LET US TAKE A 'FASHIONABLE' PEEK BEHIND THE IRON CURTAINS

FEATURING RUSSIAN DESIGNER ‘VALENTIN YUDASHKIN’

He came out to prominence during the 1980s, dressing Raisa Gorbacheva. He is considered the first post-Soviet designer to bring a contemporary Russian look to the international fashion world, wowing critics with sumptuous theatricality as well as wearable styles.

His designs have been exhibited in museums such as the Musee de la mode et du textile in Paris, the California Museum of Fashion in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and the State Historical Museum in Moscow. In 2010, he redesigned Russia's military uniforms, creating 85 designs to dress all branches of the Russian armed services. Nevertheless, the uniforms turned out to be absolutely useless, causing supercooling of many soldiers in the following winter. Also the quality was unbearable – the uniforms ripped apart very quickly and lost their colours after a very short period of time.
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Valentin Yudashkin
Spring 2014 Ready-to-Wear

VALENTIN YUDASHKIN - FALL 2014

By Amy Verner

It might be that Valentin Yudashkin settled on a nineties-rock theme for Fall because it required more edge than he conveyed in his last season. And it's true that the Russian designer's near-total use of black and ivory helped to achieve a look that felt more in step with what the cool kids are doing. As usual, he showed a few strong outerwear options, including a double-face gray fox-fur coat and a liquid-slick polyamide parka in gunmetal. The surprise was underneath: sweatshirts and jeans. Granted, these pieces were either embroidered or embellished with a black rose pattern that recurred further on, once Yudashkin reverted back to his laudably ornamented evening dresses. All that beading and appliqué—this time with streaks of latex—does not happen without days of meticulous handwork. But most rock stars record in a studio where a producer and team modulate their work; designers, by comparison, often compose without the equivalent editing. And in Yudashkin's case, things can get visibly loud pretty fast. With the final succession of gowns, the issue was less the decoration itself—although black branches across the décolletage seemed more sinister than sexy—than the denial of moderation. Yet Yudashkin is capable of toning himself down, even with his eveningwear; a slinky long skirt and velvet bomber worn atop a sheer georgette layer confirmed as much. It had the classical beauty of a piano solo. It resonated.

Valentin Yudashkin
Fall 2014 Ready-to-Wear