Fashion Week in Moscow is unique for many reasons, the first being that any international editor hoping to attend must undergo a lengthy visa process before booking a flight or RSVP-ing "yes" to secure a front row seat. Because of this, European and American press tends to be more scarce in Moscow than in other alternative fashion cities like Seoul or Tbilisi, but those put off by the paperwork would be wise to rethink their position. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia Spring 2018 wrapped late last week, and what we found there cemented the Baltic capital as an emerging hub for highly creative up-and-coming talent.
The widespread commercialization of Soviet and Post-Soviet culture has led to Communist insignia showing up on multiple Western runways over the past few seasons (even Gucci isn't immune — Alessandro Michele paid homage to the hammer and sickle for Fall 2017), but despite the apparent trendiness of their country's historic symbols, many of the designers we met in Moscow described the unique obstacles they face as young Russians trying to get ahead in the the industry. The political red tape works both ways in terms of border entry, which makes it difficult for many of them to leave the country and source manufacturers (in Italy, for example) or gain access to other raw, high-quality materials.
Hope, at least for a good number of them, comes in the form of grants by organizations like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Founder Alexander Shumsky works alongside the Russian Fashion Council to allot an undisclosed amount of money towards nurturing promising talent each season. For Spring 2018, Lumier Garson by Jean Rudoff received financial backing and many others were allowed to show for free in a buzzy collective show held at Moscow's Museum of Fashion. The continued success of homegrown wunderkind Gosha Rubchinskiy is also undeniable; the native Moscovite is opening doors for his fellow countrymen in the same way Demna Gvsalia did for talent in Georgia and other areas of Eastern Europe.
