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I found this article pretty interesting. I haven't been to
Moscow in 5 years, but towning down is EXACTLY what I predicted back
then. It is simply a saturation principle, they had to get
Versace out of their system.
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By Nora FitzGerald International Herald Tribune  Published: August 14, 2006 |
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MOSCOW There is no Gap store in Moscow yet, but this epicenter of bacchanalian glamour is slowing down its style. Even one of Russia's best known designers, Valentin Yudashkin, who became an international sensation after he convincingly dressed his models as sumptuous Fabergé eggs, now offers an "economy line" in jeans. "In the last two years, Moscow has become more casual, and I think you will see this trend continue in the near future," Yudashkin said in an interview. "I'm happy to see much less showing off, a softer look, especially now that everyone is really fond of sports and health. Russian women have a better idea of what is suitable now and they understand suitable clothes. They no longer wear really high heels to go shopping." Yudashkin, who in his 20s dressed the late Raisa Gorbachev, has become the high priest of artful extravagance, and his haute couture has at times revealed a psychedelic Russian soul. In his workshop in central Moscow, a dozen women busily hand-bead taffeta and tulle with rhinestone and pearls, while others finish a train on a sumptuous black silk portrait-collar coat. But today his boutique is filled with breezy skirts paired with short, slightly undersize jean jackets. Moscow has become so casual, in fact, that it is no longer uncommon to walk into a corporate office and be welcomed by a young assistant dressed in trendy jeans and a cotton top, perhaps exposing a bit of skin. The hair is easy and the jewelry is left at home. "The traditional Russian style is a bit Byzantine," said Max Chernitsov, one of Moscow's hot new designers under 30. A few years ago, Chernitsov was studying in the Ural city Magnitogorsk, defending his thesis on the Russian avant-garde. Today he dresses the young elite. "Russians love luxurious clothes and lots of jewelry, and that won't change," he said. Yet Chernitsov himself designs casual clothes and sportswear. His styles are eccentric and self-aware, but above all, he said, he wants them to be comfortable. His recent collections include soft, printed shirt dresses for women and casual sportswear for men. "There is also a trend toward the simple," the designer said. "Today in Moscow you can see women at an official meeting in a smart jacket and jeans, and this is totally acceptable and absolutely normal." He added, "Today you see less cosmetics, less jewelry and more casual clothes." Such a statement may seem strange when one considers the tremendous growth in sales. Russia's $5 billion cosmetic market and $4 billion clothing market show no saturation. Women are buying more pairs of expensive jeans, lots of designer sportswear and more cosmetics than ever to achieve their sexy, no-nonsense look. Russian women "have very beautiful figures and they have to highlight them," said Vladimir Melnikov, the founder and general director of Gloria Jeans Corporation, "and the best way to do that is with jeans." Gloria Jeans is one of Russia's fastest growing companies, according to Euromonitor, an international market research company. "Secretaries in Russia are ready to spend 90 percent of their income on clothing," he added, "while a small businessman making a $100,000 a year will spend a lot less of his income on clothes." Clothing sales in Russia are expected to reach $8 billion by 2009. The designer Denis Simachev can take some credit for bringing Russians to casual cool. His Putin T-shirts with traditional floral borders were a big hit with Russians last year. His fall/winter 2006 men's collection features black and white T-shirts with the Russian word NEFT, meaning oil, paired with casual pants. Red pants were paired with a black sports jacket, a red sports coat with black pants, both punctuated by a wildly oversize fur hat with flaps. So does this sporty but sexy comfort mark the end of post-Soviet, new Russian luxury? Not completely, designers and fashion observers say. "Russia still, like 1,000 years ago, cannot decide what it is and who it is with," Melnikov, of Gloria Jeans, said. "But its most explicit luxury has remained. Even Gloria Jeans, which uses an American image, brings a lot of decorations into its collections. We call it Brazilian style." And the Russian glamour vixen is not yet an endangered species. Shoppers may still be forced to stand at a meat counter next to a knockout frame draped in a clingy safari print dress and stiletto shoes with Spartacus laces to the knee. Or commuters might be pushed into her full-length chinchilla coat on the Metro. But these days in Moscow, many women under 30 have pared it all down, so that the clothes no longer compete with the cheekbones, pouty lips and legs. There are only two things stylish Russians won't be seen wearing this summer: khaki shorts or Velcro sandals. If the casual isn't sexy, they won't go there. |
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