GERDA-11
Working alongside artist #neivanmade, designer Maria Starchak developed a collection in which garments become testimonies of lived experience. The exhibition unfolds through three chapters, each reflecting a defining period of Maria Chekh’s life.
The first chapter presents garments created before the full-scale war. Inspired by medieval aesthetics, early-2000s fashion, geometric silhouettes, and experimentation, these pieces reflect a time when clothing was an expression of creativity and personal identity.
The second chapter features the actual garments Maria wore during captivity. Worn, repaired, and assembled from fragments, they speak of survival, protection, and the ability to transform limited resources into something functional.
The exhibition concludes with a single symbolic dress. Rather than returning to conventional ideas of femininity, it represents healing, self-discovery, and the reclaiming of one’s identity. Here, clothing becomes a tool of self-expression rather than objectification.
“GERDA-11 is about the inner runway. Even when surrounded by concrete, cold, and darkness. It is my weapon of return,” says Maria “Gerda” Chekh.
GERDA-11 is a project about dignity, resilience, and recovery. It gives voice to a woman who endured war while preserving her creative spirit. Through textiles and contemporary art, STARCHAK creates a space where personal memory becomes a shared experience.