Communist chic

Communist chic

Fashion from behind the iron curtain steals the show at a new exhibit at the Sheremetyev Palace.

Published: July 11, 2012 (Issue # 1717)


AURORA FASHION WEEK

Ballerina Raisa Struchkova, pictured in the Soviet fashion exhibit.

The style and dress of some of the greatest Soviet fashionistas is the focus of a new display at the Sheremetyev Palace. Titled “Fashion Behind the Iron Curtain. From the Wardrobe of Soviet Stars,” the exhibit showcases more than 100 dresses and 200 accessories from the private collection of fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev that once belonged to the cream of the crop of Soviet bohemians such as film stars Klara Luchko, Lyudmila Gurchenko and Natalya Fateyeva, ballerinas Galina Ulanova and Maya Plissetskaya, as well as socialite Galina Brezhneva, the daughter of the U.S.S.R. leader Leonid Brezhnev.

Almost every dress in Vasiliev’s vast collection, which has taken more than 25 years to assemble, tells a story no less colorful than the item itself.

“Red Bomb” is the nickname that the Soviet film star Klara Luchko earned in the French press after appearing in a voluptuous red strapless dress at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1962. The ultra-sexy item reigns supreme at the display in the classical Sheremetyev Palace.

Russian classical ballet legend Maya Plissetskaya became a style sensation in Europe after her photographs appeared in Vogue magazine, and the dancer became the face of a Pierre Cardin advertizing campaign in France. The iconic designer presented Plissetskaya with two dresses, including the famous multi-colored “rainbow dress,” which is now part of Vasiliev’s treasure trove.

“In my collection I also have a Chanel suit that Coco Chanel herself gave to Plissetskaya after the great ballerina gave her models a master class in walking on the podium,” Vasiliev said.

There is far more to the display than a mere assembly of couture items than once belonged to actresses who became Soviet household names. The exhibit essentially traces the evolution and peculiarities of Soviet fashion over the course of the pre-World War II years to Gorbachev’s perestroika.

“Throughout the Soviet era, fashion was oppressed by the authorities and adored by millions of women who used it as an instrument of self-expression and as a tool to become more attractive,” Vasiliev said. “This exhibit was conceived as a virtual ode to femininity and women’s desire to remain beautiful, whatever the circumstances and the hardships.”

Vasiliev believes that Soviet style icons are exciting to explore because everything was for real: These stars were genuine. “Most 20th-century film stars knew no botox, no silicone, no photoshop, and their naturalness is actually hugely exciting,” he said.

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Cat fur was used on clothing.

The famous Christian Dior “New Look” silhouettes that swept the world as soon as they appeared in 1947 only arrived in the U.S.S.R. almost a decade later. Soviet actress Lyudmila Gurchenko wore a “New Look” dress in Eldar Ryazanov’s 1956 comedy film “Karnavalnaya Noch” (Carnival Night), which made her famous overnight. Symbolically, carnival eventually became a keyword to defining Gurchenko’s own eccentric dress sense, with tight waists, exaggerated shoulders, excessively decorated dresses and shiny fabrics.

Politics affects fashion directly in many different ways. In the Soviet Union, the authorities imposed a climate of equality, which resulted in a faceless fashion industry that produced styles that killed personality rather than highlighting it.

And yet, fashion did exist in the U.S.S.R. Because Western European designer labels such as Salvatore Ferragamo or Yves Saint Laurent were not available in the Soviet Union, and shops offered no variety from domestic producers, women resorted to sewing their own dresses. Soviet women used whatever fabric and resources were available. In such a climate of ingenuity, a used priest’s robe could be successfully transformed into an evening dress.

Between the first and second world wars, women used cat fur to decorate their dresses — and it was not only the preserve of the poor. Theater actresses and wives of members of the political elite were known to have possessed such dresses. Maria Andreyeva, wife of the writer Maxim Gorky, had just such a dress trimmed with cat fur.

During the years of shortages, a piece of fabric became an object of fierce competition. A good seamstress was a precious acquaintance, and film stars were constantly hunting for them.

For Plissetskaya, admittedly, her emphatically theatrical, somewhat eccentric style of dress admittedly became a form of protest.

“My dress style, which evoked associations with the costumes that I wore on stage, was a conscious rebellion, my protest,” Plissetskaya used to say. “It was a provocation, a challenge that I threw to the Soviet system. It made the bureaucrats suspicious; they would often look at me, apparently trying to figure out what the trick was.”

Nikita Khrushchev once even openly reprimanded Plissetskaya for “showing off her wealth” through her expensive, lavish, richly decorated dresses.

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The exhibit runs through Sept. 16.

Many Russian women give up on their appearance once they have children, and when they reach the age of a grandmother, it is considered almost a sin to invest in fashion items.

Vasiliev made a point of stressing that age and style are not antagonists.

“As Marlene Dietrich used to say, if a woman has failed to become a beauty by the age of 35, it means she is a fool,” he said. “You have time to experiment, to try things out, to search for an image, for different ways of self-expression. To be a success, you need to find an image that corresponds to your inner self and what you yourself find appealing — this will ensure that you have an audience who appreciates it.”

Vasiliev is looking to expand his collection, which already boasts more than 1,000 pieces, by getting his hands on the dresses of some contemporary fashionistas. The number one style icon on his list is filmmaker and actress Renata Litvinova, the fashion historian said.

The exhibit at the Sheremetyev Palace is part of the Fashion Museum project sponsored by Aurora Fashion Week. Vasiliev lamented the absence of a permanent fashion museum in Russia.

“Sadly, viewing fashion as an art is not widespread here,” he said. “Rather, fashion is still perceived by most people as a frivolous if not vain interest, and often as a waste of money, too.”

“Fashion Behind the Iron Curtain. From the Wardrobe of Soviet Stars” runs through Sept. 16 at the Sheremetyev Palace, 34 Nab. Reki Fontanki. Tel. 272 4441. M. Nevsky Prospekt/Mayakovskaya.

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