For SANTA founder Yana Stanislavska, power is not about looking authoritative. It is about presence, self-definition and the freedom to occupy space on your own terms.
Founded in Kyiv in 2019, SANTA has built its identity around strong silhouettes, sensuality and a distinctly theatrical approach to fashion. With its Fall-Winter 26/27 collection, the Ukrainian brand takes its long-standing fascination with power dressing further, exploring it through exaggerated volumes, sculptural fur, sharp tailoring, transparency and movement. We spoke to founder Yana Stanislavska about the evolution of SANTA, the relationship between structure and sensuality, and why the most powerful thing a garment can do is make a woman feel more like herself.
You founded SANTA in 2019. What did you want the brand to be when you started it, and how has that vision changed since then?
When I started SANTA in 2019, I wanted to create clothes that could change the way a woman carries herself: pieces with a strong silhouette, a clear point of view, and a sense of presence. That idea has stayed with the brand from the beginning. Today, we are still interested in a broader idea of power: how it can exist through volume, transparency, movement, sensuality, even vulnerability. The brand has grown, but the woman at its center is still someone who does not disappear into the context around her because she defines it.
You came to fashion from law. Has your background in a very structured profession influenced the way you design?
Definitely. Law teaches you to think structurally: to understand how separate elements relate to one another and how changing one detail can affect the entire system. I think that way of thinking naturally transferred into design. I am very interested in construction and proportion. Even when a piece appears dramatic or intuitive, there is usually a very precise structure underneath it.
Power dressing has been part of SANTA’s DNA from the beginning. What does power mean to you in clothing today?
For me, power dressing today is much less about looking authoritative in a conventional sense. It is not necessarily a suit, a uniform or something traditionally associated with status. Clothing can change your posture, the way you move and the amount of space you allow yourself to occupy. I am interested in pieces that reinforce that feeling without asking a woman to perform a certain version of strength. Power can be very structured and controlled, but it can also be sensual, exposed or playful. What matters is that it feels self-defined rather than prescribed.
In this collection, power comes through construction, volume and proportion. What made you want to explore these elements now?
We wanted to move the idea of power dressing away from its most familiar codes and ask how strength could be communicated through the physical presence of a garment. That led us to work more radically with scale. There are sharply constructed silhouettes and defined shoulders, but also very large fur volumes, sculptural outerwear and pieces that alter the proportions of the body. Against them, we placed lace, transparency, close-fitting forms and feathers that move with the body. The contrast became very important: weight against lightness, protection against exposure, precision against movement. That tension is really where the collection found its character.
The “main character” idea has become almost a cliché in fashion and social media. What does it mean to you beyond the Instagram version of confidence and self-expression?
There is a difference between wanting to be seen and feeling that you do not need permission to take up space. The SANTA woman is not dressing for approval or adapting herself to someone else’s expectations. She has her own point of view. Sometimes that is expressed through a dramatic silhouette, sometimes through something much quieter. The confidence comes from the person, not from the performance around her.
Fur, feathers, lace and leather all appear in very different ways. How do you create balance between such strong materials?
The balance comes from giving every material a specific function rather than using it simply for effect. Fur, for example, became almost an architectural tool in this collection. We used it to build exaggerated shoulders, rounded volumes and sculptural surfaces. Feathers work very differently: they introduce movement and instability into otherwise controlled silhouettes, forming peplums, hems, sleeves and long trains. Lace sits much closer to the body and creates an almost second-skin effect, while leather brings back a sense of definition and structure. Because the materials have such different physical qualities, the challenge was not to make them compete.
SANTA has continued to grow internationally while producing in Ukraine during the full-scale war. How has this experience changed the way you think about building the brand?
It has made us much more adaptable and, at the same time, much clearer about what we want to protect. Working in Ukraine now means accepting that circumstances can change very quickly — production schedules, logistics and even the most basic working day can be interrupted. It has taught us to plan carefully without becoming dependent on a perfect plan. But it has also reinforced how important the team is. Continuing to develop the brand internationally while creating the collections here is not something I see as separate from SANTA’s identity. The people, the knowledge and the production behind the clothes are part of the brand itself.
What do you want a woman to feel when she puts on SANTA — beyond simply looking powerful?
I want her to feel more like herself, not like she has put on a costume of confidence. Ideally, a SANTA piece gives you a certain physical awareness: you stand differently, move differently, become more conscious of your own presence. For me, that is more interesting than simply “looking powerful.” It is the feeling that you are comfortable occupying your own space and that you do not need to make yourself smaller for it.
