Frank Peter Wilde is a Berlin-based stylist, designer, and human rights activist who has used daily selfies he takes in the elevator of his apartment block to support Ukraine in the Russian war of aggression. Wilde launched his campaign on 22 February 2022 – by taking a selfie in a mask with Vladimir Putin’s face on it – to draw attention to the looming threat of the full-scale Russian invasion. Since then, he has styled countless elevator looks to keep the war in Ukraine at the forefront of his followers’ attention. He has used clothes made by Ukrainian designers and collaborated with Ukrainian artists, and he keeps tirelessly reminding the world: Russia is a terrorist state.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the United24 fundraising platform, Frank Peter Wilde visited Ukraine. During a meeting in Kyiv on 5 May, The Village Ukraine talked to the Berlin stylist about his campaign, his visit to Ukraine, and what he considers to be the biggest difference between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

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– Let me get this right: this is your second time visiting Kyiv?

– It is, but in a way it’s my first time. The last time I was here was like 10-15 years ago, I was here only for three days to work on a commercial project. I remember drinking from this bottle of water that was on a table, and it turned out to be vodka. [He laughs] I couldn’t believe it, in the middle of the day!

– It’s more of a stereotype about Russia, but we do have places here where I can imagine this happening.

– Anyway, it was 15 years ago. Kyiv looks just really different from how it was then. It’s just like a capital in Europe. It’s like Paris, Lisbon, and everything together.

– Yeah, because it is a capital in Europe. If you don’t mind me asking – you arrived here today, this morning?

– Yes, I came here this morning.

– It was good timing, if you take into account the Russian missile attack on the city just yesterday. Was there any hesitation to visit wartime Ukraine? What made you decide to come here?

– To be honest, there were hesitations. Not so much about shelling, but because of my schedule. I’m going from [Kyiv] to Warsaw, to work on a huge commercial project. To organize everything this way [was convenient]. I was so happy that United24 is doing this, this gorgeous organization is having its first anniversary. So I thought it would be shameful if I didn’t come. I did everything possible to make it happen. And they helped me with the travel schedule: from Berlin to Warsaw, then from Warsaw to Chelm, and then the night train [to Kyiv]. I always wanted to come here, I’m so happy to be here.

– You’ve mentioned your schedule, and I’m also interested in how that affects your content schedule. Did you have to make a number of looks and photos before making this trip?

– Yes, I did! I had a few things scheduled. The one today [May 5] is about the exhibition of Ukrainian art in Berlin, starting on May 12. I took this picture three or four days ago, we scheduled it. I did not tell anybody that I was going to Kyiv, we kept it top secret, even from my own team. So yeah, we came prepared.

It’s not something new for us, we’ve scheduled some posts prior to this – for instance, when I was visiting my mother. I wasn’t in town, but we still posted the picture. Otherwise it’s not possible to keep the continuity.

– Again, such a great campaign, we really appreciate the support. Especially with all the Ukraine fatigue setting in [in the West].

– Yeah, but we can’t accept [the fatigue]. You only see a fraction of the stuff I do every day on Instagram. To be honest, it’s quite easy. Sometimes the pictures are more complicated, sometimes I change them, when something happens.

You know, when a couple of months ago there was this massive shelling, I was so shocked, I was crying all morning. And I decided to do something that I haven’t done yet. I just did not want to be in the picture, because whatever I would’ve posted, even when it had something to do with sorrow, it’s too much vanity. So I had to keep myself out of it, when such a national tragedy happened. And that’s why we had a Ukrainian flag there and wrote Russia Is A Terrorist State with lipstick [on the elevator mirror].

– Actually it reminded me of the first picture you posted in the series, the Nicholas Roeg film tribute with the Putin mask.

– Yeah! That was two days before the [full-scale invasion] started.

– Can you talk me through your collaborations with Ukrainian brands? It seems there’s a lot of research and curation going into your work.

– It seems like a lot of work, but actually I get a lot of help. Oleksandra [Marchenko] provides a lot of help, it was her idea to write Russia Is A Terrorist State in the post I’ve mentioned. We’re also working on another project now. Thing is, we’re keeping all the stuff that we use for the series, because we want to make an exhibition at one point. I find it inspirational, how Ukraine keeps developing [despite] this war.

To come back to your question, Ukraine happened to me. It was [partly] coincidental, but for me it was clear that I should support Ukraine, since the very beginning. In the first The Village Ukraine interview I said it very clearly: “How could I not support Ukraine?”

– And you know a thing or two about freedom.

– Yeah, I know everything about freedom. If you have a dictatorship, a state that oppresses people, you can’t use the whole potential of the people for the benefit of society. It’s better if you support people in their freedom to create beauty. And you can’t create beauty from oppression and all that.

