Moscow Snapshot

I didn’t plan on writing anything about my trip to Moscow given that it was so brief I really thought I was going to literally go in, do my talks (one public one at the department store Tsvetnoy and one as part of Conde Nast Russia’s Digital Day) and then fly back without seeing much apart from my hotel.

But as spring had arrived in Moscow (I’d like to say it was brought on by my appearance… ) and on my last hazily frosty trip to the city back in 2011 when I was on , I barely got to walk on foot and explore. Therefore there was some typical tourist trap ground to make up. Moscow in less than 24 hours wasn’t going to yield a lot other than wandering around the Red Square, floating around the edge of the Kremlin and walking through the historic department store Gum, but having the fun peeps at Tsvetnoy to take me around did ease things. Especially when it came to navigating the Cyrillic-fraught but awe-inspiring metro system where practically every station is a physical monument and testament to Russia’s tumultuous 20th century of power tripping.

Every onion shaped dome, pink-hued cathedral, towering bronze statue and instance of Russian kitsch was chance to re-initiate myself with A-Level history as well as with the Moscow that I felt I never really got to grips with, the first time I went.

I got particularly excited by the new-ish restaurant Dr Zhivago where Insta-pic moments are abound with Malevich, Petrov-Vodkin and Dejneka revolution-appropriate artwork, charmingly ruffled waitress outfits and Victory Day-associated red carnations. And plus I do have a penchant for Russian fare – pickles, sour cream and dill with everything tastes good to me.

But what of the state of Russian fashion? That was a tough topic that popped up during my conversation with Vogue Russia fashion director Olga Dunina and chief editor of Vogue.ru Maria Popova. Pertinent questioning from the audience brought the problems with the Russian fashion industry to the forefront – lack of domestic production facilities, export and import custom charges making manufacturing and selling difficult and of course, the recent tumbling of oil prices and weakened ruble only compound what was already a difficult landscape to begin with. Business of Fashion’s two part look at the state of Russian fashion media and retail gives you an idea of the challenges the industry as a whole faces. 24 hours is a difficult timeframe to get a truly detailed picture and whilst I didn’t get to meet up with many designers, you could gauge a fashion temperature by poking around the major department stores and the few concept boutiques like KM20 and Air.

Since the last time I was in Moscow, the tastes of the Russian consumer has shifted in alignment with international fashion. The new emphasis on contemporary labels and global trends like sportswear and street wear “casualfication” permeating high fashion means that you see less of the head-to-toe Cavalli/Dolce & Gabbana-drenched oligarch’s wife style trope and instead a younger audience buying into the idea of mixing high and low. In Tsvetnoy, you’ll find no Celine or Prada concessions but instead high street brands like Whistles and Topshop are given premium floor spaces with the roof of their price range taken up by labels that are newer and make up an energetic “contemporary designer” floor – Toga, Peter Pilotto, Vivetta, Jacquemus, Opening Ceremony and Carven make for an eye-candy young-skewing selection.

Likewise, the new crop of Russian labels that have sprung up slot right into this “contemporary” aesthetic parameters. You have the likes of Vika Gazinskaya and Alena Akmadullina of course leading the high-end line and then Gosha Rubchinskiy and Tigrain Aventisyan shedding an alternative light at our ideas of “Russian” fashion. Then there are the mainly domestic-based designers with barely-translated websites and a lack of a unified platform or champion to take them to recognition on an international level (similar to say what Daria Shapovalova is doing with Kiev’s fashion scene) unless it’s a label fronted or backed by “IT” personalities or as NY Times dubbed them – the “Czarinas”. From the concept driven and minimal but austere aesthetics of young Russian designers, which I saw back in 2011, 2015’s Russian designers have ramped up on peppy visuals, catchy motifs and above all wearability and accessibility with web-stores and support from stores like Tsvetnoy.

Here’s a a smattering of labels that I came across on my one day trip…

Katya Dobryakova does cheeky sweatshirts and separates. Aping perhaps what we now know as the “Kenzo” formula, she seems to be doing a roaring trade with scribbled slogans across the arms and heavily embroidered surreal imagery.

I wouldn’t classify streetstyle star and stylist Natalia Alaverdian’s label A.W.A.K.E. (All Wonderful Adventures Kindle Enthusiasm) as strictly speaking a Russian label since it’s based in London. But Moscow has claimed Russian-born Alavaderdian as one of their own anyway, especially since it has picked up street style fuelled hype since its inception in 2012. And with stockists like Browns and Avenue 32, kawaii whimsicality and 60s-hued girliness is well on its international pathway.

Away from the Insta-friendly prints and motifs, stylist-turned-designer Artem Krivda ‘s label has some stark statements to make. He talks of creating fashion soldiers of the future, Russian social art and forces of right and wrong repped by a monochrome palette. So far so very… erm… Russian. Its messaging might seem rooted in the past but the aesthetic mirrors the sort of Agender-esque fashion that is fast becoming a global movement.

Another stylist turned designer is Alexandr Rogov. He’s also a TV personality and so has had help from the local celebs to get his new label off the ground. An abstract made-up face is the central motif of his S/S 15 collection.

Andrey Artyomov of Russia’s latest buzzing label Walk of Shame is again being aided by Russian IT girl endorsement but there is something intriguing about the way Artyomov is playing with that fine line between bad and good taste in his clothes. S/S 15 sees gingham, diamond prints and an orange prison jumpsuit being touted at stockists like Opening Ceremony and Browns and next season sees a darker and more twisted turn from this tongue-firmly-in-cheek designer.

On the jewellery front, Olya Shikhova is making the tried-and-tested ear cuff and the “slave” bracelet/ring sparkle just that more with coloured Swarovski crystals – not dissimilar to what Ryan Storer is doing.

I didn’t see the clothes directly but her friend did pass on a gift from a young St Petersburg-based designer called Natali Leskova, who has been creating memorable and distinctive photo prints with sights and buildings seen in her city. Designers may be wavering from digital print in general but when the subject matter is as directly beautiful as it is in this instance, there’s still a chance to make an impact with print.

That’s all I managed to glean from my short trip but the following sentiments that weirdly all popped up whilst I was in Moscow seem to be fitting for a young Russian fashion industry that is facing a difficult socio-economic climate. What’s lacking isn’t talent or creativity but rather a fertile infrastructure to allow designers to exist and grow. It might be more difficult for the cream to rise to the top but in the next two posts designers with something distinct to say will somehow succeed.