The research is based on the experience and lifestyle of the young artists and musicians (‘Red Wave’ & Joanna Stingray) before and after the reconstruction period in Russia. The main image of the collection was influenced by the ‘phenomenon’ of Russian rock idol Victor Tsoi, who was the iconic representation of the free spirit of the young generation, who was standing out among others, due to his creative abilities, uniqueness, and fearlessness in front of the law and its restrictions. He was a bold antagonist of the totalitarian Soviet regime, and he was existing ‘despite’ and creating ‘despite’. The most iconic band ‘Kino’, which is by this day has the biggest impact and influence on Russian society; the ‘Red Wave’ paradox & Joanna Stingray’s recently published photo archive, that opens a window to a completely new side of the youth culture of the 80s, demonstrating the free and independent spirit, that was always kept under wraps; Russian underground cinematography, including cult films like ‘ASSA’ & ‘The Needle’, which are showing the true reality of the harshness of living in totalitarian country – all the essential points that helped building the main concept of this collection.
Moreover, there is a more personal angle to this collection, which is presented by the story of the designer’s mother, who was about 20 years old during the 80s. She shared her ‘reality’ of more ‘strict’ and ‘patriotic’ side of Russian society of that time, with an example of her personal experience working in the summer camps, as a part of the obligatory university practice. Repainting houses, watching and taking care of the waifs or children from the orphanages, performing the patriotic songs in front of the important state figures, doing all the patriotic activities and praising the Russian’s state leaders were on the list of her duties as a participant of those summer camps. Despite the feeling of the complete loss of your identity and being a supporting part of the big mechanism, young students found their creative ways of avoiding that suffocating atmosphere by experimenting with their uniforms by painting them, making their own custom patches and stitching them on their jackets randomly, while no captain can see them.
This collection is very artistic and aims to evoke the boldness and fearlessness of a young spirit of every creative individuality. Every piece in the collection is unique and made by the designer herself. The collection consists of 8 looks and represents a big variety of classic menswear pieces, such as a classic trench-coat, a coat, a jacket, and a shirt. The silhouette is very much 80s, all the shapes are mostly oversized. There are also a few specific 80s garments, such as banana pants (Victor Tsoi style), tube bags, a painter’s overall, that was inspired by the workwear uniform piece from the summer camp and basic knitted tops with rolled necks, which were combined with almost everything at that time.
Textiles in this collection include a variety of techniques, such as printing, knitting, and weaving. All the printed pieces were painted by hand or with the screen using reactive dyes and pigment dyes. Fabrics used in this collection are mainly cotton, viscose, and silk, suitable for printing with reactive dyes. The knitted tops were partly dyed with reactive dyes and partly with pigments. Each pair of sneakers were made for each look accordingly, dyed and customized wither with the digitally printed image or a woven patch, covered with the lyrics from the ‘Kino’s songs, Victor Tsoi’s quotes, or 80s symbols. In addition, the designer created a collection of unique scarfs. Some of them are vintage scarfs from the 80s, printed with screen print with pigment dyes.
The main accessories of the collection are the ‘tube’ bags and ‘ASSA’ earrings. There are 3 bags in the collection, each one made in different techniques: embroidered with Swarovski crystals patched, printed with reactive dyes, digitally printed image. All the earrings are handmade and present images from the designer’s mother’s photo archive. The shape and idea of the earring were inspired by the scene in the movie ASSA, where the lead character made an earring for himself out of the printed photo of him and his girlfriend, and then was arrested for wearing it on the street by the state authorities.
There are many symbols (woven patches, pins, embroidery), which were created, as anti-symbols with the idea behind it to break the stereotypical overview on the formal patriotic uniform of the Russian army and the state's uniform.
With the feeling of the free and open-minded spirit of the artistic people of that time, this collection is set to inspire others to never forget about the authenticity of their creative and personal individuality.
