As for many Belarus and Ukrainian cities, April 26th means one thing to the citizens of Kharkiv, a city of some 2.8 million inhabitants near the Russian border: the anniversary of the explosion of Chernobly reactor number 4. Fourteen years after the world’s worst man- made disaster that sent an unprecedented amount of radioactivity into the environment, Kharkiv now houses the “4th Block Museum-Gallery”.

Set up in 1991 by artists that were drafted in to be radiation “liquidators” at Chernobyl, the museum now houses over 2000 works – ecological posters and graphic art – as well as holding a triennial worldwide Graphic art competition based on environmental themes with entries from 24 different countries.

This year, as part of the 4th Block triennial, the museum invited French eco-designer Katell GELEBART to organise an eco-fashion show. Gélébart, an anti-nuclear campaigner, artist and founder of the Amsterdam-based ART D’ECO boutique and label, bases her clothes and other articles on the concept of re-using and re-cycling.

Helped by local dressmakers Vitaly Dushka and Barbara Karamushka, Gélébart collected un-wanted material from local inhabitants. The end result following three weeks of hard work was an attractive and stylish ready-to-wear collection made from used Red Army uniforms, Police uniforms, underwear, parachutes, Railway Company blankets and other materials.

“Fashion is always changing, but it doesn’t have to be about new fabric: the old can be turned into new” comments Gélébart, “especially in ex-Soviet countries where people have been used to keeping things and are reluctant to throw them away”

Gélébart feels that promoting alternatives to mass consumerism is particularly important in these cultures where countries are politically, socially, environmentally and economically so unstable:

“In these societies, mass consumerism and newly made goods are seen as the ultimate goal. I think that it is important to show people what use can be made of what they already have as a means of illustrating that mass consumerism and waste creation are not the only answers”

The eco-fashion show was welcomed with enthusiasm by the Kharkovites and the regional media which gave it wide coverage. It served to open peoples’ minds to the possibilities of re-using, re- cycling and alternative consumerism in a region that is often seen from the outside as nothing more than an environmental disaster and danger zone: it is a hope for the future.

A professional photographer travelled out to Ukraine with Katell Gélébart to follow the citizens of Kharkiv, the eco fashion show and the 4th Block Museum project. For photos or for further information concerning this project, please contact:

Katell Gélébart: (31)020.622 1210