Russia’s appetite for fashion re-emerges in Paris

From models to designers to buyers, the mood is optimistic among the Russian fashion pack, who have descended on the French capital for one of the most glamorous weeks of the year — when designers show off their creations on the catwalk. “People are no longer thinking that everything is bad … People want new […]

From models to designers to buyers, the mood is optimistic among the Russian fashion pack, who have descended on the French capital for one of the most glamorous weeks of the year — when designers show off their creations on the catwalk.

“People are no longer thinking that everything is bad … People want new ideas, new fashion, new money, everything new — everything good and positive,” said Daniil Gorbachenko, creative director of Moscow’s prestigious department store Tsum. There is “more buying,” he told Reuters.

Russia’s passion for fashion — from home-grown designers to its hunger for luxury abroad — took a severe hit as the financial crisis took its toll, forcing sales to plummet and boutiques to board up their windows.

Stores for designers Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney closed down less than 18 months after their openings in Moscow. The glitzy Russian capital, known for its love of excess, buys more than 80 percent of Russia’s designer goods. Analysts predicted this year’s profits would be slashed by around a third in Russia’s luxury clothes and accessories industry, estimated between $4.5 billion and $9 billion.

“I think Russians still want their luxury and women with their love of fashion sustain that,” said one Russian buyer, who only gave her first name Katya. Like others buyers filling the front rows, she declined to talk about sales. Things are bad all around the world but there now good signs in Russia, there is an appetite,” she added.

In a sign of recovery, Tsum recently launched an entire floor dedicated to Russian designers, similar to London’s Harvey Nichols which has sections for British labels.

Reuters