Happy 10th anniversary, Ruslan Baginskiy! A decade in business is a significant milestone by any measure, but even more so when, for the past three years, this Kyiv-based brand has been relentlessly and resiliently growing—from creative to commercial, production to distribution—despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Today, the label behind hats donned by Beyoncé, Madonna, and scores of other boldface names, will unveil an impressive takeover at Galeries Lafayette that includes all 12 windows facing out to Boulevard Haussmann, a pop-up at the store’s entrance and a larger shop-in-shop under the historic cupola.
With “Ruslan Baginskiy Tales,” each window presents a joyful, whimsical vignette illustrating how these hats and assorted accessories encompass a larger narrative that bridges traditional craftsmanship and contemporary culture. In one, there are tall bundles of straw juxtaposed with videos of artisans weaving and forming the hats; in another, playful, color-blocked bodies nod to Kazimir Malevich. There are surrealist hats at gargantuan scale, an oversized baker boy cap—the brand’s hero item—and images from various campaigns shot along the coastline of Odesa or in the Carpathian mountains offering serene glimpses of home.
Baginskiy often says that his hats—whether the woven fedoras and canotiers, hand-dyed baseball caps and beanies, denim berets, or myriad other styles—function as a kind of voice out to the wider world. “We need to do our best job to show the creativity and the culture of Ukraine,” says Baginskiy, who was named a cultural ambassador in 2023 by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “So this is super important for us right now.”
The brand has a few other central figures including co-founder Petro Yaskinsky, Victoria Semerei who oversees the commercial side of things, and Anastasia Padalka, who handles communications. His mother Lilia Baginska has been on board since early on and is currently head of production in Ukraine.
Each time the team arrives in Paris, as they have for the opening (the activation runs through August 25), they shrug off the extended travel and logistical challenges. It was a true wonder, though, that a freight truck with all the materials made it. “Ten years, it’s like this; every delivery is a miracle,” says Padalka.
While the war continues and Baginskiy could recount stories upon stories about all the ways his team, his loved ones, and his business have been impacted, it feels as though this is a moment for celebration.
Here then, are ten hat tips.
First hat
Before venturing into hats, Baginskiy was a fashion stylist. He made his first hat, a fedora accented with feathers, in 2011 and launched his brand four years later. “It’s all about making [hats] relevant.” Not long ago, he connected the dots back to his childhood when his mother was a hairdresser. “I realized why I’m doing hats: because she was always working with this part of the body. I’m really obsessed with faces and I think that’s why I wanted to create a whole look around the head.”
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Made in Ukraine
When Baginskiy was preparing to launch his brand, his grandmother gave him the equivalent of $200, which he used to purchase straw materials. The brand remains independent and 100% self-financed. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Baginskiy and Yasinsky relocated the production to Lviv and returned to Kyiv 1.5 years later. Back in 2022, in an interview with Vogue Business, he had 80 employees. Today, he has upwards of 150.
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RB in Paris
“You want to be a big star in the movies, you go to Hollywood; you want to be a big designer, you go to Paris,” he says. Paris has played a central role for the co-founders, who now stage their showroom four times per year in the same cozy, light-filled space near the Place Vendôme. They have three flagships in Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa.
RB Sightings
Spend a few minutes scrolling Ruslan Baginskiy on Instagram and you will spot Miley, Kaia, Sabrina, Pamela, Addison, Gigi, Bella, Lily, Doja Cat, and the members of Blackpink and BTS all putting their own spin on an RB cap. What’s noteworthy here is that Baginskiy and his team do their own outreach. And then there’s Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska. The designer created a symbolic ‘Wormwood, Yevshan-Zillya’ brooch that she wore to meet Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron in 2023.
