Sasha Kanevski Ready To Wear Fall Winter 2013 Kiev

What a strange hallucination that befell the guests of Sasha Kanevski's after-party, as the biggest snowfall in a hundred years smothered the Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days' second day in tons of pristine snow. At 1AM on March 24th, and despite the fact that transportation was virtually nonexistent, guests filed into a pocket-sized and decrepit opera house that will soon be torn down to give way to a brand new development. Stepping into the once-grandiose hall, there was the definite impression of falling through Wonderland's rabbit hole into a Nineties clandestine party. The walls were peeling, the clothes had yet to make an appearance but Kiev's fashionable scene was already enjoying this "after-party", agreeably throbbing music imparting a cool clubby vibe. On the former scene, some reclined in battered sofas, happy to escape the chill for a few hours.

And then there were the clothes, as models jumped up on makeshift stands to tower above the wriggling crowd. Even at this late hour, Sasha Kanevski confirmed his place as one of Kiev's coolest designers. Lifting the patterns from the wooden floorboards and ubiquitous carpets found on the floors and walls of Eastern European homes back in the day, for warmth more than style, Kanevski blended these larger-than-life patterns into his fall collection. A huge part of his charm is his ability to turn out a his-n-hers collection that appeal to the more practical sensibilities of men while offering sensuality to his female customer. Two stand-out pieces were the naïve and quirky flocked cat on a sweater and the dressing gown coat and its cotton-stuffed quilting, more Sherlock Holmes than Mother USSR, complete with three pockets, including a tall one for a newspaper. His emphasis this season on print may have been the initial focal point, but his tailoring packs quite the punch. To wit, its most striking examples are a clean cut blouse in crisp khaki for her and a double-breasted wool jacket for him. His signature overall returns, discreet in dark grey, and despite its multi-season appearances, has yet to feel contrived.

Although who will snap up the eye-catching brogue boots created in collaboration with Konstantin Kofta remains to be seen, there was a subtle evolution in Kanevski's womenswear that hinted at his significant growth in this since the last season, bringing it on par with his menswear. It was sensible in the details of garments, a sharply turned out trouser, a peplum on a jacket but it portends good things ahead.

- Lily Templeton