I am moved by social unrest. My practice involves working with the question of why and how society forms itself and the individual within. A society cannot survive without independent building elements that from time to time eject outrage, unsettlement, and craving for a change. Those events in history that shaped and carved out social orders are the most important to me. I find myself exploring the causes and consequences of sometimes dark moments that create the surroundings, in particular where I grew up and was formed. My work showcases the unrest by clean, sharp, sometimes aggressive shapes that trap the body and restricts movement. The garments are top-heavy, sculptural, and puzzled together with other materials as occasional sculptures. Starting my career in fine art from painting, drawing, and sculpture, I developed a vision of garments and wearables as a powerful medium of emotion and intention, where I use a sculptural aspect of my work to convey my idea of nonaggressive and noninvasive activism. 

Sofiia Slynko is a fashion designer making sculpture derived garments that dissect sociopolitical issues. She explores them using her homeland as an example and a kickstarting point, where economic instability is embedded in citizens’ sub-consciousness. Born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, she infers from riots and the relationship of the individual to the government and the established norms. Formulating this experience of moving to a different surrounding, Sofiia sheds critical light on the difference between her upbringing and the west. 

She presents her work as a product of dissecting the issue, starting from the outcome and moving deeper into a political issue, including lifestyle, cityscape, mentality, and personal experience. 

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Photos: The O.X. Project

Model: ig @abigailgrohmann

Shoes: Sarwarish Singh ig @consonantn