MBFW RUSSIA 11 March 2018 Moscow, day 2
Even more people flooded the floors and runways of the majestic Manege building on Sunday for the second day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia, clamoring to check out the latest looks by their favorite designers. The schedule for the day included streetwear, more designers from Kazakhstan, classic couture and a secret performance by a Russian star of screen and stage, so all the guests were in for a special treat.
After collections by children’s fashion brands - Art Fashion, KIBOVSKAYA and L’EREDE - the day began in proper, with a conceptual show by the Moscow brand SENSUS COUTURE.
Launched by Nikita Boginsky and Igor Gorbunov in 2014, SENSUS COUTURE is well-known for its brave search for nowness and its inspired originality. Boginsky and Gorbunov often use models as pieces in a complex and beautiful performance on the runway, placing them with lanterns along the stage or otherwise engaging them with the viewers, as they did with their FW’ 17 show.
This time was no different as the visitors soon found out - the runway resembled a living sculpture, with gold-painted bodies of SENSUS performers ‘submerged’ in black plastic. Completely immobile and silent, they looked like gods of ancient Greece or Rome, and sported minimalist halos and scepters. The theme of God and godhood soon became even more apparent, as Kanye West’s “I am a God” began blaring through the sound system, and the models finally appeared - many showing off slogans such as “iGod” and “Master or Slave” printed across their garments. The designers themselves quote “anger over society creating false gods” as their main inspiration this time. “This is a story about consuming and producing, and how we all are searching for something to worship”, they explain.
Leather, latex and silk were the course for the day, and SENSUS employed their traditional color palette - red, white and lots of black for good measure. Many looks were straight-on streetwear, with models strolling in pullovers and shorts with some thigh-high boots, while others were traditional evening wear - little black dresses with Ziggy Stardust-like lightning symbols, bold jackets with leopard skin prints, sheer golden coats. An offering fit for a modern goddess.
Photos: https://yadi.sk/d/yvv5o9a_3TGNLd
Then it was time for the second part of Kazakhstan Fashion Week, coming hot off the heels of yesterday’s shows by young designers from Almaty and beyond - a much more subdued and casual collection of looks than yesterday, but still a beautiful show of just how much talent the former Soviet republic holds.
As you can guess from the brand’s name, the Almaty-based Zharuma Cashmere presented a collection of beautifully-woven garments from cashmere for both men and women - womenswear being represented with traditional headdresses and headscarves, and men showing off a more streetwear-themed design, with soft hoodies and pullovers coupled with comfy shorts and trousers.
The brand from Aktobe in Kazakhstan, MakhaAim, was next up - showing us a beautiful collection of long, flowing dresses and silken garments, bringing to mind the sweltering desert climate and mixing it up with fabulous segments of shimmering fabric to make the traditional cut of their dresses look very modern.
The final part of the Kazakhstan segment of the day was presented by AYZA (which stands for the designer’s name - Ayza Kamaldinova), which offered the visitors a true asiatic feast for the eyes - dresses of black and gold, kaftans and monochrome jackets, all in a soft, burgundy/tan palette.
Photos: https://yadi.sk/d/AzRGUmwp3TGNAY
Visitors really piled in for the next show, however - it seemed like everyone in the city wanted to see the new collection by the Georgian designer Goga Nikabadze. It’s really no surprise - Nikabadze is somewhat of a long-time favorite of Moscow audiences, dressing many of the Russian capital’s wealthiest and most fashionable socialites and pop stars. Nikabadze was born in Georgia in 1986 and studied fashion design in Batumi, presenting his first-ever collection at just 14 years of age back in 2000. His career spans almost 18 years, with collaborations with such stars of Russian fashion as Slava Zaitsev.
This time, Goga showed us a slow and thoughtful show, with models slowing gliding on the stage in outfits that reminded one of the traditional dresses of the designer’s native country. Men in wide-brimmed hats and women in soft garments with dark veils covering their faces filled the stage with a somber atmosphere. The cut of the garments was especially beautiful and experimental this time around, with silky cardigans and floor-length dresses showing an unusually trim and geometrical silhouette. It was as if we were present at a traditional wedding in Batumi or Tbilisi, where Nikabadze first cut his teeth as a designer. Yet this was a thoroughly Moscow-looking collection also, with many of the dresses fit for a Russian countryside Summer or a dacha picnic.
Rumors of participation in today’s show by one of the designer’s famous clients were abound even before the runway started, but when a familiar female voice began to sing the Russian crooner Muslim Magomaev’s 1973 hit single “Za Vse Tebya Blagodaryu” (I Thank You For Everything), the audience knew their expectations were about to be fulfilled. The famed Russian singer-songwriter Larisa Dolina, who sang the cover especially for the show, appeared on the runway herself, cutting an imposing figure in a long black dress with a veil, to thundering ovations. Nikabadze himself appeared at the song’s crescendo, with people from the audience running onstage to - literally - shower him in roses and peonies, with one fan dragging an entire gold-colored suitcase of red roses, and dramatically flinging it open in the middle of the runway to the designer’s amazement. As always, it was an emotional night for Nikabadze, and he almost broke down in front of the growing mountain of flowers. A dramatic wake or a romantic Georgian wedding, it was hard to say, but it definitely was beautiful.
Photos: https://yadi.sk/d/6UjGz1MW3TGN54
Rounding up the night was the show by Beijing-based Artem Shumov, which attracted no less attention than Goga’s collection, with visitors clamoring for seats and filling in the stair steps around the runway.
This attention is easily explained - Shumov was hand-picked from a group of young designers by the Russian government in 2016 to get a grant to participate in that year’s Moscow Fashion Week and has since appeared at London Fashion Week and in collaborations with Mariinsky theatre. The Saint-Petersburg-born, China-based designer was inspired, by his own admission, by the culture and dress of Beijing, and it was extremely evident in the anime-meets-Chinese national dress looks he showed us today.
A Japanese remix from the soundtrack of “Ghost in the Shell” intermixed with gangsta rap set the stage for the collection. Young men in what could only be described as futuristic streetwear - coats and skirts, jackets shaped like vests and vests shaped like pullovers, trenchcoats in acid colors and straight-acting suits with exotic appliques on the back gave an overall playful and subversive impression. Or maybe it was because of the models’ long chinese braids and Joker-goes-to-Wall-Street facepaints. An incredible vision of a Pan-Asian future world and a perfect finale to the day’s shows.
Photos: https://yadi.sk/d/VeEwM7N33TGN2W
BEAUTY BACKSTAGE: https://yadi.sk/d/W0H5vcVG3TQ6iQ
BEHIND THE SCENES: https://yadi.sk/d/LV4W6x-C3TQ6og
PODIUM DETAILS: https://yadi.sk/d/FgbbmuY33TQ6qo
STREET STYLE: https://yadi.sk/d/KfRrW1Wi3TFSpK
Title partner of the Fashion Week is Mercedes-Benz. Partners of MBFW Russia: IWC Schaffhausen (Official partner), Aizel.ru (Official partner), glo (Official partner), L’Oréal Professionnel (Official stylist), Mary Kay (Official make-up stylist), DHL (Official logistic partner), Metropol (Official hotel), Laska (Official partner)
You can follow all the events taking place on the catwalks of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia from anywhere globally live at
https://www.vogue.ru/video/pryamaya-translyatsiya-pokazov-mercedes-benz-...
For more details please refer to:
Artefact Agency
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