Say goodbye to the animal print, mink¹ and gold lamé. After a rocky 1990s and noughties when the dour³ Soviet⁴ colour wheel was swapped⁵ for the excesses of the Putin oil boom, Russia’s fashion world has finally hit its stride, with a new crop of designers putting a modern take on Russia’s cultural heritage and enjoying crossover success in the west.

动物斑纹装、貂皮装以及金色亮片装已成往事。经过上世纪90年代与21世纪头十年的重重困难（前苏联单调乏味的服装色调因普京时代的滚滚石油财源而彻底改观），俄罗斯的时装业开始大踏步前行，新涌现的一波设计师赋予了俄罗斯文化传统以现代风格，成功实现风格转型，在西方社会大获成功。

In recent months, designers such as Olga Vilshenko, Vika Gazinskaya (both available from Net-a-Porter) and Ulyana Sergeenko, who specialise in Russian folk art-inspired bohemian designs, have gained a following in Hollywood, New York and London that remains⁷ undimmed by the geopolitical events. Opening Ceremony in the US and Brown’s in London have also begun stocking Walk of Shame Moscow, a new brand by Andrey Artemov.

近几个月以来，奥尔加•维尔申科(Olga Vilshenko)、维卡•甘琴斯卡娅(Vika Gazinskaya)以及乌里扬娜•瑟吉安科(Ulyana Sergeenko)等设计新锐师在好莱坞、纽约以及伦敦拥有众多明星拥趸。前两人的时装在Net-a-Porter网店有售，而乌里扬娜•瑟吉安科则专门设计受启发于俄罗斯民间艺术的波希米亚风格的时装。西方的时尚拥趸们也完全清楚乌克兰因地缘政治而爆发的战事。美国的Opening Ceremony及伦敦的布朗百货店(Brown’s)也开始囤积Walk of Shame Moscow的货，这是设计师安德雷•阿尔捷莫夫(Andrey Artemov)最新设立的时尚品牌。

At the Golden Globes last month nominee⁸ Julianna Margulies wore a Sergeenko gown, while Rihanna andKim Kardashian have become fans of Sergeenko’s more revealing outfits⁹: Rihanna chose a white body suit and sheer robe for the MTV Movie Awards, while Kardashian has been photographed in various plunging¹⁰ bodices.

在好莱坞的金球奖颁奖典礼上，入围者朱丽安娜•玛格丽丝(Julianna Margulies)身穿瑟吉安科设计的长外衣，而蕾哈娜(Rihanna)与卡戴姗(Kim Kardashian)也已成为瑟吉安科暴露装的忠实粉丝：蕾哈娜穿了瑟吉安科设计的白色紧身衣与睡袍参加MTV电影大奖颁奖(MTV Movie Awards)典礼，而卡戴姗更是身穿深V紧身胸衣公然亮相。

The actress Elle Fanning, meanwhile, is a follower¹¹ of Gazinskaya and Walk of Shame Moscow. Across the Atlantic, London “It” girl Alexa Chung and the singer Florence Welch have both been seen in Vilshenko.

与此同时，少女明星艾丽•范宁(Elle Fanning)则是甘琴斯卡娅与Walk of Shame Moscow的拥趸。在大西洋彼岸的伦敦，时尚名媛艾里珊•钟(Alexa Chung)与歌星佛洛伦丝•韦尔奇(Florence Welch)则身穿维尔申科品牌时装抛头露面。

The timing¹² of their newfound popularity may seem off, but it’s evidence of a sea change in Russian fashion. It has ceased being a dalliance for a few well-off socialites and become a real industry more fitting of the Russian fashion market, worth $58bn in 2014, according to Fashion Consulting Group. “There is a myth about Russian fashion that it can’t be a real business . . . that it’s just some rich girls — the wives of rich businessmen dressing¹³ up their girlfriends. But, actually, it hasn’t been like this for a while,” says Ksenia Solovieva, editor-in-chief of Russian Tatler.

这些新的流行时装的风头似乎已经过去，但这是俄罗斯时尚业彻底转变的证据。它们也不再是少数阔绰时尚名媛们的“一时兴起”，而是已成长为契合俄罗斯时装业实际的真正产业——根据时尚咨询集团(Fashion Consulting Group)的统计数字，2014年俄罗斯时装业的总产值达580亿美元。“坊间一直流行这样的错误看法：俄罗斯时装业不可能真正成为产业……仅是一些有钱女孩（原是商界富豪的女友，由对方出资从事设计，如今已为人妇）的‘游戏’。但实际情况早已今非昔比，”俄罗斯《Tatler》杂志主编柯西尼娅•索洛维耶娃(Ksenia Solovieva)如是说。

“The husbands who at one time were helping¹⁴ their girlfriend designers with money aren’t [doing that] any more. The husbands are now asking for a business plan . . . A lot of designers are looking at fashion foremost as a business, and developing a strategy for how to make money not today or tomorrow, but long-term.”

“一度出资协助自己设计师女友的富豪丈夫如今已改变策略。他们如今要求爱妻提供商业发展计划……很多设计师首先把时装业视为产业，并着手制订长远赢利策略，而非中短期战略。”

Vilshenko was one of the first designers to forge this route. While her husband was once the principal investor¹⁵, he exited after an outside investor took over. She is now managing 25 staff with a boutique and workroom in Moscow and a London office for UK clients.

