Tatiana Kovalyova: The Unmatched Thrill of Seeing Your Creation on the Runway

Tatiana Kovalyova, a renowned fashion designer, shares her journey and the inspiration behind her award-winning collection, “Dark Water.” This collection secured the first place in the “Fashion Master. Women’s Collection” category at the “Fashion Mills 2025” competition.

The Birth of the “Dark Water” Collection

Tatiana revealed that the idea for one of the dresses in the “Dark Water” collection had been haunting her for over a year. She had attempted to create a semi-transparent dress with a wave silhouette the previous year, but the attempt failed. However, she learned from her mistakes and was determined to create the dress this time around.

When she started preparing sketches for the “Fashion Mills” competition, the first two dresses came to her easily. However, she felt that something was missing from the subsequent models. It was only when she saw the news about the oil tanker incident in the Black Sea and the devastating effects on the environment, birds, and fish that the image of dresses resembling the sea depths with oil drops and stains came to her mind.

The Challenges of Creating the Collection

According to Tatiana, the most challenging part of creating this collection was the fabric creation. She chose ordinary materials but spent a lot of time creating the desired pattern and texture on them. She also had to sew on sequins and beads and glue on rhinestones. One of the dresses had a fringe made from 46 meters of satin ribbons, which were cut into thousands of pieces, singed with fire, and unraveled into fringe by her loved ones. All these pieces had to be attached along the details of the dress and assembled into a single piece.

Tatiana believes that the highlight of the collection is the “Black Swan” clutch. She was inspired to create this piece by the photographs of birds covered in oil and washed ashore on the Black Sea. She pondered how to realize her idea of a handbag throughout the competition stages and completed it just a week before the final.

Tatiana’s Journey in the “Fashion Mills” Competition

This year marks Tatiana’s fifth participation in the “Fashion Mills” competition. She debuted in 2017 and immediately took third place in the “Fashion School” category. In 2019, she won second place as a “Fashion Master.” Then, in 2021, she won in the “Fashion School” category and now in the “Fashion Master” category.

Tatiana enjoys participating in this competition as it sparks her competitive spirit to create new designs and showcase them. She sees this even in her students from the Minsk State Palace of Children and Youth, where she teaches. She brought them to this competition and saw how their eyes lit up, how they were motivated to do more and work harder than just creating something for themselves in the club.

Tatiana’s Inspirations and Goals

Tatiana recalled that her collection inspired by Marc Chagall’s paintings made a strong impression. It was her student project on theatrical costume in the 4th year of the Belarusian Academy of Arts, which she created under the guidance of Tatiana Lisovenko. The task was to interpret Marc Chagall’s works and reflect them in the costume. She expressed them in the form of a clothing collection.

Although dresses dominate her recent collections, Tatiana clarified that her earlier collections featured coats, capes, and even sports styles. It was only in the last two years that she decided to change direction and move towards more ceremonial couture outfits. However, she still enjoys working with different styles.

Tatiana’s favorite is her first collection, “Fly Away,” which turned out to be surprisingly applicable to everyday life. When she wears these clothes, people around her constantly stare at her. She also occasionally wears several items from the “Viva” collection. In everyday life, she prefers to wear jeans with a T-shirt and rarely has time to sew herself shirts, summer dresses, or pants.

Regarding her brand, Tatiana mentioned that “Kovaliova” is just a name for now, and she still needs to come up with a brand. She found out that there are at least five clothing designers with the surname Kovalyova on the internet.

Tatiana’s goal in her profession is to become irreplaceable. She wants her work to amaze and “hook” as many people as possible. She wants her work to be difficult to replicate as she considers herself an artist first and foremost, and art should be unique.

For more information about the “Fashion Mills” competition, visit their official website.