Evgenia Milova about social life last week

Last week, social life was torn apart by the traditional pre-New Year bustle, which would only be stopped by the introduction of a curfew, and even then not for sure, as well as by the innovation in the form of the BRICS+ Fashion Summit, within which many different events took place, including an outdoor fashion show on a closed Malaya Bronnaya. All these initiatives were generously sprinkled with snow, reagents, snow, reagents, snow…

This fashion summit turned out to be interesting. Almost everything there was handled by the Alexander Shumsky Fashion Foundation, but some things were entrusted to a small event producer, Artem Krivda. For example, the opening show of Russian designers in GUM and the opening of their prefabricated showroom there. All this was listed on the summit website, but judging by the fact that the allocated seats for foreign guests were eventually occupied by non-foreigners, no one warned the guests from the BRICS countries or warned them too late. Subsequently there was also some confusion. Either the Alena Akhmadullina brand show in the RSL building was allowed in too slowly, or for the fashion show on Malaya Bronnaya, city employees were best prepared: firstly, they cleaned this Bronnaya properly; secondly, they were dressed much warmer than Moscow and foreign fashionistas, so they were in no hurry to take refuge in the Patriarchal restaurants and boutiques, but watched to the end.

Specifically, these two events took place as part of the “Night of Moscow Fashion,” which started as soon as it got dark, that is, at five in the evening. And from everything it was felt that this was such an import-substituted homage to the event, which was called Vogue Fashion Night Out. It was invented in New York in 2008 in order to somehow increase luxury sales after the global financial crisis: Anna Wintour and some top models with their retinue walked around the main boutiques, followed by ordinary buyers. Everyone was actively taking pictures, trying on something, brands were releasing limited-edition products. Then the idea spread around the world, FNO reached Moscow. There is nothing bad but good in this. Only before this took place in early September, and not in late November. And this turned out to be unmerciful even towards Muscovites, let alone guests from India, Brazil and other climatically pleasant countries. Although they were given such a warm welcome that the head of South American Fashion Week barely found her passport before leaving. But, of course, this is such a large-scale and multifaceted event that it cannot be covered in one column.

In addition to the summit, there were many other interesting things. The evening of the Posie brand, owned by ALROSA, was held at an outstanding level of production. There was a cocktail, a museum tour, a transfer to the Smirnov House, an exhibition of precious stones and, finally, dinner from Vladimir Mukhin. All this was not so much for the glory of the brand in general, but rather in honor of its high jewelry collection, work on which lasted three years. Usually high jewelry is something very lavish for something very formal. But what Mikhail Baryshnikov showed turned out to be rich in a different way. For example, the diamond arrowhead bracelet inspired by the fairy tale of the Frog Princess did not just have a large, clean, well-cut stone. No, it was cut exactly as it was done during the Neolithic. And before it turned out just right, more than one large diamond had to be crushed. Indeed, only a diamond mining giant can allow such trust in a jeweler.

Evgenia Milova, Kommersant columnist