Ukrainian Vogue presents the second print edition of Vogue Ukraine Leaders 2025
For the second time, the editorial staff of Ukrainian Vogue is publishing an annual edition that honours the drivers of positive change who lay the foundation for a strong future for the country—creative industry professionals, visionaries, public figures, human rights activists, and diplomats.
The "Class of 2025" list includes prominent public figures and new names. Economist Yulia Svyrydenko has been Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy since 2021. Together with her team, she implemented grant programs for small and medium-sized businesses and supported the development of the Ukrainian light industry. While preparing the issue for printing, it became known that Yulia headed the Ukrainian government.
One of Ukraine’s most famous artists, Zhanna Kadyrova, has turned her art into a powerful tool of influence since the start of the full-scale invasion. Her sharp, politically charged works have been exhibited worldwide; one of them, a concrete deer evacuated from Pokrovsk, will be part of the Ukrainian pavilion at the Venice Biennale next year. Former fashion director of Ukrainian Vogue and now founder of tech startup bettter, Julie Pelipas, is building a "smart" clothing recycling system – hoping to change the industry.
Formerly a producer, restaurateur, and artist, Tata Kepler, now a volunteer and public figure, created the Ptahy charity foundation in 2022 to help military and civilians in de-occupied, frontline, and grey zones.
Art manager Pavlo Gudimov runs three galleries in Kyiv and Lviv, where he holds group and solo exhibitions of Ukrainian and international artists, curates the Lviv Sculpture Week and cares for public sculpture in the city.
The heroes of Vogue Ukraine Leaders Class-2025 are:
Zhanna Kadyrova, artist
Yulia Svyrydenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine
Pavlo Gudimov, curator, gallerist, musician
Julie Pelipas, stylist, designer, founder of the upcycling platform bettter
Nariman Dzhelal, human rights activist, journalist, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Turkey, First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People
Tata Kepler, volunteer, public figure
Kateryna Gornostay, film director
Ryta Burkovska, actress, military, head of the media department of the 4th separate medical battalion
Viktoria Romanova, head of the Office of the First Lady, board member of the Olena Zelenska Foundation
"I want to think of this list not as a ranking of achievements, but rather as a club of titans who are changing society and the world – with big and small, but no less important things," says Vena Brykalin, editor-in-chief of Ukrainian Vogue.
In an author's column explicitly written for Vogue Ukraine Leaders 2025, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and current Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Valeriy Zaluzhny reflects on the roots of identity and the historical lessons that Ukrainians must learn. In the project "New Act", representatives of Ukraine's most progressive theatres reflect on the theatrical renaissance and the therapeutic power of art in times of war.
The second Vogue Ukraine Leaders 2025 issue will be presented at the leaders' summit in Kyiv D12 space on July 24.
The Vogue Ukraine Leaders 2025 edition is now available for order at shop.vogue.ua
