We Were Here. Archives of Russian Fashion. 1993–2005

An exhibition on the birth of the modern Russian fashion industry, its key figures, and its connection to the Russian art scene.

Illustration: Ruslan Shavaleev

The 1990s were a time of major changes in Russia. With the collapse of the USSR, many familiar models of production ceased to function. They were replaced by new systems and formats. The We Were Here. Archives of Russian Fashion. 1993–2005 project investigates one of these systems—the Russian fashion industry, demonstrating through archive materials how Russian designers progressed from art performances and shows in nightclubs to the first regular fashion weeks and boutiques. With this exhibition the curator of GES-2 Alexandra Tumarkina and guest co-curators Lyudmila Alyabieva and Svetlana Salnikova continue and develop the themes of the research Archive of Russian Fashion, conducted on the basis of the postgraduate programme of the School of Design of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

The exhibition focuses on the initial development phase of the Russian fashion industry. The starting point is 1993–1994, when the Smirnoff International Fashion Awards and the first official fashion week were held in the country. Although the period is relatively recent, surprisingly little material evidence of it has survived: some items were thrown away or lost, some perished in fires, and some were eaten by moths. Designers tried to keep up with the spirit of the time, and rarely thought about keeping archives. But even from scattered fragments of various archives, it has been possible to recreate a picture of the era.

To make it easier for visitors to find their way around the archives, the exhibition is divided into three thematic sections. The first looks at the special connection of Russian fashion with art and club scenes. The second examines the newspapers and magazines which not only covered fashion events, but informed people about fashion processes in Russia and abroad. The third focuses on fashion weeks and competitions, which determined the career of many Russian designers.

Exhibition invites us to look inside the personal archives of figures from Russian fashion industry, to gain a better understanding of the nature of the era. The project will not only look at people who aspired to become designers in the new Russian realities, but also those who were active in artistic circles or worked at the intersection of art and fashion. The people who helped to display, describe and contemplate fashion are also given coverage: stylists, photographers and models, critics, magazine editors, producers of fashion events and parties.

The timeframe of the exhibition ends in 2004–2005. By that time, many designers had settled on their future careers within or outside the industry—some made fashion their profession, while others chose art. From this point, fashion followed different trajectories. To follow them, it is important to continue studying, analysing and presenting fashion archives.

Photo: Daniil Annenkov

Authors

Alena Akhmadullina — Victoria Andreyanova — Andrey Bartenev — Olga Brovkina —
Vladimir Bukhinnik — Igor Chapurin — Denis Simachёv — INSHADE — Inshade art group (Maria Smirnova, Alexander Volokhovsky) — Larisa Lazareva — Dmitry Loginov —
Alexey Meshkov — Nina Donis — Liudmila Norsoyan — Tatyana Parfionova — Andrei Sharov — Maxim Sharov — Haik Simonyan — Svetlana Tegin — Masha Tsigal — Vassa — Vzhik art group (Nina Neretina, Donis Pupis, Galina Smirnskaya) — Valentin Yudashkin — Vyacheslav Zaitcev — Vladimir Zubets

Curators
Lyudmila Alyabieva holds a PhD in Philology and is a fashion historian. She is the Academic Director of the Postgraduate School of Art and Design at HSE University. Additionally, she is the editor-in-chief of Fashion Theory: Clothes, Body, Culture magazine, and the editor of its Library book series as well as of the Atelier series at V–A–C Press.

Svetlana Salnikova is a student at the Postgraduate School of Art and Design at HSE University. She is a researcher of everyday dressing practices, a fashion designer, and the founder of the brand fy:r.

Alexandra Tumarkina is a culturologist and curator at GES-2 House of Culture. She specialises in fashion research and participatory cultural projects and is a member of the curatorial team for the GES-2: Cities programme.

Architecture 
NORMA

Light
Ksenia Kosaya

Producers
Maria Kalinkina, Alisa Kekelidze

Technical production
Andrey Belov, Alexander Dolmatov, Artem Kanifatov, Maxim Lapshin

Art logistics and registration
Daria Krivtsova, Polina Kuznetcova

Accessibility and inclusion curators
Vlad Kolesnikov, Vera Zamyslova

The exhibition is organised in collaboration with

Alisher
Michael Alshibaya
Daria Anichkina
Artes Cultural Foundation
Anna Butusova
Valentina Elshanskaya
Natalia Emelechkina
Ekaterina Iragui
Alena Isaeva
Anzor Kankulov
Anna Lebsack-Kleimans
Irina Logvinova
Ekaterina Melnikova
Olga Mikhaylovskaya
net-film film archive
Ekaterina Pavelko
Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich
Olga Samodumova
Igor Shulinsky
Galina Smirnskaya
Polina Sukhovolskaya
Maria Suvorova