Meet Nadezhda Valchanova, a fashion graduate from Coventry University. Inspired by her family connection to the Chernobyl disaster, her final project is an exploration of building back a better future. “My final collection is my way to thank and honour my Ukrainian roots, as well as reflect on the wider sociological and political issues provoked by the Chernobyl disaster,” she says. “My design approach reflects on the Post Covid-19 World and the need to rethink businesses and build a more sustainable, progressive future and redefine the industry by producing clothing in a completely new manner, which is to reduce waste by pioneering a new way of pattern making.” Read more about Nadezhda’s work below.
What is the most valuable thing you have learnt at university?
Undertaking my Undergraduate education in the UK I strongly believe helped me learn more about myself. Coming from an interracial marriage family, I have always been surrounded by both Bulgarian and Ukrainian cultures that helped me form as an individual and creator. Undertaking my Undergraduate education in the UK, a country with a huge cultural diversity enabled me to understand how crucial family heritage is which always guided me as a designer. I learnt that embracing your roots, backgrounds with nothing but pride, and honouring your people and culture should be something to inspire this generation of creatives. Throughout my education, I changed in a sense that I have improved in many skills but also, I changed my attitude towards how I approach life and how crucial self-development is. While expanding my network by being surrounded by people from all around the world I was drawn to how this industry works and the possibilities it can offer. I saw my communication skills developing over the years of my education a skill that not only revealed my personality but also strengthened and made me enrich my confidence.
Love it or hate it teamwork is also important since I believe it can be more efficient and fun furthermore it enables new ideas to come and see problems from different perspectives which is crucial for a designer. Undertaking a year out in the industry certainly improved my job prospects after graduation but also improved my academic performance. Having the advantage of experiencing a professional working environment and getting a glance at how business works and the other aspects of it was an experience I will endlessly reflect on and will be pushing me of moving forwards. To summarise, throughout this journey I was challenged by many obstacles on my way which also gave me a great opportunity to widen my skill set and prepared me for achieving my career goal. Being nominated for Coventry City of Culture 2021 Volunteer Uniform Brief alongside winning The Portfolio Award 2021 enhanced my achievements and will play a vital role in my CV development. Reflecting on where I am now, I believe my education journey stimulated me in going the extra mile to achieve my best work another proof that creativity combined with dedication can go a long way no matter what the circumstances are.
What was the starting point of inspiration for your final project?
On the 26th of April 1986 at 1 o’clock 23 minutes, a powerful explosion took place at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, equivalent to 500 Hiroshima bombs. This date has become a symbol of the largest man-made disaster in the history of mankind, not only for citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine but also for the whole world. At this time, my mother was 16 years old and she was living in Kyiv, 150 kilometres from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On the 1st of May,1986 (Labour Day) demonstration took place in Kyiv at which my mother, like thousands of other people, took part in without suspecting the deadly radiation that reached the city of Kyiv and its environs. More than 600,000 soldiers, fireman and civilians were deployed over the next four years to clean up after the disaster. Nowadays clearer is the feeling among the survived liquidators that they have been abandoned by the state. What happened in Chernobyl, which had resulted in more than 200,000 deaths from 1990 to 2000 in many ways showed the absolute nonviability of the Soviet Union system and predetermined its collapse.
The disintegration of any society begins with lies, and when faith disappears, there is nothing to hold on to. ''A3-5'' originally inspired by the Chernobyl Disaster and the individual within the Soviet Union and its ideology, evolves around my cultural references, honouring my family and our history. My final collection is my way to thank and honour my Ukrainian roots, as well as reflect on the wider sociological and political issues provoked by the Chernobyl disaster. My design approach reflects on the Post Covid-19 World and the need to rethink businesses and build a more sustainable, progressive future and redefine the industry by producing clothing in a completely new manner, which is to reduce waste by pioneering a new way of pattern making. This combined with innovative techniques like CLO3D throughout the collection to achieve a consistent body of work reflecting on the post-COVID-19 World and acceleration of new technology while utilising 3D modelling and other technologies to reinvent my design process. An idea of a greener alternative in a world plagued with growing fears over waste inspiring young designers and this generation of creatives to seek other alternatives and be part of the change.
