Working with the fashion embroidery brand Gaptuvalnya, we created a limited-edition modern vyshyvanka inspired by traditional motifs from Kyiv Oblast.
The traditional motifs also became the foundation for a second collaboration with Kyiv-based illustrator Kateryna Stepanishcheva, who works under the name myfabstory. Kateryna used these traditional motifs from Kyiv Oblast as the basis for three contemporary illustrated pieces representing the past, present, and future of Kyiv.
Gaptuvalnya is an embroidered clothing brand born in Ivano-Frankivsk. Its name carries a double meaning: to embroider with gold and silver thread, and to forge your own path. Both definitions shape the brand's philosophy.
The brand started from a personal moment: the founder, Natalia Herheliuk, wanted to make a festive outfit for her daughter for a family photo. That led to a first embroidery machine, then her own pieces, the orders, and eventually a clear vision of what modern embroidered clothing could be.
Kateryna Stepanishcheva is a Kyiv-based illustrator who works under the name myfabstory. As a student, Kateryna spent time in a Lviv museum sketching traditional Ukrainian costumes, embroidery, and rugs. She has spent years researching Ukrainian folk art — from embroidery patterns to traditional calligraphy — and has developed a style entirely her own.
Her work has featured in children's books, on silk scarves, and in editorial illustration, but is always rooted in Ukrainian visual culture. One of her co-authored books — an account of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine from a child's perspective — has been published in the United States and the United Kingdom.
