Worn by Madonna and Emily Ratajkowski, Ukrainian hat brand moves entire business from Kyiv to Lviv, determined not to leave Ukraine
- Ruslan Baginskiy, whose fans also include Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska and model Elsa Hosk, wanted someplace safer for its 100 employees
- They are among the estimated 200,000 displaced people now living in Lviv, with the co-founders sharing an apartment with several other people
Just days ago, Artem Gorelov was trying to survive in one of the most brutal parts of Ukraine: the Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha. Now he stands in a quiet room in the late afternoon sunlight, hand-making hats for a local fashion brand worn by Madonna, Ukraine’s first lady, and models such as Emily Ratajkowski and Elsa Hosk.
Gorelov has joined Ukrainians’ massive migration west to the city of Lviv, near Poland. And, unusually, the 100-employee company he works for arrived with him.
Searching for safety but determined not to leave Ukraine, the brand is among the businesses that are uprooting amid war.
Two months ago, first lady Olena Zelenska was in the hat maker’s showroom in Kyiv. Now the company operates in two borrowed classrooms of a school, its workers delicately piecing together materials near students’ decades-old sewing machines.
It is a slower process, but clients such as department stores Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s have expressed support, said co-owner Victoria Semerei, 29.