Not only is Svitlana Bevza one of the most influential Ukrainian designers, but she’s also one who is constantly paying homage to her culture. The Kyiv-based designer, who has since moved to Portugal during Ukraine’s war with Russia, has long infused her motherland’s motifs into her collections of pared-back minimalist designs—whether it’s ancient Ukrainian imagery on a slip dress or national motifs on her jewelry. Although Bevza’s business is currently in flux, she is still managing to produce a limited amount of pieces, specifically her red berry earrings from her fall 2023 collection that she showed in New York, just 10 days before the war in Ukraine began.
For Bevza, she has tender memories of the vibrant kalyna berry, which is ubiquitous in Ukraine. “My grandmother fed it to me whenever I caught a cold. It was extremely bitter,” she says. “From childhood, I remember it looking so beautiful in the winter when the snow fell on it. No leaves, just a tree full of red berries.”
Photo: Courtesy of Bevza
In general, the plant has long been tied to Ukraine. The kalyna grows up to 15 inches high and blooms red berries and white flowers. It has been used in Ukrainian folk medicine for ailments, and is said to represent the beauty of women and the family home. (Ukraine also has a history of emphasizing the importance of other plants such as a spikelet of wheat, which represents all of Ukraine, and a chestnut for Kyiv.) Bevza explains that the kalyna appeared in a patriotic Ukrainian folk song titled “Oi u luzi chervona kalyna,” which translates to “Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow,” which was dedicated to a section of the Ukrainian army during WWI. Most recently in March, the song was remixed by Ukrainian rapper-singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk from the band BoomBox and then later by Pink Floyd, who played “Hey Hey Rise Up” with Khlyvnyuk’s vocals to raise funds for Ukraine.
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