The Power To Take A Fashion Leap of Faith
Jed SIdary is CEO and founder of Angel For Fashion.
By Jen Sidary
I was first led to visit Ukraine in November 2020, during Covid when some friends invited me to come stay with them in Kyiv. The "leap of faith" trip I took that day from Los Angeles during a global pandemic would change my life forever.
I had been working in the fashion industry for three decades and didn't know there was such magnificent talent in Ukraine. I quickly discovered a fashion sector of talented young designers and I immediately fell in love.
I began consulting with some of the brands there and started consulting with USAID. I pitched an idea to USAID to bring brands to New York Fashion Week and the grant a few months later awarded us to begin telling the world about Ukrainian fashion.
We have been showcasing designers from Ukraine in New York and Paris since September 2021.
When the war broke out one of my designers called me from a bomb shelter asking me how she would continue her business. I woke up the very next day and started building a multi-brand Ukrainian website called, ANGELFORFASHION.com which launched only 45 days into the war to help the designers survive the crisis.
One year later we sell product to Angels in countries around the globe and have inspired the Ukrainian designers to continue their businesses even as the unjust war continues on their country.
I could have never imagined that one-way ticket I bought to Kyiv that day would lead me here. I have never been more inspired and certainly didn't think my work in such an industry would become so important to so many lives. I feel extremely lucky and honored to be working with the country that will change the future forever by fighting for the world's freedom.
Jen Sidary on a recent trip to Paris highlighting the work of Ukrainian designers for Angel For Fashion.
““I feel extremely lucky and honored to be working with Ukraine, the country that will change the future forever by fighting for the world’s freedom.”— Jen Sidary, Founder, CEO, Angel For Fashion #PowerToChangeStories”
Jen Sidary is CEO and founder of Angel For Fashion, based in Barcelona and working with Ukrainian designers. https://www.facebook.com/jen.sidary/ ; https://www.instagram.com/jensidary/?hl=en ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-sidary-77877js/ ; https://angelforfashion.com/