Anna October is a Ukrainian womenswear designer and founder of her eponymous brand. Anna October design is known for its feminine, graceful and yet playful aesthetics which provide a perfect “date-ready look”, recognized by fashion insiders and consumers all over the world. Anna October clothing is available in more than 40 online and offline stores including SSENSE, Galeries Lafayette and Moda Operandi. In 2014, she was a finalist for the

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

Prize. In 2022, Anna October joine
The BoF 500 list
Anna October developed a sustainable ethos within the brand. Collections are created using deadstock textile. Brand maintains expert tailoring. Significant amount of the pieces are handcrafted by using re-imagined artisanal techniques for modern clothes.

Early life

Anna October was born in

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

, Ukraine on 31 December 1990. She early developed a genuine interest in fashion and left school to learn pattern cutting and tailoring. At the age of 17, she moved to

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

to pursue her education in fine art at the oldest and renowned schools of arts in Ukraine, the Grekov Odesa Art School.

Career

In 2010, at the age of 19, Anna October made her first capsule collection, which immediately gained the attention of the Ukrainian fashion community. The further development led to brand's recognition far beyond Ukraine. In 2014, Anna October was shortlisted for fashion's most prestigious prize for young designers

Prize. In 2017, she became a part of the Mercedes-Benz "Generation Now, Generation Next", the project aimed to highlight international talents in the sphere of fashion design. Since that time, the brand has increased its presence in selective retail spaces such as

Moda Operandi Founded in 2010 by Lauren Santo Domingo and Áslaug Magnúsdóttir, Moda Operandi is an online luxury fashion retailer that allows customers to preorder looks directly from designers, immediately after their runway show. The concept, which was c ...

Galeries Lafayette Galeries Lafayette () is an upmarket French department store chain, the biggest in Europe. Its flagship store is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris but it now operates a number of locations in France and other countries ...

SSENSE SSENSE ( pronounced: "essence") is a Canadian multi-brand retailer headquartered in Montreal, Canada specializing in the sale of designer fashion and high end streetwear. It was founded as an e-commerce platform in 2003 by three brothers: Rami, ...

, FWRD to name a few. In the autumn of 2022, Anna October joine
The BoF 500 list
and presented her collection at

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...

for the first time.

Russian full-scale invasion to Ukraine

In February 2022, due to the devastating full-scale war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine, Anna October was forced to flee Ukraine and moved to Paris, where she continued to work on her collections, and also became part of the "BETTER + GIVEN NAME.Community" – an online platform dedicated to directing the global creative industries’ attention towards the thriving creative community in Ukraine, and the needs of its members. As part of the Better.Community platform, Anna October managed a space for promotion, interaction, and support for Ukrainian designers, artists, photographers, and all kinds of creators who need support. She became a leader of the fashion designer division and has been founding deadstock fabrics for designers to make new collections, the wholesale showroom, and agents to support their sales.

References

A Ray of Sun in the Darkest Room
''Metal Magazine.''
Comment cette créatrice ukrainienne a-t-elle développé sa marque en temps de guerre?
''Vogue France''
Anna October at BoF500
''Business Of Fashion''
“Be a lady, Anna”.
''Achtung''
Anna October on creating the perfect date-night wardrobe
''Harper's Bazaar''
Ukrainian LVMH Prize Nominee Anna October On Russian-Ukraine War: ‘The Fear Has Morphed Into A Power – A Fuel To Win’
''Forbes''
Ukrainian Designers Carry On Despite the Russian Invasion
''WWD''
Qui est Anna October, créatrice ukrainienne qui vient en aide aux créatifs de son pays ?
''Numero''

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:October, Anna Living people Ukrainian fashion designers Ukrainian women fashion designers Businesspeople from Kyiv Ukrainian women in business Year of birth missing (living people)