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With gratitude
In 2023, Ruslan Baginskiy was awarded the ANDAM Accessory Prize, which came with a year of mentorship from Guillaume de Seynes, executive vice-president of Hermès. What was the most valuable takeaway? “I know but am understanding even more that craft is the future,” he answers. “They have this mass vision about craft and this is also my way.” Baginskiy says he continues to hear from ANDAM’s Nathalie Dufour and also names two others for their loyal support: Paris designer and consultant Dryce Lahssan (who collaborated on a special edition) and Madonna, who first wore Ruslan Baginskiy eight years ago and has sported some 50-60 in the years since.
The double Queen connection
Regardless of Beyoncé’s wardrobe changes through her Renaissance World Tour, there was one constant: the Ruslan Baginskiy “Formation” hat, an exaggerated boater that was conceived for her and her dancers in gold, silver, and metallic red. The initial conversation kickstarted with British Vogue’s Julia Sarr-Jamois and the logistics were complicated—from working with professionals who had fled the war to the transport logistics. Every night Queen B was on stage in the hats signaled a kind of victory—and it continues through the Cowboy Carter tour, as Baginskiy worked with stylist Shiona Turini on a new Western shape, once again in lustrous gold.
Meanwhile, not long after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, Baginskiy received a letter from David Hogan-Hern, Deputy Private Secretary to the King that read:
It is with the greatest sadness that we mourn the loss of The late Queen following her recent passing. However, I thought that you might wish to know that I did have the opportunity to show Her late Majesty your wonderful gift of a Ukrainian hat, which she gratefully received at Balmoral Castle in August. I know that The late Queen was most touched by this kind gesture.
This comes to you, to President Zelenskyy, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and to all the People of Ukraine, with my warmest good wishes.
Last year, Baginskiy presented Queen Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales, with two bespoke hats—a black beret and a green boater, respectively—adorned with pervostvit or “first-to-bloom” flowers from Ukraine.
This is not (just) a hat
In some ways, RB sticks to the archetypes. But the permutations are seemingly limitless, from hats with piercings or jewelry-like chains (very nice for keeping a hat off the head). And gradually, other accessories followed. There have been oversized winter scarves and the ‘Houtska,’ a headscarf-hood hybrid worn by Rihanna and Diane Kruger. A jewelry line comprising colorful beaded baubles arrived in 2023 and there are also scented candles in chunky blown glass vessels. Ready-to-wear, at least for now, is not part of the plan.
The importance of being nice and/or political
In the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, milliner Stephen Jones reached out and proposed the use of his factories. “It was really impressive because the whole industry was supporting us,” he said, singling out another role model. “For me, Alber Elbaz is the biggest example because everyone loved him. You can choose your way and why not be nicer to everyone?”
Also during this time, the brand would post about what was happening at the front lines and made donations across the community. “This is the cultural way,” he explains. “In what we do, people are afraid to speak about these things. So we need to find the right way. It’s soft power.”
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Ruslan’s style
These days, Baginskiy is rarely seen sans hat. But which ones does Ruslan, whose name means lion, wear? Turns out, he alternates between two styles that are his own exclusively: a black wool and cashmere fedora and a red baseball cap. He wears an Elsa Peretti pitcher pendant, a gift that holds personal significance. “She designed jewelry for Halston and Halston started as a hat designer and did Jackie Kennedy’s pillbox hat. This is the story for me.”
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Hats tales cont.
If it seems like RB has everything it takes to attract a buyer, Baginskiy and Yaskinsky confirm they have been courted by obvious names. While they are not ruling anything out, “you need to find the right people because of course we have a lot of proposals to invest, but we don’t need the money,” says Yasinsky, with Baginskiy adding, “we need to have the brains who are going to help us to grow sustainably; we want to do it step-by-step, not fast but as a healthy business.”
Otherwise, what might the next few years look like? “We want to build a cultural brand,” Baginskiy says. “This is the main point for me: to give inspiration to the younger kids. Because for now, they do not have a lot of inspiration. They are stuck in Ukraine. So this is really part of my mission–to show them the way and that anything is possible.”