What Russian fashion should learn from the Ukrainian

Let's be honest: I did not expect anything good from the Ukrainian Fashion Week. At best, she hoped to see a copy of Russian Fashion Weeks. If you managed to avoid hell, I’ll tell you: Moscow Fashion Weeks are dozens of brands, often followed by rich wives or mistresses, sponsored cars as main attractions and guests who are not related to fashion, but who have the opportunity to buy invitations to all shows for a couple of hundred thousand (fortunately, I'm about rubles). It seems that the organizers of the Moscow Weeks just want to "cut the dough" on everything that is possible, and they do not care about who shows their collections at their event and who watches the shows. It is not surprising that journalists and buyers have long ignored Moscow Weeks and go for a sample of a dozen shows, and mostly independent ones.

Daria Kosareva, fashion editor of Glamor magazine, says: "Moscow Fashion Weeks have always been of dubious events, if only because of the parochialism of the fashion itself, and the public, and the characters - Redhead from Ivanushki - in front row and Masha Malinovskaya as a model seriously? The only bright spot in the history of Moscow fashion Weeks was Cycles & Seasons by Mastercard, the idea of ​​which originally belonged to Anna Dulgerova: then important people of the world fashion industry were brought to Moscow as guests, and the organizers looked for unofficial sites for the show, and The participants were Vika Gazinskaya, Nina Donis and Gosha Rubchinsky, but the Cycles & Seasons collapsed safely, and the really worthwhile designers like Vika and Gosha reoriented to the Western consumer, and they did the right thing. The show in Moscow requires much more showroom in Paris or London, and the return is many times less. " ITEMS Director and Buyer Denis Yerkhov agrees: “I can’t say anything good about Russian Weeks. It’s not even a lack of professionalism - where does it come from? But that no one even tries to change anything! Everybody, from sponsors and designers to guests and guards are indifferent to the models, the light, the podium and everything that happens around. A real kingdom of indifference. " Since this is the case in Moscow, what can we expect from the capital of Ukraine?

In a nutshell, it is necessary to understand that Fashion Week should not be an exhibition of the achievements of the national economy, not the competition “Rudes needlewoman’s Wife” and not a meeting place for old acquaintances. The week is a springboard for young designers, an institution for the development of fashion, this is an important work, and in addition, a place where leading figures meet newcomers.

Strangely enough, the Ukrainian week immediately disposed to itself: at the entrance to the Mystetsky Arsenal, the guests were met by volunteers who worked for wheelchair users. It is not necessary to explain that such an approach in conditions of one of Moscow Weeks seems fantastic. Having finished being surprised with liveliness and humanity, we turn to the main thing - shows. If during UFW to go to all the shows, you will notice that questionable shows like Olena Dats' can be counted on fingers. Of course, not only Lily Litkovsky and Svetlana Bevza are shown here, but most of the brands keep the bar. The point is in the strict selection of brands by the organizers of UFW: they refuse the designer to participate in the next season if he showed a weak or controversial collection in the current one. Design fees are not a problem, because there is a candidate for every seat. UFW, on its own, hires stylists for brands who sew good clothes but miss their mark. It also helps designers get on a trade show like Tranoï and Who's Next, which are visited by hundreds and thousands of purchasers - after such professional criticism of the wearability and commercial component of the collections, the young, and the early designer will inevitably think.

Selecting brands means that Masha Tsukanova, editor-in-chief of Ukrainian Vogue, photographer Kate Underwood and journalists from Elle and Harper's Bazaar, even go to private shows, and now and again meet Buro247.com.ua and Vogue.ua on the backstage. Agree, oddly enough, but in Moscow such a company can be met only in the bar of Denis Simachev. If such a lineup is not impressive, here is heavy artillery - guests from Europe and America come to every UFW. This time there were columnists of Italian Vogue, guys from the project Not Just a Label and the trade show MAN and WOMAN, buyers of the Russian Bosco di Ciliegi and ITEMS.

Do not think that everything is perfect. Yes, UFW can not cope with the friends of the sponsors and granddaughters of Sofia Rotaru in the forefront Or the wife of a football player, Olga Alenova, is still showing up on the UFW, with her own portrait hanging under a red plastic chandelier in the showroom. All the good things at Ukrainian Fashion Week also appeared not at the click of the fingers - the event is sixteen years old, it constantly takes on experience from Weeks in New York and Milan. In the eyes of many, UFW could remain another local Week if it were not for the consultant Ekaterina Petukhova from Russia, who is responsible for the foreign press and buyers. Here, too, the strange story - the engagement of the few Russian Weeks does not allow them to hire really efficient people.

Thanks to Petukhova, even American Vogue wrote about shows in Kiev, and the Galeries Lafayette guys came to watch the collections of young Ukrainian designers. By the way, Katya still scolds UFW for the fact that she only promotes designers and does not promote her brand at all. "[In the first year of work] I was skeptical about the Ukrainian fashion week. Fashion weeks in Eastern Europe are always rhinestones, miracles of plastic surgery, wives, children and dogs of all stripes - in general, absolute surrealism. Here I was pleasantly surprised that There are a number of designers in the country with their own handwriting who are trying to make a competitive product. They don’t say that they have small print runs, so prices will be like in Prada, but set up business processes. When we started working with UFW, we decided that no one will not impose obyat . Atelstv procurement or mediapokrytiyu is necessary to just come and take a look, "- explains Katya Petukhova.

At the end of March, the Moscow Fashion Weeks will start: we will again see brands of dresses in the floor by unknown designers like Lydia Nesterova (?) Or Marina Macaron (?!?), Silicone-laden guests and huge cars with neon lights, against which rare shows fade good designers. It seems that one of the institutions at the last stage of decomposition will soon come to an end - it has long been rumored that Volvo Fashion Week is closing. We will be left alone with the Mercedes-Benz Sponsorship Week, which is not a little different from Volvo Fashion Week (top managers of car brands should think about it).

Among the Russian designers, there are three dozen of those who are not ashamed to show on the podium - you can add A la russe, Arsenicum, Arutyunova, Bohemique, Inshade, Kalmanovich, Kondakova, Nazaryan, Samkovich, Paramonov Oshan to Samuralyovna, Bohemique, Inshade, Kalmanovich, Kondakova, Nazaryan, Samkovich, Paramonov Oshanov, Kalmanovich, Kondakova, Nazaryan, Samkovich, Paramonov Oshan, Kalmanovich, Kondakova, Nazaryan, Samkovich, Paramonov Oshan, Kalmanovich, Kondakova, Nazaryan, Samkovich, Paramonov Osh, who is not ashamed to be shown on the podium. Pomerantsev, Terekhova, Nina Donis, Walk of Shame. Now, in the West, the idea of ​​Russian fashion is formed exclusively from photographs of Miroslavy Duma, Vika Gazinskaya and Lena Perminova in blogs.