Irina Marchuk: A Designer Vision of the Feminine Ideal

In a time when style changes at the beat of Instagram’s heart, fashion designer Irina Marchuk is every girl and woman’s dream. Graced with a figure of a real-life Barbie, Irina made quite an impression during her brand’s debut at the Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019. The Precious Gemstone collection and doll like models’ surreal demeanor brought alive a feminine ideal fit for a new generation. Irina’s red and black dress with a dipped in black ink style was both a sneak peak of her collection on Hollywood’s red carpet and the highlight of the evening’s first runway show.

A Marchuk dress may take months to create. The designs are hand sewn with high quality crystal beads, hints of sapphire, emerald, chrysolite, rose quartz and even a diamond. Adorned in Czech glass beads, an overall flows like a waterfall and takes the shape of a dress. Feathers, lace and ruffles have never coalesced more beautifully too. There is a romantic flair attached to it. Her dresses are timeless, from the days of royal tea affairs to the way they shape on today’s woman. That woman who wears Irina Marchuk, she describes, is a “self-confident girl who appreciates beauty, femininity, individuality and is ready to be a provocateur.”

“It reflects my vision of female beauty. I am for the girls to be more feminine and wear women's clothes. I do not chase after fashion trends because femininity and beauty are always in fashion. My dresses are for those that want to be the happiest woman in the world and for your man to like you,” says Irina.

She is a newfound gemstone on the international platform. Home however, Irina has dressed many of Ukraine’s stars: tenor Nikolay Baskov, Kamalia Zahur, Dasha Astafieva and Irina Fedushin. Baskov’s jacket was a gold tone handmade jacket with a price tag of $5,000.

The brand is applauded for her finely crafted garments, an important aspect especially within the entertainment industry where the endurance of a design is the ultimate test. “She is the only designer in our country with her own production of fabrics to the level of Zuhair Murad and Valentino,” added public relations representative Maria Borovenskaya, who joined the Marchuk team in 2015 when the brand was founded and has traveled worldwide since.

In 2016 Irina was featured on the cover of Playboy Ukraine’s September issue. The portraits were taken on a yacht sailing along the shores of Odessa’s Black Sea. It also featured her own designs, a rather rare event for a Playboy model to take a dual role in styling her portraits. She was also recognized with the Person of the Year Award in 2016 and the Golden Sign of Quality Award in 2017. From the Dubai International Wow Show to the United States, Irina holds a dear place in her heart for the brand’s Ukrainian origin. She is among the few Ukrainian brands that has taken this lead role too.

“Embroidery has always been a part of our tradition, and the boots in our collection are part of the Ukrainian national costume (and style),” says Marchuk.

Irina’s goal is to one day take her designs to the runways of Paris, Dubai and Milan. Currently she manages two showrooms in Kiev and Moscow. “A dear dream would surely be to open my own fashion house on Melrose Avenue.”

After meeting Michael Jackson’s costumer designer, the legendary Keith Holman, that dream might come true soon. Holman and Marchuk met during the 2017 Viennese Ball in Kiev and since have been planning a special project: to design the most expensive dress in the world.