Russian Fashion Council Presents: Global Talents Digital

Ophelica
Taking inspiration from the fate of Shakespeare’s heroine, this young Russian brand by Regina Turbina created a fully-digitalized capsule collection, featuring make-believe materials – dragonskin and quicksilver- like fabric.

Yet this is also a traditional collection in a sense, with classic-cut silhouettes and funky looks presented by featureless cyber-models.

Shimmering tracksuits and wide-cut jeans and shorts with tribal prints, glistening raincoats of metallic white and blue, heavy parkas and wide-brim floppy hats – everything in this capsule referred to major influence of the 90s. The coats and trousers were from the Yves Klein line, inspired by the famed French master’s palette of the deepest blue.

In terms of colors, psychedelic and tie-dye swirls were abundant, while metallic tones and textures clashed with furry chia-pet-like inserts on trousers and vests.

 

This is fashion for the future looking into the past, and exactly how we want the influences of the 90s to look ten years from now.

JAKE LIU (Australia)
Jake is one of the top emerging Australian designers (RMIT | Master of Fashion (Design)), a true master of multifunctional genderless garments. The entire mission of the brand is deconstruction of modern gender, beauty and fashion stereotypes. Most of his garments are transformable and can be easily turned into a carrier bag, a warm blanket or a t-shirt.

This new collection titled “No, Everlasting Eternity” started out in 2018, when Jake was experimenting with streetwear. “I was interested in working with bodies that do not conform to the popular beauty standards, to study the interaction of the body and the garment. Having tried many ways to show that in a collection, I stopped on the simple act of distorting the silhouette – such as putting a backpack underneath a shirt,” says Jake.

 

Combining such methods with traditional fabrics – wool and cashmere, silk and crepe de chine, Jake created a wonderfully genderless and futuristic collection, which manages not to lose its streetwear roots. Wooly tops and shimmery asymmetric trousers, along with silky kaftans and corsets gave the whole collection a flamboyant 18 th century courtier feel. Adam Ant and Derek Jarman would feel right at home with these looks – multifunctional, fun and irreverent. This was just what we needed to kick-start this futuristic event.

CHAPURIN
The Russian fashion house of Igor Chapurin is on its 22 nd year of existence, and has a storied history and an avid following in Russia. A vast portfolio of both haute couture and prêt-a-porter collection follows Igor’s house, along with dozens of limited-edition capsule and accessory collections. We were anxious to see what the designer would show us in such an unusual format, and he did not disappoint.

His newest creation was inspired by the Russian writer and Nobel prize winner Ivan Bunin’s work “Dark Avenues” (1946), which entangled fates and lives within a series of short stories. Coding the emotional feel of the book into the fabric for this collection was no easy task, but Chapurin handled it brilliantly, creating a perfect geometrical collection of dark hues and classic silhouetting. Heavy overcoats perfectly combined with light silken dresses underneath.

Tweed, velour, thin wool fabrics were coupled with many types of silk and linen. Faux leather and faux fur were also experimented with, as well as recycled cotton. In terms of colors, we saw dark blues and greys, as well as rust tones and bright flashes of fuchsia.

Using a top-heavy silhouette for this collection was an ingenious move, as the heavy oversized sleeves on the outerwear offset the sleek dresses underneath. A perfect Fall/Winter collection for a fan of brutalist architecture, this was a no-nonsense offering of a perfect balance of classic style and purpose from CHAPURIN. As he himself puts it, “This collection is all about intelligence and sustainability.”

Florentina Leitner (Austria / Belgium)
Coming to us straight from the storied halls of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts and London Fashion Week, Florentina created a thoroughly modern fairytale collection for this event, taking direct inspiration from the story of Cinderella.

Structured like a medieval tourney, this short film by Marnik A. Boekaerts showed us a fun and punky gathering at an ancient castle – every model wearing flowery dresses, shimmery sky-blue catsuits and zebra- print or houndstooth accessories, all to take part in a series of wild sporting events, from tennis in the grand hall and a zumba class in the ancient chambers to tug-of-war in the lush gardens.

 

The fun prints featured dalmatian spots and doll heads, flowers and geometric shapes, all set against gentle blue or porcelain white. Combined with typically British designs – petticoat dresses, wide-shoulder coats and wide, crimped skirts – this was a summery collection Vivienne Westwood would be proud of.

VANESA KRONGOLD (Argentina)
The designer, who founded her brand back in 2011, now finds her inspiration online and on the streets of her city, her witchy and magical collections always filled with a ton of swirling colors, fabrics, textures and collage work.

This new collection ‘Swamp and Psychedelia’ tells a story of love, rebirth, poetry and femininity – playing with textures and fabrics. In a Suspiria-like trance, the twin models, endowed with telekinetic and telepathic powers, are mysteriously intertwined, their light silken dresses flowing around their bodies as they perform their rituals and speak in a language known only to them.

This collection started off as a series of sketches and finally culminated in a series of experiments with jacquard fabrics. Hand-sewn dresses and hi-tech fabrics combined to produce a wonderfully natural collection, filled with 1960s’ silhouettes (such as the twisty bikini tops, printed with natural psychedelic colors), and maxi dresses.

 

This is a glorious trip into the unknown from the talented Argentinean designer.