Description: Join Riley Kucheran, Assistant Professor of Design Leadership at Ryerson University’s School of Fashion, and Liana Satenstein, senior fashion writer for Vogue, for a lively discussion of contemporary Ukrainian and Indigenous fashion. Topics will include the rise of contemporary Ukrainian and Indigenous fashion designers, resurgence of traditional symbols and motifs, environmentalism and sustainability, and how you can support local designers. 

Liana Bio:

Liana Satenstein is a Senior Fashion Writer at Vogue. For seven years, she has been covering the development of fashion in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Much of her focus has been on Ukraine where she has traveled to numerous times to cover fashion week in Kyiv. Her work in the region has included the rise of national dress within contemporary fashion after the 2014 revolution, the cultural clothing of Crimean Tatars, and she has spotlighted numerous local Ukrainian designers. Her grandmother hails from Kyiv while her great-grandparents were from Lviv. 

Riley Bio: 

Riley Kucheran (Biigtigong Nishnaabeg) is an Assistant Professor of Design Leadership at Ryerson University’s School of Fashion. As an Indigenous fashion researcher he supports the global community of Indigenous makers who are leading design resurgence. His scholarship bridges Indigenous theory and methodologies with retail management and entrepreneurship strategy in order to mobilize fashion as a powerful tool for decolonization. He is also the Associate Director of Saagajiwe, the Faculty of Communication and Design’s Centre for Indigenous Research and Creation, and a PhD Candidate studying community-based stores and co-operatives as sites of cultural and economic resurgence.

Socials

Riley Twitter/Instagram: @rskucheran
School of Fashion Twitter/Instagram: @RyersonFashion
Faculty of Communication and Design: @RyersonFCAD