As its signature Michelin Jacket turns ten, IENKI IENKI is exploring what comes next: refined silhouettes, innovative fabrics, and outerwear that keeps its technical ingenuity beneath a clean, elegant surface. In our interview, we discuss with the founder, Dmytro Ievenko the cultural parallels that inspire the brand, why collaborations need more than attention to matter, and the determination behind manufacturing in Ukraine during wartime.
Do you have any connection to Evenki culture today?
I don't have a direct connection to Evenki culture in my everyday life, but there's a family legend that my family's roots trace back to the Evenki people. I've always been fascinated by the contrast between Ukrainian culture and the culture of the Far North. They are incredibly different, yet sometimes they arrive at surprisingly similar visual ideas. One of my favorite examples is Maria Prymachenko and Kenojuak Ashevak. They lived and worked in completely different worlds, with no real possibility of knowing each other's work, yet there is a remarkable similarity in the symbolism, imagination, and visual language they each developed. I enjoy exploring those unexpected parallels, and they continue to inspire the way I look at art, culture, and creativity.
Which IENKI IENKI piece best represents the brand, and why?
Probably the Michelin Jacket. This year it celebrates its tenth anniversary, which makes me realize how important it has become for the brand. It represents the moment when we found our own language. It challenged the idea that down jackets had to be either purely technical or purely fashionable. It became a symbol of freedom in silhouette, and in many ways everything we've done since has grown from that piece.
What comes first in your design process: silhouette or material?
That's a great question, because it really is a dialogue. Sometimes we begin with a silhouette or an idea, but just as often the materials lead the process. We work with much more than nylon—we're constantly developing and searching for technical fabrics, with and without membranes, as well as ultra-dense natural cottons and other innovative textiles. Every material has its own character, its own structure, and its own way of moving. Quite often, discovering a new fabric opens the door to a completely new shape or proportion that simply wouldn't have existed otherwise. Rather than forcing the material to follow an idea, we try to understand what it wants to become, and that's often where the most interesting designs come from.
What role do collaborations play in the future of IENKI IENKI?
Collaboration can be a powerful way to tell a story, but only when it happens for the right reasons. Ukraine has an extraordinary community of craftspeople, manufacturers, and creative talent that absolutely deserves a global audience. At the same time, I think we're living in a moment when too many collaborations exist simply for the sake of having one. They create attention, but not necessarily meaning. That's never been our approach. If we collaborate, it has to feel natural—something where both sides genuinely bring something unique to the table and create something that neither could have made alone. For me, that's what makes a collaboration truly worth doing.
What does it mean to manufacture in Ukraine today?
Manufacturing in Ukraine today comes with challenges that have become part of our everyday reality. We're now in the fifth year of the full-scale war, and air raid sirens and missile attacks on Kyiv are still something our team experiences on a regular basis. Of course, that affects the rhythm of work, but it has never changed our commitment to quality. If anything, our standards have only become higher over the years. Everyone on our team understands that every IENKI IENKI piece has to speak for itself, regardless of the circumstances in which it was made. I'm incredibly proud of our team—their resilience, professionalism, and dedication are reflected in every garment we produce.
What excites you most about where IENKI IENKI is heading next?
This year marks the tenth anniversary of our Michelin Jacket, and we're preparing a special anniversary edition. Rather than changing its identity, we're refining the pattern and proportions to make it feel even more contemporary and versatile while preserving everything that made it our bestseller.
At the same time, we're developing a new generation of outerwear that brings technical clothing closer to elegance. We're exploring constructions where the down is hidden beneath a clean outer shell, creating smoother, more refined silhouettes without sacrificing warmth or performance.
For me, that's the future of outerwear—pieces that offer all the functionality of a down jacket without necessarily looking like a traditional down jacket.
