FEATURES

The belief that the Russian catwalk is a parade of overpaid and overprivileged divas may ring a little truer in Moscow’s struggling fashion industry.

With a host of competition from international brands and locals with wealthy backers, even the most talented young designers are struggling to crack the market.

“Even for prize winning fashion designers it’s hard to break through to retail and actually launch mass production,” said Elena Lerman, an analyst at RIA Moda.

Even the most creative couturiers need a steady source of income, and getting the latest gear in high-street stores is the biggest step to success.

One who has made it is Kira Plastinina, the daughter of the billionaire co-owner of Wimm Bill Dann, who has her own stores and Paris Hilton to promote her designs.

“Many talented designers have to work for someone like Kira Plastinina as they don’t have the money to start their own brand,” said Nadezhda Kolpakova, a young designer trying to launch a brand. “Entering retail is also very difficult.”

Elite stores

© RIA Novosti. / Ruslan Krivobok

Slava Zaitsev’s models displayed tsarist style and designs from folklore

Russian designers have mostly focused on the luxury segment, flooding the area near Kuznetsky Most metro station with elite boutiques.

Buying a dress at Alena Akhmadullina’s or Denis Simachev’s boutiques can run up bills well in excess of 10,000 roubles.

Meanwhile, there is very little on the mass market for customers with slightly smaller wallets.

“It seems that all local designers make clothes for their friends and not for the mass audience,” said Nataliya Kozlova, a fashion critic and deputy head of the Museum of Fashion. “Russian fashion shows are not aimed at professional buyers. They have nothing in common with prêt-à-porter.”

The traditional production chain of designer, factory and store doesn’t exist in Russia, and the seams are coming undone at every level.

“Many designers simply can’t sew up to standard, the industry moulds produce series of clothes of different sizes,” said Kozlova. “And even after getting in touch with foreign buyers locals can’t produce clothes for them on a regular basis.”

Wind of change

© RIA Novosti. / Ekaterina Chesnokova

Yudashkin offers some bright colours to go with traditional Russian styles at the Volvo Fashion Week in Moscow

More effort is being made to give aspiring designers a place to pitch their trade. Mercedes Fashion Week, held from March 31-April 5, has traditionally offered designers without huge backing a chance to strut their stuff.

But along with the annual young designers fashion show, Ekzersis, the rewards aren’t that great unless the collection gets picked up.

The second floor of Tsvetnoi Central Market has now allocated a fashion corner, allowing straight out of school designers to set up alongside more well-known brands such as Arsenicum, Pure Joy Fashion and Maxim Chernitsov in the 400 square-metre Pop-up Store.

And there is also a shift from some of the top couturiers towards the mass market.

Konstantin Gayday will release a special women’s collection for the democratic Tvoyo chain at the end of May.

“Tvoyo is one the most renowned Russian brands, and the team is very professional,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to see that the national textile industry is reviving.”

Alena Akhmadullina, meanwhile, is planning to step down from the haute-couture podium to do a collection for the F5 youth brand.

Foreign competition

© RIA Novosti. / Ruslan Krivobok

A model shows off the new Yegor Zaitsev collection at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Despite some domestic success stories from Moscow’s two most high profile fashion shows – the Volvo Fashion Week and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week earlier this month – foreign companies still rule the roost.

“Russian designers are completely outrivaled by foreign brands and counterfeit products because of the high expenses,” said Lerman, of RIA Moda. “The textile industry is now down in the dumps because most fabrics are imported, and labour here is more expensive than in Bangladesh, for example.”

International brands that produce their collections in developing countries, such as Zara and H&M – and designers say they need state support.

The feeling in the fashion community is that it is now a game for oligarchs’ wives and children.

“Even for a very talented newbie it’s hard to attract a big investment for production, fabrics, staff and corners at superstores,” said Gayday before the Volvo Fashion Week.

And only a few well-known Russian fashion gurus, such as Valentin Yudashkin, Slava Zaitsev, Alena Akhmadullina and Denis Simachev, can afford to take part in major international events.

“To be known among foreign buyers, local designers need to take part in international fashion shows, prêt-àporter events and have show-rooms,” said Anna Lebsak-Kleimans, general director of Fashion Consulting Group. “And, of course, it’s essential to be on a par with the foreign fashionistas.”

National identity

© RIA Novosti. / Ruslan Krivobok

Yegor Zaitsev’s designs grabbed the attention

While fashion critics blasted the two flagship Russian fashion weeks, the debut show by Dmitry Kuteyko, the former fashion editor of Collezioni, received widespread acclaim.

His collection had an Asian twist, but other offerings saw the catwalks full of traditional Russian images, such as Cossack costumes, black and reds, and fur.

Gayday’s models showed off fur elements, while Igor Gulyayev’s collection in Milan drew a lot of attention for its animal hides.

“Russia should actively use its traditional costume, and fur is a niche where Russia should definitely be a trend-setter,” said Lerman.

Up-and-coming fashionistas should be leading the renaissance in this area, but many are looking west for inspiration.

“The lack of national identity and lack of individual style is a huge problem for Russian fashion – it’s silly to copy the European style,” said Kozlova.

And Russia, with its wealth of talent in the modeling industry, can use that to its advantage when it comes to the catwalk by harnessing local tastes and shapes.

But the local industry also has to keep up with the rest of the world. Russian brand Henderson recently sent an employee to intern at London’s Saint Martin’s College, where Alexander McQueen and John Galliano started out.

The president of Henderson, Ruben Arutyunyan, praised the latest collection by the designer as up-to-date and successfully flew off the racks.