What form will your final project take?
For my Final Major Project, I am creating a body of work in particular; combining innovative techniques and materials and prints to achieve a high-end Menswear Capsule Collection exploring concepts of uniform and utility. During my final year of study, I started off my project by extensive primary research combined with the sketchbook and toile experimentations that helped me develop some of the main concepts and silhouettes evolving around my designs such as Mutation, Uniforms and looking at the Observation Wheel the main landmark in Pripyat to combine circular shapes and curves in my garments. I continued by exploring concepts and working on one of the garments enhancing the Soviet Ideology aspect of my collection. Aprons being one of the main pieces not only in Soviet School Uniform but also a statement part of a Nuclear Power
Plant worker PPE which became not only a practical solution to solving layering but also worked ideal when constructing an outfit together. Putting them as the final layer over the garments combined further with accessories ideas, I was working on; like fabric flower brooches. I was sceptical at first about adding such a feminine touch to the collection, as I did not want this to take the attention away from the concept. However, reflecting on this now I believe my outfits will be stronger if featuring this extra detail which can be seen all over Soviet Postcards and a Soviet Tradition of laying flowers on Monuments as a sign of gratitude. Parallel to this, I am working on an eyewear prototype collection and a 3D Digitalised version of my physical collection. My design approach will be reflecting on the Post Covid-19 World and the need to rethink businesses and build a more sustainable, progressive future and redefine the industry by producing clothing in a completely new manner, which is to reduce waste in the industry by pioneering a new way of pattern making, utilising 3D modelling and other technologies to reinvent my design process.
What materials have you used and how did you source them?
My collection’s fabric research was almost all online. Even so, I had the opportunity to have online meetings with textile’s factories based in Bulgaria during the summer where a big amount of fabric samples was sent. Most of these fabrics were not suitable for my collection due to colours and finishing’s but they were super helpful for reference and fabric research alongside establishing a connection I could benefit from in the future as a designer. With fabric shops and other markets, closed fabric sourcing was much more complicated. I chose to source all my materials from SwatchOn, a South Korean textile supplier with a wast fabric choice and Contrado, a UK-based company for printed textiles in order to bring my prints to life.
Alongside I established a connection with SUPATEX, a leading brand of high-quality latex sheeting from which I will be sourcing rubber in order to produce one of the main pieces of my collection. Reflecting on this point comparing previous Coventry University Final year students were a Fabric Sourcing Trip to Paris was organised serving as one of the main support for fabric sourcing between final years, this year was much more complicated to get all the fabrics sorted due to the incapacity to feel the textures, see colours in person without having to order samples and doing intensive research online and sometimes hoping for the best outcome. I feel that these circumstances made me adapt to what can be the new era in fashion where a lot can be sourced online this followed by the recent collaboration between SwatchOn and CLO Virtual Fashion a leader in 3D fashion design software, to digitalise 200 000 fabrics on SwatchOn’s platform which enabled me to try fabrics on my designs digitally and helped me form the best decision before my final order.
How has it evolved from your initial ideas and what have you learnt along the way?
With COVID-19 having a colossal impact on every aspect of our lives it has caused distribution in every industry and Fashion is no exception. From the people this industry employs to the waste, it creates this crisis showed an opportunity and the need to respond, rethink and redefine businesses. With more and more brands shifting to Virtual Catwalks and Digital Fashion I was drawn by how quick the industry adapts to this new world by taking an approach that opens more creative opportunities while being a new greener way. Therefore, experimenting with CLO3D and other 3D modelling software’s was something I started with before the start of my final year. Seeing my collection coming to life virtually beforehand helped me make the right decisions on further design steps while pioneering a new way of pattern cutting without any ecological waste.
