Katya Kovalchuk — founder of the clothing brand KateLab and home decor brand Katelabhome, stylist and friend of our shoe family. We met with Katya at home, in the kitchen. Over coffee, we discussed the most important things: the aesthetics of Katya and her brand, warmth, rituals that hold, dreams, war, patriotic T-shirts, and more. Frankly, such coffee conversations are the most sincere. And they are so needed in our time, so we are sincerely interested, sincerely support, and sincerely understand.

A candlelit breakfast, a natural tablecloth, a cozy apartment. All of this is definitely about your aesthetics. Please tell us who and how influenced your sense of beauty?

I inherited a lot from my dad. I noticed little things since childhood. When my dad passed away, I continued to do it. A piece of his beauty remained in me. I also always did everything I liked. And I continue to do it now. As a child, I went to all possible 100,500 clubs. I would get home after 8:00 PM with my mom. This shaped me. When I have dinner alone, the table is decorated, candles are burning. I love it, I feel it. The tablecloth adds coziness to the table. I have wanted to make KatelabHome for a long time. Therefore, with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, I decided: it will work out/it won't work out, I'll just take it and do it. Because I really want it. And so it is with everything - clothes, tablecloths, or decor.

What is your style?

Comfortable. Sophisticated. Feminine minimalism.

What dish do you most often cook for friends?

I really love to cook. I got it from my mother. She has been a cook all her life. And I make casseroles for my friends. I can share the recipe.

What is your favorite KateLab product and why?

Skirts. I have 6 or more. I can't count them all... A midi skirt is our feminine essence.

Irena Karpa says that you need to enter the workday “polished.” To make the day productive, we all need certain rituals: someone meditates, someone runs, someone writes morning pages. Do you have any morning rituals?

There is absolutely no time for rituals. Now the KateLab brand is developing, there are powerful work leaps. We are scaling and expanding the team. So I just try to maintain my physical condition — I play sports. And I do it either in the morning or in the morning.

We met in Milan, at a rally to mark the anniversary of the full-scale invasion. You attended MFW. Tell me, did you compare your brand to others? And what did you feel when you looked at iconic brands in Italy?

There were no comparisons at all. There were dreams. I believe that my brand will also be so cool and famous. This is not even a dream, but small big plans. When we were at the rally, a girl came up to me and said: "Katya, I ordered a T-shirt from you." Although I know that we had a lot of international shipments. But this moment when they approach you, recognize you and thank you. It makes me very warm.

About warmth. How do you not lose it within yourself? Especially when there is a lot of work, routine, people, and various processes around?

I immediately remember my mother. She is a very kind, bright and sincere person. And when I get angry about work, she says: “Katya, I don’t believe that you are like this, you can’t get so angry.” And it really brings me down. Mom is a guide in this. It was my mother, by the way, who asked: “Why isn’t Zelensky still wearing your T-shirt?” And you already know the rest)

Question about the T-shirt. When and how was your most recognizable product, the T-shirt with the coat of arms of Ukraine, created?

In 2017, I was studying to be a stylist. When I was creating a shopping list for clients, no one had a quality, correct T-shirt. The question was, where to order it at all. And then I thought that I could find quality fabric and sew the right T-shirt myself. Not fitted, with the right sleeve length, neckline, fit, and more. My ideas arise from necessity. When the war started, we sewed trench coats. We didn't know if we would be alive tomorrow, but we sewed trench coats. And then T-shirts, socks, and other patriotic merch started appearing everywhere. And all in big letters. That's why we really wanted to create something of our own, minimalist and concise. That's how T-shirts with a coat of arms and a blue-and-yellow heart appeared.

And how did almost everyone in the President's Office and many, many other famous people start wearing these things?

I thought to myself: I have good fabric, a quality product that I am confident in. I got up and boldly wrote to all the famous people. The head of the President's Office was the first to respond. And I also published photos of the T-shirts on my personal page. Somehow I "clicked" the advertising settings myself. And a very large wave of orders began. We didn't have an office yet. There wasn't enough time to pack. Andriy, my brother, arrived and we ironed, packed, and shipped orders together at home. We took the step towards expansion together.

Do you have any big goal?

I see big things. Like the big rolls of fabric that come in. So my goal is to continue sewing with quality and style.

We thank Katya for the coffee conversation, sincerity and willingness to get up and do. This is how we are similar, and therefore interesting to each other. Katya is a friend of the Ikos shoe family, and we are friends of Katelab, a brand that is sure to become famous all over the world. All dreams and plans will definitely come true.