In recent years, the influence of Russian designers on the international fashion scene has been stupefying. They have left an indelible impression on the psyche of the fashion fraternity, constantly creating tempting dresses for affluent clients worldwide. As a result, they seem to be catching people’s eyes every season in the four fashion capitals of the world: New York, London, Paris and Milan.
Among this A-list, the first name that comes to the fore is Valentin Yudashkin. For him, fashion is a way of life that allows him to engage with cinema and theater in order to create scenic images and outstanding outfits for actresses and singers. “There’s a lot I love to be good at in my life. It’s always about pushing the boundaries one way or another,” he said.
Yudashkin savors the buzz of fashion, so much so that he sees it as permanent work for him. In his view, this implies a constant search for new forms, originality in decision-making and creating new collections. “This is what attracts me to it a lot,” he said.
Yudashkin is understood to have been a keen follower of the Russian school of thought in fashion since 1986, the year he graduated with degrees in the history of traditional costumes and makeup, and decorative cosmetics from the Moscow Industrial Secondary School.
However, Paris really had a big impact on his fashion sense. “The work I did in Paris influenced me a lot,” he said. “In addition, the French haute couture school changed my way of thinking as a designer, which is evidently visible and differs from, for example, the Italian and American fashion schools. The French fashion school is solely based on the permanent search for new ideas on the basis of classical art.”
When it comes to designing magnificent haute couture, Yudashkin is revered worldwide. He does not shy away from wishing for luck. “It’s quite a delicate process to excel at, so you need to make a wish to have it on your side. However, the game stays the same. It all depends on the vivid ingenuity you think you can generate within yourself to make a difference.”
Be it designing prêt-a-porter or haute couture, he believes it is always necessary to find a relevant theme that is genuine and interesting. “This is a sought-after way to strike a chord with your clients anywhere in the world,” Yudashkin said.
Creating the finest visuals for a woman’s figure is an “absolutely necessary” part of his thought process. “We’ve been in fashion for many years, and surely we understand people for whom we create our clothes. If a client is private and we make a product by individual order, there will be more questions to answer than if it’s for a usual haute couture collection, because individual dresses are created directly for clients. They aren’t for the catwalk.”
Each dress is developed using a big arsenal of natural fabrics (silk, chiffon, taffeta, organza, velvet, lace and others) that Yudashkin imports from places such as France, Italy and Switzerland. “Once the fabrics reach our studio, we start working on combining them with the art of handmade formula, and in so doing create our collections,” he said.
Obsession with muses
While designing his collections, Yudashkin loves to have muses. “From season to season, our focus changes and is therefore centered on those muses or women who are actresses, ballerinas, historical figures or brilliant heroines from literary works,” he said.
“Our search never ends. I made collections dedicated to Anna Karenina, Queen Elizabeth (Russian tsarina), Catherine the Great (another Russian tsarina), and cinema divas from Russian, Italian and Hollywood films.”
The list of celebs donning his marvelous creations is impressive, including Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger and many more. “Our clothes are worn by a lot of Russian celebrities, singers, and actresses: Alla Pugacheva, Polina Gagarina, Yulia Savicheva, Zara, Natalya Ionova, Kristina Orbakaite, Aleksandra Savelyeva, Aglaya Shilovskaya and many others,” he said.
Yudashkin adores the trend of celebrity endorsements, which he thinks is one of the many important elements of the fashion business. “Any work needs to be in demand. In addition, there’s always a place for the critics. An endorsement is a purchase. If a dress is bought by a private client or by a museum, it means this outfit was made perfectly. I feel rewarded.”
His global success is proof that Russia’s fashion landscape is driven by vibrant energy, and will inspire many in the country to pursue the most happening and artistic fields they can hope for.
Russian women’s style
In the old days, a Russian woman did not enjoy so many possibilities when it came to forming her own style. “However, during the last 30 years our women have represented themselves as free and unrestrained in their choice of what they want to wear, what brands they select, and be able to buy anything they want in any part of the world,” Yudashkin said.
He also believes that in the last five years, everything has drastically changed in fashion because there are new media, information technologies and opportunities available, so now women from the Middle East, Russia and Europe do not differ in this respect. “They all have the same privilege today to create their own style and look. Russian women have their own style and color preferences, in the same way French, Italian and Asian women do,” he said.
Among the many new things in the pipeline, Yudashkin is working on rebranding. “We’ll be glad to represent to the public our new concept in 2017,” he said.
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