I think it’s the key drive for Putin and Russia – to suppress Ukraine. Because Ukraine proves that you can be a blossoming country and a prosperous country, full of beauty and love and peace, without oppressing people, without keeping them down and forbidding them to speak their mind and whatnot.

So yeah, I like to say that Ukraine kind of happened to me. But when The Village Ukraine shared the first [Instagram] story [about me], to be honest, I didn’t know what The Village was. But then an art director from a Ukrainian ad agency sent me a message saying: “There’s an article on you at The Village Ukraine!” And she sent me the link, so I looked at it and thought: “Wow! This looks super cool! The selection of pictures and how they put it together, and the graphics…” It was really great! Was that you who published that?

– It was our team, I’ll make sure to send them your regards!

– You should praise them! I was really tired when we [conducted] the interview, it was after a workday… But then after your piece the attention to the series grew. You could see from my followers count, it went from 4,000 to 78,000. And then other media started picking up on it. And then it led to articles in almost every social media account, including Vogue, Marie Claire. Ukrainian television started to notice it, then the government…

Shortly after February 24 I was working at Hauptbahnhof [Berlin railway station] and met some Ukrainians there. So I started to get more involved with Ukrainians in Berlin, people who came here [after the beginning of the full-scale invasion].

Короткометражний фільм Uprooted

– You’ve also made this movie about Ukrainians seeking refuge in Germany [“Uprooted”].

– There was a team of 60 Ukrainians, all-Ukrainian, my assistant and I were the only guys there who were not from Ukraine. So I got more and more involved.

At the beginning of the war I was shooting a commercial in Warsaw and I was super impressed with how [the Poles] were involved [in helping Ukrainians]. I felt that after the full-scale invasion started you could see that the damage had been done. And German politicians at the time were sitting and saying: “We don’t know if we should get involved, blah-blah.” I posted on Facebook that I’m ashamed of my government, because at first they sent 5,000 used helmets…

– What’s your take on the support that Germany provides for Ukraine now?

– It’s better. It is. You’ve seen on my Instagram recently: “A win-win situation, jets for Ukraine” and all of that. I was probably one of the few Germans who very early on said: “Free The Leopards!” I was joining Vitsche for a demonstration that day. It’s important, because every day of hesitation is costing lives, you know? When someone says: “But it’s gonna get bigger!” I just say that it’s not.

After all, it’s also about the lives of Russian soldiers. The moment Russia realizes there’s no way for them to win – and there’s no way – they will take their soldiers back as fast as they can. And if you don’t send [arms] to Ukraine – you just prolong this war. And the debt is being paid by Ukrainian blood every day.

– We’ve mentioned the Ukraine fatigue setting in, there were also rallies in Berlin advocating to stop supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Is it hard for you to communicate with the German audience on topics like that?

– For me it’s not. I use my voice for that. If I didn’t I would regret it. And one of the reasons that I decided to support Vitsche – though I’m not a speaker, I’m not a public person – was this very idea. I’m a shy boy, I don’t like to speak in public, but I just thought that I have to do it: “You do it, Frank!”

And if we still have these disgusting people, these left-leaning politicians on German television who say that we should stop supporting Ukraine and talk to Putin, then it takes somebody to open their mouth. Because any peace protest is in fact at this point a protest supporting suppression, terrorism, and dictatorship.

– I’m asking you this because I know it’s something that’s very near and dear to your heart, the LGBTQ rights and representation. We have this issue with LGBTQ representation in the Ukrainian army, there are a lot of young Ukrainians serving in the military who identify as gay or lesbian and they feel they are not properly represented and listened to. What would you say to a young Ukrainian gay soldier fighting on the frontlines as we speak?

– That’s a very personal question… I believe there’s no alternative to coming out, and I can talk from my own experience. For example, I worked with the LGBTQ [people] in the military, they sent me chevrons that I then used for interviews and pictures.

I think it’s essential for a modern society, a democratic society like Ukraine, to [legalize] same-sex partnerships. Especially in wartime. You have tragic situations when young soldiers lose their lives and their same-sex partner can’t visit them in hospital, because of the legal issues…

– Talking about basic human rights…

– And this is something that I find tragic. But that’s why we really have to keep up with it. I believe democracy begins with sexuality.

And it’s one of the biggest differences when I compare Russia and Ukraine. Because Russia enforces homophobia, even more so now, in wartime. Last June they issued this new law that you can’t talk about homosexuality. And Ukraine is on a totally different path. We have to support Ukraine on that.

PHOTO: Frank Peter Wilde
Collage: Daryna Lysak