Updated 1980s looks from ex-emigrant Russian designer

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Published: 03 April, 2009, 22:06

Photo by Aleksandr Azarov

New winter collection from Oleg Ovsiev: a look back to the 1980s and of course fur traditional for Russia and Viva Vox fashion house.

“In this collection we revealed the theme of long jackets a-la 1980, but of course we tried to find certain balance, as this is a new collection and we can’t just copy the designs of the 1980s.”

Oleg Ovsiev says that all trousers were made under the same curves for both men and women. “It looks amazing! You would never say that it’s a man wearing women’s pants,” he says.

This season has become a certain breakthrough for Viva Vox: finally they have made "a mini collection for men", after a long break. "The whole idea of this collection was the penetration and mutual influence of men’s wear on women’s and vice versa.”

click to enlarge Photo by Aleksandr Azarov

The designer has a Muse, who inspires him, gives advice, and who actually invited him to work in Russia after his long absence in the country. It’s the owner of Viva Vox, with whom he studied together and now works as a partner.

Viva Vox traditionally makes fur clothes for the winter. Ovsiev says he’s always "very excited with making winter collections as it gives a chance to play with different textures". This collection’s fabrics are costume fabrics, velvet, silk, wool and of course furs, provided by Saga Furs.

“There is no concrete recipe for creating a collection. It’s more a chain of sudden glimpses. But if you dig these details a certain logical line will be found. I’m not the designer who can find inspiration in some book or some musical piece,” Ovsiev says.

Oleg Ovsiev claimes there are far too many institutes and courses, where youngsters can study fashion nowadays in Russia.

“I think it’s wrong… there are too many designers now, and very few of them are worthy and talented. Now with the crisis survives the fittest, in my opinion it’s the time when quantity transforms into quality. However there still are some talented designers, who can’t make it to the top fashion shows, because they simply have no funding.”

click to enlarge Photo by Aleksandr Azarov

According to Ovsiev today’s designers, influenced by the crisis, may be divided into two groups: some make “safe” commercial collections trying to play up with the buyers, and others vice versa express creative splash. Ovsiev himself has always been with the last. “The crisis and depression somehow provokes us to do what we want, thus we can see many cool strong collections especially in this season.”

Since 1990 Oleg Ovsiev has been living in Amsterdam. He used to work as the designer of wedding clothes for Els Hillenius couture, developed accessories for well-known youth brand Esprit, worked for the Danish brand Daks, Swedish Bjorn Borg, Italian Lancetti, and German Jil Sander. In 2001 the fashion designer established his own design studio Oleg O in the Dutch capital. In 2005 he came back to Russia to work for Viva Vox.

Diana El-Bakri, RT