Upon arrival to a new country, one of the first things I look for is something interesting to do. Seeing as I’m not the type who enjoys not doing anything, this was of paramount importance. Thankfully, one of the first things people recommended when I arrived in Germany was to join the organisation Wilkommen in Berlin.

It’s Berlin’s diplomatic club and I was told that it was a great way to meet people of similar interests as well as find things and events to write about.

Almost Diplomatic - Wilkommen in Berlin - Ukraine - Fashion Show - Oksana Polonets

Ambassador Andrij Melnyk and his wife Dr Svitlana Melnyk welcoming the guests

A few days after submitting my application, I found myself at the lawn of the Ukrainian Ambassador’s residence for a fashion show featuring Oksana Polonets‘ designs.

I thought I’d share some snippets from the event with you guys as the clothes were truly beautiful. Back home in the Philippines, there’s a rising demand for modern versions of traditional clothing. Seeing that Polonets’ work also revolves in the same principle got me truly excited.

The Ukrainian embassy also displayed some of the traditional clothing from their country. One cannot simply ignore how exquisite the pieces were.

Almost Diplomatic - Wilkommen in Berlin - Ukraine - Fashion Show - Oksana Polonets

From the colours to the details of each embroidered bit of the fabric, you just know that there’s so much planning and creativity involved in each piece.

Almost Diplomatic - Wilkommen in Berlin - Ukraine - Fashion Show - Oksana PolonetsDuring the fashion show, I hung out at the back with Nita who I met just before the event started. I overheard her talking about how the traditional clothing worn by one of the Ukrainian men (Photo on the right) reminded her of the Philippines’ barong.

Before you start thinking that I’m a creep who likes listening to other people’s conversations, I just have to say that this one was accidental. I swear. Normally, my hearing is not that good but on that day, I was standing really close to them while looking at one of the clothes on display. I awkwardly asked where this man was as I needed to see it. She pointed him out and I knew I just had to take a photo. It does look like a cousin of our barong!

It turns out that Nita is also one of the friendliest people one would ever meet in a lifetime so that turned out to be quite a nice meet-cute. 🙂

The Fashion Show

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We were chatting at the back when the fashion show started so it was best to stay where we were. Thus, I took photos from quite a distance. Even from afar though, it was hard not to fall in love with the clothes. Once it ended, I had to see them up close.

Almost Diplomatic - Wilkommen in Berlin - Ukraine - Fashion Show - Oksana Polonets

So here’s Polonets (4th from R) posing with her models at the end of the show. And here are some of my personal favourites:

And here’s the amazing detailing I was telling you about. Look at that embroidery!

Almost Diplomatic - Wilkommen in Berlin - Ukraine - Fashion Show - Oksana Polonets

I also found myself hanging out with the models towards the end of the event and ended up making even more friends. Also picked up a couple more tips on Berlin – especially where to go for food. 😉 (If you’re reading this, thanks ladies!)

So that’s all the writing time I have for today. Will be back for some more soon! 🙂 I already have a lot of material and as usual, the question is whether I have time to actually sit down and write.

Till then,

Carol