Name: Daria Shapovalova
Age: 29
Education: Taras Shevchenko National University
Profession: owner of More Dash PR agency
Did you know? She was born in Novosibirsk, Russia
When Ukrainian designers hold a fashion show abroad – in New York, Paris, Milan or London – or present their latest collections at international designers’ exhibitions, the chances are that they’ve had help from Daria Shapovalova, a Ukrainian fashion blogger and a PR agency owner.
In recent years, Shapovalova, 29, has managed to get Ukrainian designers’ names on lips and their clothes in foreign stores.
“At the beginning of the Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days we wanted to put Ukraine on the world’s fashion map, and I’m happy to say that we achieved our goal,” Shapovalova says. “Now you can find designers like Anna K, Anna October, Flow the Label, Mariana Senchina and others in top international stores worldwide – like Matches fashion, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and many others. All that was unimaginable even six years ago.”
Shapovalova is a founder and creative director of Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days. She also owns a sales and public relations agency called More Dash, which represents Ukrainian designers. Shapovalova also works as a video director at NowFashion.com, a French website, and runs a Russian-language website about fashion – www.fw-daily.com. She also frequently updates her fashion blog, www.dariasdiaries.com.
Shapovalova’s photos regularly appear in blogs and fashion magazines. In 2014, she was one of the 500 most influential people in the industry, according to The Business of Fashion.
Her schedule is busy, yet she finds time for family — 4-year-old son David and political consultant/media manager husband Kazbek Bektursunov. The couple frequently travels together on business trips. Shapovalova says her husband has always been interested in fashion, but got into the industry because of her.
Her favorite Ukrainian designers are Anna K., Ksenia Schnaider, Anton Belinskiy and Anna October – all promoted by Shapovalova’s PR agency. “The most important thing for a designer is to be creative, professional and passionate,” she says.
Ukraine’s Euromaidan Revolution in 2013-2014 and Russia’s war against Ukraine have not scared off foreign buyers, Shapovalova says, adding she could not remember any problems her agency encountered while promoting Ukrainian designers abroad since the onset of the war.
“There are no boundaries with passion; everything is possible,” she adds. Shapovalova also has ambitious plans: “I want to do more socially important projects, charity work and continue building my company, which is becoming global. I don’t only dream – I set goals.”