Acquiring my own data made this project a lot more personal and I believe was crucial in building the strongest work around it. I was lucky to travel back home during a Global Pandemic and all safety measurements in place, driven by one of my childhood dreams and exactly visiting the Exclusion Zone. I believe looking at the past and being inspired by personal cultural references forms a creator in the best way to express identity and heritage. With the latest changes to outfit requirements lowered from 6 to 3 and all classes almost fully online, this helped me stay more focused and motivated in achieving my best work no matter the obstacles on my way. This mentally prepared me to accept that things do not always work out as planned, which resulted in pushing my boundaries and adapting to situations that resulted in additions to my collection like Print, Accessories and Eyewear prototypes, a great enhancement to my Menswear Collection.
What are the messages and themes behind your project that you want people to take away? Do explore any topics like diversity, sustainability or politics in your work?
When it comes to evoking feelings of dread, there is one that fills the mind with a myriad of destructive imagery even to this day. That word is Chernobyl. It is concluded that the Chernobyl accident could have been much worse with 200 to 400 times the radiation consequences if three courageous men were not successful in their mission, the Chernobyl death toll would likely reach the millions, leaving much of Europe uninhabitable for hundreds of thousands of years. While acquiring my own personal data for my final major project by visiting the Exclusion Zone and the National Chernobyl Museum I also had the amazing opportunity to have informal conversations with the survived liquidators which proved that nowadays clearer is the feeling among them that they have been abandoned by the state leaving me with a huge scar on my heart.
Honouring my Ukrainian roots by using personal cultural references while recollecting an example of bravery that should remain embedded in people’s memories forever drives me to explore my project idea further not only because it’s something I grew up around with, but also this is my own way of acknowledging the bravery and honouring all lives lost during these events as well as reflecting on the wider sociological and political issues provoked by the Chernobyl disaster. A digitalised version of my collection will manifest technology uses like 3D Modelling since I believe that as technology improves and the photo-realism of what you can create gets better, we are getting to the possibility where the desirability of digital clothing can overcome our fast-fashion habit, causing irreparable damage. An idea of greener alternative in a world plagued with growing fears over waste which I want to inspire other young designers and this generation creatives and exactly to seek other alternatives and be part of the change.
What’s an aspect of the fashion industry that you’re passionate about fixing or having a positive impact on?
The mammoth scale of the current fashion industry could deter people from trying to improve things – but thankfully many are determined to do fashion better and I am one of them. From a young age, I attended flea markets with my dad back in Bulgaria where I found myself drawn to the beauty of unwanted objects and clothes while something in the back of my mind was trying to solve the mystery behind to whom all these objects belonged in the past. In August 2020 prior to my final major project research, I had the chance to visit Ukraine’s biggest second-hand flea market in Europe with the country officially ranking third in the world after Pakistan and Malaysia, for imported second-hand clothes.
I will never forget the faces of employees working in poor conditions, cheering up customers to come and have a look at their stock leaving me endlessly reflecting on the amounts of unwanted clothes and objects toss away ranging from wedding dresses, military uniforms, skating boots, diving equipment, cutlery, archive documents and so on being sold at one place reminding me again of overconsumption being this population main environmental threat and the desperate need of a change where sustainability should be taken as a global effort we all play role in. I live by the idea that everything happens for a reason and COVID-19 was another proof. These chaotic times combined with almost all businesses working in a new online mode and acceleration of technologies I believe resulted in many industries quickly adapting to this new world by taking a 3D approach that opens more creative opportunities while being a new greener way. 3D Modelling allowed me to create a new and different experience that helped set me as a designer in an over catered fashion world plagued with the fear of waste, inspiring others to be part of the change.
What is your plan once you finish your BA?
After carefully exploring the industry, Fashion is an exciting field where you’ll always have to prove you’re the best and put your creative brain at work which is something that drives me every day as an individual. After recently establishing my own business on Depop this is something I am more than excited to build further in 2021 with the ultimate goal of shifting to a website and launching an online store based in the UK, however, the ultimate goal after completing my BA studies is to utilise all the skills by securing a graduate job in London.
Being more of a creator I am eager to seek future employment within other businesses and not only limit myself to Fashion. Therefore 3D Design is one area of the industry I would like to build a successful career around after graduation with the long term goal of undertaking a postgraduate study abroad in Future of Technology and Design. Currently, I am working on expanding my networking within the industry thought out social media and platforms like LinkedIn while researching potential employers in order to achieve my career goals.