About
Oksana Karavanska has been one of the most significant personalities in Ukrainian fashion for two decades now, and her career is outstanding and varied.
Ukrainian identity is the basis of her collections, an unpredictable amalgam of ancient precious embroidery with the latest fabrics and modern handmade details. This is what determines the authenticity and uniqueness of designer Oksana Karavanska.
In 1996, Karavanska's collection was presented at the Alta Moda competition and was awarded by Pierre Cardin. Therefore, Oksana registered her brand, "Oksana Karavanska," and opened an atelier and the first designer's boutique in Ukraine. The brand has a long and successful history of tailoring, and the clients' list includes first ladies, celebrities, influencers, and many famous personalities. When creating clothes Oksana Karavanska, among other things, pays special attention to the perfect fit and proportions.
Throughout her creative journey, Oksana Karavanska uses fashion as a powerful tool of cultural diplomacy to promote Ukraine worldwide and supports social and charitable projects. In 2004, she took part in an unprecedented tour with fashion shows in the largest cities of the USA and Canada to raise funds for mammograms for Ukrainian hospitals. In 2005, the designer debuted a fur collection at the MIFUR Milan Week (Italy) and created an Haute Couture collection, especially for the closing ceremony of the semifinal and final of EUROVISION 2005 (Kyiv).
In 2008, Karavanska participated in DC Fashion Week (Washington, USA), and from 2013 to 2021, she held seasonal shows and performances at prestigious venues in New York and Chicago, Paris, and London. Oksana Karavanska presented a unique fashion show in 2016 at the Abbey of St. Vincent in Sanlis (France).
Since 2015 Oksana Karavanska has been holding the annual Vyshyvanka Couture shows of Oksana in the Metropolitan Gardens in Lviv, a monument of Rococo architecture of the 18th century. Thanks to these exclusive charity fashion events, they renovated the Gardens and opened them to the public. Aristocracy, the sophistication of landscape design, and the idea of its founder, Metropolitan Sheptytsky, returned to the Gardens.
Also in 2015, Oksana Karavanska wrote the first and only book about fashion for children in Ukraine, "Stylish book for young ladies."
Since 2018, Oksana Karavanska's gowns can be seen on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival every year.
In 2020, Oksana Karavanska represented Ukraine with the "Vyshyvanka Couture" collection at the Economic Forum in Davos.
In the conditions of a full-scale war, the Oksana Karavanska brand created a unique line of hand-painted T-shirts (the proceeds from the sale go to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces).
In January 2023, to support Ukrainian culture, Oksana Karavanska and the Lviv Opera Theater presented the ballet fashion performance "Vyshyvanka-couture of the third millennium."
At the same time, Oksana Karavanska creates a Ready Couture collection in collaboration with Ksenia Umanska, a graduate of the prestigious London College of Fashion, for presentation in Paris during Paris Fashion Week, continuing activities in the field of cultural diplomacy, confirming Ukraine's status at the peak of world fashion trends.