Restaurant interior design — Ukrainian fashion-style new wave
Restaurants in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa increasingly engage fashion designers for interior design. Is this a fashion tribute or a new market for the Ukrainian design sector?
Over the past year and a half, at least 12 restaurants have emerged in Ukraine where interiors are designed by fashion designers. Ivan Frolov (FROLOV) created the bar space in Kyiv's 'Lounge 18' — drape forms above the bar repeat silhouettes from his 2025 haute couture collection. Model dresses in the showcase are part of the decor, not merchandise.
'This is a new partnership format,' says architect Oleh Drozdov, who supervised 5 of the 12 projects. 'Previously, interior designers and clothing designers were in different worlds. Now, they're one team, because restaurant clients seek Instagram-impression, and fashion design delivers it in concentrated form.'
Lviv's 'Atlas' brought in the Etnodim brand for the textile portion — table runners, napkins, staff aprons. The result is an organic synergy: the Ukrainian fashion brand gets a permanent table-showcase, the restaurant gets authenticity. In Odesa, restaurant 'Bernardazzi' collaborates with the jewelry brand Lytkarska — every place setting contains miniature silver elements that guests can buy separately.
