POLINA KADILNIKOVA

POLINA KADILNIKOVA

Fashion worth keeping an eye on.

Some clothes are just clothes. Others have a whole story behind them.

Polina Kadilnikova’s are definitely the second kind.

The 21-year-old Ukrainian designer recently graduated from Central Saint Martins in London, and her final collection, Casualties, is something worth taking a closer look at.

Polina was born in Kharkiv and grew up in Kyiv. When the war began, the places she knew started changing, disappearing or becoming impossible to return to.

And that became the starting point for her collection.

She used old photographs of Ukrainian cities, school buildings and childhood playgrounds, turning them into prints on her garments.

But don’t expect a collection of simple printed dresses.

There are exaggerated silhouettes, unexpected proportions, delicate fabrics and even a dress made from steel.

Yes, actual steel.

One of the pieces is shaped like a swan, which is quite an unusual choice of material for something so graceful.

And that’s part of what makes her designs interesting.

Polina takes things that don’t necessarily belong together and somehow makes them work.

Her interest in unusual objects isn’t new either.

During her first year at Central Saint Martins, she was already experimenting with oversized everyday items, including keys, phones and charging cables.

Now she’s using that same curiosity to explore something much more personal.

What happens to our memories when the places connected to them no longer exist?

And can clothes preserve something we might otherwise lose?

We particularly like that Polina doesn’t try to make the subject of war look fashionable.

Instead, she focuses on the ordinary things people miss. The streets they walked down, the schools they attended, the places they grew up in.

Things that might not seem particularly special until they’re gone.

Her approach certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed.

In June 2026, she received the L’Oréal Professionnel Young Talent Award at the Central Saint Martins graduate show, along with The Mandrake Hotel Scholarship.

Not bad for a graduation collection.

There’s something refreshing about a young designer who isn’t afraid to make clothes a little strange, complicated or difficult to understand at first.

Especially when there’s a reason behind it.

We’re curious to see what Polina does next.

And we think you should be too.

GLOW AFTER / FASHION

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