维尔申科是制订长远发展规划的首批设计师。尽管她丈夫过去是主要出资者，但在外部投资者接管后他选择了全身而退。她如今雇有25名员工，在莫斯科拥有自己的专卖店与工作室，并在伦敦开设了专为英国客户服务的办公室。

For Vilshenko, the brand’s foreign client base has been a blessing¹⁶ — mitigating¹⁷ the effects of the weakening Russian currency. “It’s good we’re not only in Russia,” she says of her business, which has a strong following in the Gulf¹⁸ also. “Garments that have a long length, a high neck and long sleeves are popular there,” says Vilshenko. “Their traditions are actually quite close to ours.”

对于维尔申科来说，拥有外国客户群实属福音——此举可以大大减轻俄罗斯货币贬值造成的负面影响。“我们成功开拓了俄罗斯之外的市场，十分有利。”她指的是自己的生意，如今她的品牌在海湾国家也有众多拥趸。“超长款高领长袖装在海湾地区十分畅销，”维尔申科说。“她们的穿着习惯与我们十分相近。”

However, even international sales can’t protect Russia’s leading designers from the effects of an almost 50 per cent fall in the rouble over the past year — Vilshenko and Sergeenko, for instance, import most of their materials.

但是，国际市场的销售成绩再亮丽，也无法真正保护俄罗斯的知名设计师，因为过去一年，卢布的汇率几近腰斩——举个例子，维尔申科与瑟吉安科使用的多数面料均为进口。

In an interview Sergeenko, who at Paris Couture Week decided¹⁹ to forego doing a show, instead offering one-on-one appointments, said she is also worried about the damaging effect of US and EU sanctions, as well as those on the Russian side — last year, the Kremlin’s chief economic adviser²⁰ hinted it could ban the import of some European clothing and fabrics²¹.

瑟吉安科接受访谈时说：自己除了担心俄罗斯对美欧实行制裁的影响外，还对美欧对俄经济制裁所造成的破坏效应忧心忡忡——俄罗斯首席经济顾问去年曾暗示可能会禁止进口部分产自欧洲的服装与面料。

“I can’t imagine how in the modern world people can create these limits,” Sergeenko said, sitting in her Moscow showroom. “We have lived through so much  . . . In Russia you always witness some sort of historical event. There will be a period of calm, then something else happens.”

“我无法想象生活在现代社会的人相互之间会如此‘以邻为壑’”，坐在自己莫斯科时装陈列室的瑟吉安科如是说。“我们与西方之间经历了如此多的风风雨雨……在俄罗斯，总能亲历某些历史性事件。往往过上一段时间的宁静生活后，就会折腾些波折来。”

At her couture show in Paris last July — against a backdrop of conflict in east Ukraine — Sergeenko’s show began with the sound of a gunshot before a model entered in a calf-length leather jacket reminiscent of the Soviet secret police uniforms. (The designer says the idea was dreamt up long before the events of 2014.) Andrey Artemov of Walk of Shame Moscow says the crisis has been commercially unpredictable, describing how a Russian client might complain about the rouble but still buy the entire collection.

去年七月，瑟吉安科在巴黎举办了自己的高级时装展（尽管此时乌克兰东部地区的冲突不断），开场白竟是一声枪响，然后是一位模特上场，她身穿长及腿肚子的皮夹克，不由得让人想起前苏联秘密警察的制服。（设计师说其灵感早在2014年乌克兰危机爆发之前就已构思好。）设立Walk of Shame Moscow品牌的设计师安德雷•阿尔捷莫夫说乌克兰危机给商业前景造成不可预测性，他形容一位俄罗斯客户尽管会抱怨卢布大幅贬值，但仍会悉数买下整个系列。

Like other designers, Walk of Shame Moscow is taking no chances on the domestic market. Last year, the brand which specialises in lingerie-inspired dresses, trucker hats and boyfriend jackets — its muse²² being a hipster Holly⁶ Golightly, or “the cool and funny girl who drinks champagne²³ for breakfast”, as Artemov puts it — opened a temporary showroom in Paris to coincide with the city’s fashion week.

与其他设计师的选择一样，Walk of Shame Moscow为万全起见，并没在俄罗斯国内销售。去年，这家主打连衣裙（设计灵感来自贴身内衣）、卡车司机帽以及女夹克的品牌在巴黎开设了临时展厅，恰巧与巴黎时装周“撞墙”。Walk of Shame Moscow的御用模特是潮女霍莉•戈莱特丽(Holly Golightly)，也就是那位新潮风趣、早餐就喝香槟酒的时尚女。

Artemov’s dream is to open an office in Europe. “I don’t want to create a Russian brand,” the designer says. “I want to create an international brand.”

阿尔捷莫夫的梦想是在欧洲开办自己的分部。“我不希望创建俄罗斯时尚品牌，”她这样说道。“我的理想是创立国际知名品牌。”

Courtney Weaver is the FT’s deputy Moscow bureau chief

柯特妮•韦弗为《金融时报》莫斯科分部副主任