Kateryna, our magazine Pro Ukraine is about everything Ukrainian, about what Ukraine is proud of, about brands that raise the wave of the Ukrainian issue and about everything patriotic. Your brand is in the news more than any other because you are the one who dresses the President of Ukraine in his patriotic clothes – the famous Kate Lab T-shirts and sweatshirts. We couldn’t hold but interview you for our first issue about Ukrainian.
We know you’ve been asked this question a million times before. But we must ask it again. Please tell our publication how the President’s acquaintance with your brand began. And how did it happen that now he constantly appears in your wonderful clothes?
Literally on the second week of the full-scale invasion, we resumed our work. The question arose: what to sew if most of our clients went abroad and who even thought about getting dressed in new clothes. But our loyal customers were very supportive of our brand and orders poured in.
A few years ago, I worked as a stylist and for many of my wardrobe clients, we sewed high-quality white and black basic T-shirts, where the quality of the fabric and tailoring came first.
At the outbreak of the war, our clients also ordered them, because spring was coming and people were changing warmer clothes for T-shirts.
Then I thought about creating a patriotic T-shirt, but not like everyone else’s… without loud phrases, foul words, etc.
I love minimalism and the idea of the trident just stuck in my head. I put a deep meaning in our T-shirt – QUALITY UKRAINIAN. The trident is a symbol that will be over our hearts. It is clear, beautiful and majestic.
People really liked it! We were immersed in orders from morning to night.
One evening, the question arose: why isn’t the president wearing my T-shirt yet? At first, it seemed like something ridiculous and unrealistic, but on the other hand, why isn’t the president wearing my T-shirt yet?
The doors open to those who knock! I managed to get the clothes to Volodymyr Oleksandrovych.
Later, we were even more convinced that we were doing everything right, and we started working even harder, following the basic philosophy of our T-shirt with the trident – quality Ukrainian.
Today, the KateLab T-shirt with the trident is over the hearts of thousands of people.
Who else besides President Zelensky appears in public in your patriotic clothes? How does this affect your motivation and brand development?
Today, it is very difficult for me to keep track of this, because the number of people is very large – politicians, famous Ukrainian and foreign figures, stars, our Ukrainian people and foreigners.
It is very valuable to me that our customers find our original brand among a large number of copies. One of the proofs of the original is the tag with our logo on the back.
How many years has the Kate Lab brand existed?
The brand was created in 2016.
Let’s talk about you personally. Why did you decide to become a designer?
I have been creative since childhood. It has lived and lives in me to this day. Even after graduating from the law academy, where I still found it interesting and easy to study, I knew I would create. And so it happened!
How do you assess your personal development from the beginning of creating lace lingerie to the formation of the successful Kate Lab brand?
The beginning is always very interesting and unpredictable. Like everyone who starts their own business, they go through their own path, where there are ups and downs, where there is risk, fear, despair, but when you have a goal, you still go to it, because it is your path, which is learned by experience. And in order to reach the top, you need to go through a difficult path that many people do not see from the outside. Success is the result of the efforts made.
Nowadays, there are many brands that make patriotic clothing. How did you manage
to become the first among such a large competition?
I repeat once again – Ukrainian quality!!! From the quality of the fabric, sewing, packaging and the heart and soul we put into what we do.
We know that the Kate Lab brand actively supports the Armed Forces of Ukraine. How do you cope with the realities of war?
I try to donate often from our brand. I don’t show it publicly. I believe that such things should be quiet.
Another way we support and help the Armed Forces is through our charity shoots, which also have a deep meaning.
For example, last summer, we created our first KateLab embroidered shirt for a charity auction and sent the proceeds to the local volunteer headquarters. The shoot was held at Lesya Ukrainka’s estate. In this way, we did a good deed and at the same time encouraged people to visit the estate, as the number of visitors decreased during the war. This is a very beautiful place that everyone should visit to touch our history.
You can read more about such shootings on our Instagram page.
I often donate our T-shirts to large charity events for auctions, both in Ukraine and abroad. Each time the donations increase!
Are you expanding your line of patriotic clothing? What can we expect in the near future from Kate Lab?
We continue to create T-shirts with the trident, because it’s already history.
The trident will be transferred to men’s shirts, which we also designed a long time ago, but due to lack of time we never had time to sew them. Men’s and women’s embroidered shirts will also be available!
