Umahanova: Wearing Masters
Young Ukrainian label UMAHANOVA unveils its debut capsule — a couture floral trilogy inspired by Klimt, Van Gogh, and Ruysch.
Today, rising fashion label UMAHANOVA introduces Wearing Masters — a limited capsule collection of three couture gowns, each inspired by one of the most iconic floral paintings in Western art history. The collection draws directly from Gustav Klimt’s Flowering Garden (Belvedere Museum, Vienna), Vincent Van Gogh’s Irises (Getty Museum, Los Angeles), and Rachel Ruysch’s Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Ledge (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).
Created in Odesa, a port city in southern Ukraine, the collection began as a quiet act of personal restoration during the war — and became a deeply emotional project at the intersection of fashion, memory, and art.
Clothing as a response — to colour, to chaos, to beauty that has endured
A visual trilogy shaped by war and care
In the winter of 2024, designer Viktoria Umahanova was in her hometown, sheltering from air raid sirens and waiting for the electricity to return. She had just paused work on a commercial line when she came across Klimt’s Flowering Garden online. “It stopped me,” she says. “It felt alive. It felt like something I could hold onto.”
That instinct grew into Wearing Masters: three evening gowns created using advanced digital printing, hand-assembled patterns, and 3D textile mapping — each silhouette designed to respond to the artworks they’re based on, not just host them.
The result is a quiet kind of intensity. Each gown holds its own frequency: some light, others heavy — all designed to be felt, not just seen.
In Viktoria Umahanova’s own words:
“I wasn’t trying to be clever or conceptual. I just needed something steady to hold onto while the world was collapsing outside. These paintings gave me that. And I wanted to give something back — not to the artists, but to the feeling they created. The sense that beauty still matters. Even now. Maybe especially now.”
The Collection: Wearing Masters
Golden Bloom – based on Klimt’s Flowering Garden — a cascade of layered florals, lit from within. The silhouette is soft yet structured, holding light and colour in motion.
Vincent’s Irises – inspired by Van Gogh’s Irises — a deep blue that pulses with tension. The composition is bold and emotional, with sharp contrasts and a restless energy.
Marble Petals – a reimagining of Ruysch’s baroque still life — dark, rich florals against pale tones. Still, weighty, and quietly opulent.
// About UMAHANOVA
Founded in 2024, UMAHANOVA is an emerging fashion label based in Odesa, Ukraine. Working at the intersection of art, textile technology, and emotional craftsmanship, the brand focuses on creating limited-edition pieces that convey both feeling and form. Wearing Masters is their debut couture capsule — made in wartime, meant to last beyond it.