3 brilliant debuts at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia

March 18 2016

Olesya Khantsevich

special to RBTH

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From March 11-15 Moscow hosted the 32th edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. More than 50 designers presented their Fall/Winter 2016-2017 collections on the catwalks of Eastern Europe's biggest fashion event. RBTH highlights some of the newcomers – those who will be setting trends in the near future.

1. Kseniaseraya

Before creating her own brand, Ksenia Seraya, a graduate of the Polimoda Fashion School in Florence, worked for several years as a knitwear designer at the Ermanno Scervino couture house.

Consequently, she chose to dedicate her brand to the use of opportunities offered by programmable knitting machines in the creation of clothing. The production of collections, according to Seraya, should consist for the most part in the creation of new software.

Electronic knitting machines help get rid of the standard cut with scissors and make it possible to reproduce an extremely complex weave, seamless designs and integrally knitted silhouettes.

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The inspiration for Kseniaseraya's new collection, Capsule Collection Dress for Pina, was an attempt to convey the movement of the mobiles of American artist Alexander Calder, the transformation of silhouettes within a single form.

The programming of collection details is reminiscent of the works of Brooklyn artist Clement Valla, in which he examines the unpredictability and arbitrariness of a software algorithm. The collection's female image is the great dancer Pina Bausch, her avant-garde approach to the creation of ballets and cooperation with Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto in 1998.

Experimenting with the density of knitting and punching effects, Seraya has produced a gentle material from skillful interlacing – her slender strap dresses seem weightless, while her pantsuits are the height of comfort. The absence of seams ensures a perfect fit, while the natural shades of red and white add sophistication.

www.kseniaseraya.com

2. Vipers

Another debutant at the Fashion Week is the young brand Vipers, by sisters Katya and Vera Viper. Despite their young age, the women have reaped a harvest of awards. For instance, they were the winners of the Galeria Fashion Week contest for young designers in St. Petersburg and the finalists of the international competition Hand and Lock Embroidery Prize London.

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Vera, a graduate of the Stieglitz Art and Industry Academy in St. Petersburg, designs clothes, while Katya, an art and fashion historian, is in charge of the brand's line of accessories and PR. The sisters did their internships at the Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences (MAMK) in Savonlinna, Finland and Istituto Marangoni in Milan.

The designers are not restricted to one style and try to experiment with shapes, cut and different materials every season.

Their new collection, Poison, is inspired by the texture of poison, a flowing fluorescent fluid, Japanese Noh theater masks and sketches of tattoos. The graceful white dresses of chiffon and taffeta, skirts with low bottoms, and smoke-colored coats with decorative zippers are built on the principle of asymmetry.

The designers have taken a creative approach to the design of the skirts' edges, varying them with broad frills and flounces, and embroidering coat sleeves with stripes of colored fur. As a result, the young women have created a varied and sensual collection.

www.viperssisters.com

3. Sorry, I’m Not

The collection by debutants Sorry, I’m Not is built around the image of the siren girl who steals hearts and never regrets anything.

The colors vary from bright yellow to rainbow pink and glossy black. Delicate silk dresses with tentacle-like ruffles decorated at an angle, childish baby dolls contrast with black lipstick, while men follow their love in a fur and cord suit.

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The provocative name of the brand obliges the designers to experiment. For the new season, the brand makes bold use of lurex and glistening metal as well as unusual and occasionally incompatible combinations of colors and textures. Every image is laced with irony and provocation, while the combinations of materials and colors will appeal to the most daring.

The brand was founded in 2012 by graphic designer Nikita Moiseyenko and started, like many streetwear brands, from original futuristic prints on T-shirts. However, even with T-shirts, the designer decided to create only capsule collections, continuing to ensure their high quality. His works were noticed and purchased by the Podium Concept Store, Russia's largest, and then by other boutiques, and not just in Moscow.

www.sorryiamnot.com

Read mroe: A day with a young Russian model>>>

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