Project description: 

Feel the Empathy is a project about feelings, dreams and opportunities despite the full-scale war in Ukraine. The collection of clothes created by the project participants represent a frank “conversation” about the dreams and feelings of modern teenage girls with hearing impairments and internally displaced persons from Kherson and Chernihiv, aged 11 to 21.

The girls are assisted in communicating with each other (because creating a collection is primarily a team effort), learn the basics of tailoring, the intricacies of creating ecological styles and looks, and the real graphics of the Ukrainian language by sign language interpreters and a psychologist; well-known Ukrainian designers; and the project’s ambassador, designer Oleh Tarnavsky (who is hearing impaired) from Kharkiv.

By combining old or damaged favorite denim clothes with knitwear, the girls participating in the project reflected not only what is happening to them, but also what is happening to Ukraine. It’s not just about clothes – it’s about preserving and combining the “beloved old” with dreams of a new life – happy, modern, conscious and inclusive – just like this collection created by talented teenagers. The results of the project prove that neither war, nor hearing loss, nor health problems can stand in the way of making dreams come true.

The collection consists of more than 50 pieces of clothing and accessories, over 50 photos tell the story about the project participants and the birth of the collection.  The collection will soon be presented at various local and international festivals and art locations.

Partners:

Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, Vidchui NGO , Okhmatdyt, Limarenko, Salvador Dali ART Academy of Contemporary Art, UDM – annual festival of Ukrainian culture, Milano Fashion Week, Trutape Ukraine, Fashion Globus Ukraine, Kyiv Professional College of Applied Sciences, Art Ukraine Gallery, InfoVarta/Ruthenia, of Ukrainian Language Graphics, Cultural and Arts Center of Darnytskyi Raion of Kyiv, N1 BURO FASHION, Handmade-Expo International Exhibition, ODESA FASHION DAY, Ukrainian clothing brand Mint, KAPTSOVA, UNIT.City.

Category: People

Company: Tailors School of Tailoring and Design

About the company:

The Tailors School of Tailoring and Design was established in 2016. During the full-scale Russian invasion, we have been working and continue to implement an educational social fashion project for deaf teenagers who dream of becoming designers. In 2023, at the Tailors School, deaf teenagers, together with IDP teenagers who are patients of the Okhmatdyt Hospital, created a full-fledged joint collection of clothes called Empathy.