KIEV, Ukraine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While last year's Ukrainian Fashion Week found itself in the throws of political turmoil and revolutionary upheaval, this season, during Kiev Fashion Days' 5th year anniversary, the mood was reflective.
The Autumn/Winter 2015 Ukraine Fashion Week, which ran from March 17th - 25th, opened with Z Joke, a film directed by Aleksey Zalevskiy. Z Joke—which originally debuted during the 17th annual Shanghai International Festival and won "Best Director" and "Best Soundtrack"—is a surrealist, oft color-blocked, dance-driven production about the creation of a virus that causes infertility, and the fallout that emerges from this creation. AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s "Condoms are Cool" theme for the 2015 International Condom Day celebration (February 13th) was supported by Zalevskiy during the film's opening and at his latest ZALEVSKIY collection, where 1,000 LOVE condoms were distributed by models wearing looks by the designer.
“Together with AHF, during our show at the Ukrainian Fashion Week, we have conducted a very important action to show that in Ukraine the issue of HIV is a concern for everyone. When one out of 100 Ukrainians are infected with HIV, things like gender, sex or social status do not really matter,” explained Zalevskiy. “Condom use should become fashionable and pragmatic for people. Until HIV is a concern for everyone, condoms are the best protection.”
Zalevskiy’s creative reign began in 1993, when he released his first collection. By 1997, ZALEVSKIY—the brand’s official moniker—was showing regularly at Ukrainian Fashion Week. By 2004, Aleksey had a seat on the Ukrainian Fashion Council. But the designer also had philanthropic aspirations: in 2006 he began work on a charity project, "Fashion Aid," providing assistance to people with AIDS in the Ukraine.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to nearly 367,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare