Name: Ruslan Baginskiy
Age: 29
Education: Geography, Ivan Franko Lviv National University
Profession: Fashion designer
Did you know? One of his hobbies is flower arranging.
Ukrainian designer Ruslan Baginskiy first entered the world of fashion in his student years. Although he studied geography in his hometown of Lviv, the western city of 720,000 residents located 540 kilometers west of Kyiv, after classes he worked as a stylist.
As Baginskiy created styles for various photoshoots and fashion projects, he noticed he had a particular interest in hats, so he asked for an internship at a local hat atelier to learn basic skills. He says that this affection might date back to his childhood — he remembers his family, including his mother and grandmother, had lots of hats.
At first, Baginskiy created hats to order and collaborated with Ukrainian designers as he continued to work as a stylist. However, he started getting so many orders that he changed his profession.
So around two-and-a-half years ago, Baginskiy moved to Kyiv, where Ukrainian Fashion Week takes place and where the country’s glossy fashion magazines are based.
After that, Baginskiy took his first trip to Paris to attend a fashion show of French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and established contacts. He says the experience taught him that he must put a lot of effort into his brand’s public relations. PR, he said, “is a driving force, which works for every brand all over the world.”
Baginskiy and his team decided to get famous people involved. They contacted stylists and fashion bloggers, introducing them to the products. It worked. When Russian model Lena Perminova posted a photo of her wearing a straw boater hat on her Instagram page, which has 1.8 million subscribers, and tagged Baginskiy, the brand started winning fans from all over. Then the situation reversed — stylists messaged Baginskiy to order his hats — straw fedoras, felt gamblers, leather berets and his famous baker boy caps.
Baginskiy’s hats now supplement the wardrobes of many celebrities and fashion divas, such as Madonna, Bella Hadid, Pamela Anderson, Natalia Vodianova, Paris Hilton, and Khloe Kardashian.
For Madonna, the Ukrainian designer created a choice of 12 custom hats over three days. The singer thanked the brand for their work, and wore their hats to a photo shoot for the cover of Vogue Italia.
“It was great because it’s Madonna — she’s a queen,” the designer said.
Today, around 200 retailers from various countries sell Baginskiy’s products, which cost $180-$315. Baginsky believes that design is a form of art that should have a commercial basis. But the main secret of his success? “We work a lot,” he said.
