---
title: "Ukrainian Fashion Week Changes Leadership: After 29 Years at the Helm, Iryna Danilevska Hands Over the CEO Role to Lyzaveta Ushcheka"
description: "After 29 years at the head of Ukrainian Fashion Week, Iryna Danilevska has handed over the CEO role to Lyzaveta Ushcheka, who has led communications since 2021. The next strategic stage is the preparation for the platform's 30th anniversary."
date: 2026-09-06T17:20:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukrainian-fashion-week-new-ceo-danilevska-ushcheka
tags: [ukrainian-fashion-week, fashion-industry, leadership-change, irina-danilevska, elizaveta-ushcheka, kyiv]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukrainian Fashion Week Changes Leadership: After 29 Years at the Helm, Iryna Danilevska Hands Over the CEO Role to Lyzaveta Ushcheka

![Business-style portrait against a red curtain backdrop in the context of Ukrainian Fashion Week leadership change and CEO handover](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/06/ukrainian-fashion-week-smenil-rukovodstvo-danilevska-ushcheka/ukrainian-fashion-week-smenil-rukovodstvo-danilevska-ushcheka-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Iryna Danilevska has left the CEO position at Ukrainian Fashion Week after 29 years of management (since 1997)
- The new CEO is Lyzaveta Ushcheka, who has been on the team since 2021 and led communications
- The organization's next strategic stage is the preparation for Ukrainian Fashion Week's 30th anniversary
- Iryna Danilevska will continue working in the institute's team in a new role

Ukrainian Fashion Week — Ukraine's leading fashion platform — has undergone a change at the top. After nearly three decades at the head of the organization, Iryna Danilevska has handed over the position of CEO to Lyzaveta Ushcheka, who for the past five years has led the communications division and the institute's international projects. This is reported by Wave RBC.UA, citing an official statement on Ukrainian Fashion Week's Facebook page.

### Nearly Thirty Years at the Helm: The Era of Iryna Danilevska

Iryna Danilevska has headed Ukrainian Fashion Week since 1997, completing one of the longest management marathons in the history of Ukraine's fashion industry. Over her 29 years as CEO, she became one of the key figures in the sector, turning the project into the country's main fashion platform. In 2026, as the organization approaches its 30th anniversary, Danilevska decided to hand over operational management to a colleague, while continuing to work within the institute's team.

### Lyzaveta Ushcheka: From Media Division to CEO

The new leader joined the Ukrainian Fashion Week team in 2021. Over five years she rose from heading the media division to leading the communications department, while also working on international communications and special projects. According to the co-founders, it was precisely this internal experience and knowledge of the organization from the inside that became the decisive factors in choosing a successor.

### Comments from the Co-Founders and Plans for the 30th Anniversary

The co-founders of Ukrainian Fashion Week — Iryna Danilevska and Oleksandr Sokolovskyi — noted that the new leader "knows the organization well from the inside" and, together with the team, has been through difficult periods for Ukraine's fashion industry. They named the preparation for Ukrainian Fashion Week's 30th anniversary as the key task of the coming stage. "We are glad to entrust Lyzaveta with leading the company and to continue our mission together with a team whose professionalism, responsibility and integrity are of particular value to us. Today we are all working together on the next important stage — the 30th anniversary of Ukrainian Fashion Week," the co-founders stated.

### The New CEO's Reaction: Continuity and a Long-Term Mission

Lyzaveta Ushcheka called the appointment "a great honour" and expressed her gratitude for the trust. In her comment she emphasized that during her time at Ukrainian Fashion Week the team has lived through the post-pandemic period, adapted its activities after the start of the full-scale invasion, organized international seasons and brought Ukrainian Fashion Week back to Kyiv. "It is important to me that Iryna Danilevska will continue working in the team. I am confident that I will be able to ensure the continuity of the institute's work and, together with the team, keep working on fulfilling Ukrainian Fashion Week's long-term mission — the development and promotion of Ukraine's fashion industry in Ukraine and around the world," Ushcheka added.

### Contradictory Data

The provided sources show an inconsistency in the spelling of the new CEO's surname: in the first paragraph of the Wave RBC.UA article she is given as "Lyzaveta Ushchetsa", later in the same text — as "Lyzaveta Ushcheka", while in the headline of the life.nv.ua publication — as "Lyzaveta Ushcheka". None of the sources contains an official clarification of the correct spelling. The XAB.info editorial team records both versions and recommends that readers refer to the official statement from Ukrainian Fashion Week itself.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Iryna Danilevska leaves the CEO position at Ukrainian Fashion Week: who replaced her](https://wave.rbc.ua/ukr/style/irina-danilevska-zalishila-posadu-ceo-ukrainian-1788714939.html) - Первоисточник. Подтверждает дату начала руководства (1997), имя преемника, путь Ущекa в команде (с 2021), цитаты соучредителей и новой CEO, упоминание 30-летия. Зафиксирована вариативность написания фамилии.
- [Iryna Danilevska leaves the CEO post at Ukrainian Fashion Week — Lyzaveta Ushcheka becomes the new head](https://life.nv.ua/krasota-i-moda/irina-danilevskaya-ushla-iz-posta-ceo-ukrainian-fashion-week-ee-dolzhnost-zanyala-elizaveta-ushcheka-50638993.html) - Независимое подтверждение факта смены руководства. В заголовке фамилия записана как «Ущекa».
- [Iryna Danilevska leaves the CEO post at Ukrainian Fashion Week](https://kp.ua/culture/a735605-irina-danilevskaja-pokinula-post-ceo-ukrainian-fashion-week) - Третье независимое подтверждение основного факта.
- [Fashion and labour: Iryna Danilevska on the past and future of Ukrainian fashion](https://vogue.ua/ru/article/fashion/persona/moda-i-trud-irina-danilevskaya-o-budushchem-ukrainskoy-mody-18895.html) - Контекстный источник: подтверждает статус Данилевской как ключевой фигуры украинской fashion-индустрии и её многолетнее руководство UFW.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Who became the new CEO of Ukrainian Fashion Week?
**A:** The new CEO is Lyzaveta Ushcheka, who has been on the institute's team since 2021 and for the past five years has led the communications department and international projects.

### Q: How many years did Iryna Danilevska head Ukrainian Fashion Week?
**A:** Iryna Danilevska led the organization since 1997, that is, for nearly 29 years. After handing over the CEO role, she will continue working in the institute's team.

### Q: What is the main strategic stage facing Ukrainian Fashion Week?
**A:** The co-founders named the preparation for Ukrainian Fashion Week's 30th anniversary, which will fall in 2027, as the key task of the coming period.

### Q: Why was Lyzaveta Ushcheka specifically chosen for the CEO role?
**A:** According to co-founders Iryna Danilevska and Oleksandr Sokolovskyi, Ushcheka knows the organization well from the inside and, together with the team, has been through difficult periods for Ukraine's fashion industry, including the post-pandemic period and the adaptation after the start of the full-scale invasion.