From a shoemaker’s home workshop to a bespoke atelier, and eventually to a full-cycle manufacturing operation with its own retail network and thousands of pairs of shoes stepping out into the city, the family-run Kachorovska business has continually evolved.
A woman’s leg in an elegant milky-white slingback fills the frame. It is the central image of the first film in the cinematic campaign accompanying Kachorovska’s new collection this season. Inspired by Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love, the campaign explores the nuances of emotion and the beauty of what remains unspoken. Its key debut is a footwear capsule built on a new proprietary last, named Asymmetry for its square toe with an angled cut. “Our new last is love at first sight — a bold shape that sets the tone for the entire season,” says Alina Kachorovska, CEO and Creative Director of the brand.
At Kachorovska, design begins not with form, but with understanding: the anatomy of the foot, the mechanics of movement, and the sensation of comfort. Behind this approach lies more than 40 years of bespoke shoemaking experience, which the brand has transformed into its own research and development process and a distinctive aesthetic. It is a story of evolution from a family workshop in Zhytomyr to one of Ukraine’s largest premium footwear manufacturers. It is also the story of a family whose name has become virtually synonymous with the country’s leading footwear brand.
At its heart, however, is a commitment to understanding women and their needs, a passion for the craft, and expertise shaped by years of fittings, observation, and dialogue. Alina Kachorovska often says she has personally fitted shoes on more than 10,000 feet. This extraordinary experience – almost unthinkable in a fashion world where a shoe often begins as a sketch – has shaped Kachorovska’s distinctive approach to footwear design.
“Design is only one part of the process. There is also engineering — everything that happens beneath the surface. It is about materials, construction, and how all the elements work together in motion. Footwear is living architecture, and engineering plays a decisive role,” says Kachorovska. She also points out that, given the particularities of the Ukrainian foot, there is a strong case for developing Ukrainian footwear from the ground up, starting with the last – the foundation of every pair.
Like many Ukrainian manufacturers, Kachorovska initially worked with ready-made Italian lasts. Over time, however, it became clear that the knowledge and experience the team had accumulated allowed it to go further. The brand began developing its own lasts, drawing on its expertise and the real needs of its customers.
The first proprietary last was introduced in 2012, alongside the launch of the brand’s own-design footwear line. In 2022, Kachorovska unveiled the 92.12 last, created for its bestselling NELLIE pumps. A variation was subsequently developed for CHERILYN, another bestselling pointed-toe style in the cowboy-boot category. In addition to its elongated toe, the last incorporates a subtle elevation around the big toe, creating comfortable space for the foot in motion.
“Footwear always begins with the last. We are proud that 100% of Kachorovska lasts are now proprietary designs, each developed by our team in collaboration with Italian specialists and informed by the brand’s many years of experience,” explains Olha Dzei, Kachorovska’s footwear designer. “Development can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year. Every detail matters: the precise placement of the ball joints in relation to the shape, the optimal heel width, and the exact balance of proportions.”
For the Autumn/Winter 2025–26 season, which explored industrial aesthetics, Kachorovska took the last developed for its ballet flats as the starting point for Bowley, a pair of urban sneakers with a contemporary edge. Lightweight and flexible, they are designed to adapt to the foot’s movements, with a thicker insole and a supple outsole. To draw attention to the technical details that usually remain behind the scenes of a fashion launch, the sneakers feature an embossed number identifying the last – a kind of “secret code” for the brand’s comfort specialists.
Working with its archive of lasts is an established Kachorovska practice. Revisiting older forms often inspires new solutions. While researching a last for men’s footwear, for instance, the team discovered an idea that ultimately evolved into a women’s capsule. Launched last autumn, it comprises three styles inspired by formal men’s shoes.
“The origins of a last can take many forms. We might delve into our own archives or those of last-making manufacturers. Inspiration can come from lasts dating back 30 or even 50 years – tried-and-tested forms or experiments that were never completed. That is exactly what happened with Asymmetry: we were drawn to a shape that we then transformed to reflect our own vision and bring it into the present,” Dzei adds.
Research into the archive of men’s lasts, which dates back to the brand’s atelier days, also prompted the team to explore the commercial potential of entering the men’s footwear market. Over the past two years, Kachorovska has worked intensively to refine existing forms, developing 15 proprietary iterations. Two key styles have now been selected and are set to make their retail debut this autumn, marking the brand’s long-awaited entry into men’s footwear.
At Kachorovska, creating a shoe begins long before the design stage, with an idea that takes shape within the team. From there, it follows a lengthy, almost jewellery-like process. Last development takes place in Civitanova Marche, Italy, where decades of expertise in the craft have accumulated, while prototypes spend months travelling between Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and the Adriatic coast.
The team at Kachorovska speaks often about Italy, but just as much about Zhytomyr. It is here, in a city with a long shoemaking history, that the foundations of the brand were laid and continue to take shape. During the Soviet period, Zhytomyr was one of Ukraine’s key footwear manufacturing centres. That expertise did not disappear; it evolved into a new generation of skilled craftspeople.
“Italy is undoubtedly a world leader in footwear manufacturing, and we are committed to learning from the best. At the same time, we have a strong foundation here in Ukraine, in Zhytomyr. It is the combination of local expertise and the Italian tradition that shapes our approach,” Kachorovska adds.
Today, Kachorovska’s manufacturing operations remain in Zhytomyr, having evolved from the family workshop where the founder’s grandmother began her work into one of the country’s largest specialised production facilities. The factory now produces a full range of goods, including footwear, bags, clothing, and leather and textile accessories. This summer, the brand is opening a new factory in Zhytomyr: a 2,400-square-metre facility equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, staffed by highly skilled professionals, and driven by the ambition to bring Ukrainian craftsmanship and expertise to a global audience.
Kachorovska is scaling up – confidently and systematically. In the coming months, the brand will open its fourth standalone boutique, this time in Lviv. Spanning 400 square metres in the city’s historic centre, it will not only be the largest store operated by a Ukrainian brand in a city where suitable premises for premium retail are hard to find, but also a benchmark for future Kachorovska boutiques.
“I want to bring to life ideas I have been developing for several years and create a new standard of customer experience. We call this project Retail 2.0,” says Alina Kachorovska.
At the same time, Kachorovska is strengthening its international presence. The brand has been working towards a full-scale entry into the Romanian market, where it has already built a loyal customer base.
“For four seasons, we took part in Bucharest Fashion Week, gradually immersing ourselves in the local context, building relationships with members of the fashion community, and learning about the market’s needs. Like Ukraine’s, Romania’s market is young, welcoming, full of potential, and open to reinterpreting its own history and culture,” says Nataliia Kinzerska, Kachorovska’s Director of Development. “Today, we have a strong presence in Romania, which currently accounts for the brand’s highest sales outside Ukraine.”
This expansion forms part of the brand’s broader strategy: turning local success into sustained international growth. And this appears to be only the beginning of Kachorovska’s next chapter.