one thing, but getting them done to your satisfaction is what matters. Theirs are the ‘golden hands’ that we all need.” So golden in fact are such hands that Nekh has several apprentices working under her to learn the shoemakers’ art.
A graduate of the Kyiv Academy of Light Industry and Design, Nekh knows her craft, and that her clients won’t spend their money on the pedestrian.
“We use Italian and Turkish leather – and Ukrainian leather, too, but it doesn’t work well with certain handmade requirements,” Nekh added. “I prefer leather that is soft, light and moldable.”
In order to gain valuable industry experience and exposure, Nekh has worked together for the last four years with the high profile and innovative fashion designer Lilia Poustovit.
Citing what she called a dearth of shoemakers in the past, Poustovit believes that the industry is finally making strides.
As an example of her growing confidence in the industry and Nekh, this spring she and Nekh buckled up her zingy men’s and women’s wear collections at the Sezona Moda spring fashion gala with designer sneakers and open-backed leather shoes in reds, oranges and blacks. Many in attendance could be heard remarking openly on the young feel this pairing gave Poustovit’s collection. Models backstage commented on how well Nekh’s shoes fit.
All praise aside, Nekh’s favorite work remains that which she did last year as part of Poustovit’s Maky (poppy flower) collection, from which she says she learned much. And Nekh, though a confessed fan of Yohji Yamamoto and Prada, wears her own designs.
“I understand the wide chasm between our work and the West, but it’s not unreachable,” she said. “Our quality is just as good.”
