Valentin Yudashkin Paris FW16
Valentin Yudashkin is a Russian designer who grew up during the Soviet era and whose high-class work topples the ideas of deprivation and deficiency ingrained during that time. Yudashkin cites folk tales by Pavel Bazhov — which are themed around life in Siberia in the early 20th century — and malachite — a green stone and symbol that appears in Bazhov’s work — as motivation for this ready-to-wear season.
(Photos: Regis Colin Berthelier / NOWFASHION)
The Collection
The malachite green indeed shines in the collection, but only coming after some intense rouge. Many items opt first for a festive ichor red, including two jackets — one a shorter varsity jacket and the other an elongated driving coat of the same fabric — a long-sleeved cocktail dress (with ruffle center and a velour neck-piece), and a red silk suit with a fur collar attaché. Also not to be missed was the red gown with a long rectangular peep-hole, two leg slits, and high neck-line. At the same time, this dress is both angelic and slightly devilish.
The dress is both angelic and slightly devilish.
The emerald green comes at last, and it comes on beaded bustiers of floor-skimming gowns and on blouses with patterns à la butterfly wing. It comes with a symmetry found in nature — apparent but not overdone.
Not to be ignored were the more understated but equally heroic colors in the collection: black and gold. A dress of a similar shape as the red angel / devil dress in gold and black veers the dress straight into Princessland, while the black dress at the beginning of the show has a square neckline that deservingly spotlights a fur accessory that I can only think to describe as a nonfunctional neck brace.
Equally heroic in the collection: black and gold.
Along with the theme of finding solace in Paris — material and otherwise — Yudashkin included mittens as a keepsake for those who saw the collection, an article of clothing he has said was hard to come by when he was growing up.
Yudashkin included mittens as a keepsake, which were hard to come by when he was growing up.
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With love,
FWO