The House of Models on Kuznetsky Most is recognized as an object of cultural heritage

The ancient building at number 14 on Kuznetsky Most Street received the status of an architectural monument – this gives it special protection by the state and obliges the owners and tenants to coordinate any repair work with the city.

The history of this building began with a store of Siberian and American fur goods. In 1901, by order of the merchant Alexei Mikhailov, the architect Adolf Erichson developed a project for a commercial building in the Art Nouveau style, and the grandiose fur Fashion House was located in it. The internal concept of the building was intended for shop windows, model shows, tailoring workshops and fittings. Large windows along the entire facade of the building filled the trading floors with natural sunlight.

During the period of active development of Soviet fashion in the 1930s, new experimental laboratories and factories appeared to develop new models of dresses and underwear. With the advent of the first House of Models in 1938, formed thanks to the Mosbelie trust and located on Sretenka, fashion magazines began to be published with photographs (not drawings) of models in stylish outfits, and new stars of the Soviet fashion industry, artistic consultants and first-class seamstresses began to emerge.

In 1944, it was decided to move the House of Models to the building at Kuznetsky Most, 14. Since then, the commercial enterprise has been modeling new styles of clothing. As propaganda for Soviet fashion, since 1945, the Moscow House of Models began to hold open shows with fashion models and periodically exhibit expositions with new sewn collections. In the same year, on the basis of the company, its own publishing house was opened, which also publishes the Fashion Magazine. The building was essentially the “brain” of the fashionable textile industry.

During the second half of the 20th century, the All-Union House of Models on Kuznetsky Most participated in many exhibitions, fashion congresses, festivals and shows. In a word, prosperity. The legendary Vyacheslav Zaitsev joined the ranks of talented fashion designers in 1965.

However, by the 1990s, only six fashion designers remained within the walls of the Fashion House. The existence of the building was becoming critical. In 2002, the MDM group became the owner of the house, and a year later it was resold to the Podium fashion retailer.

But the building of the beginning of the 20th century is still a real architectural value – among the eye-catching details of the facade of the building are stucco molding, columns, forged grilles of doors and balconies, mosaics and large windows crowned with bas-reliefs. Between the central windows of the second and third floors, you can see the inscriptions “fourrures”, “AMMikhailoff” and “pelzwaren”, referring to the original owner and the purpose of the building, which was to trade in furs and coats.

From 2017 until recently, the building housed one of the largest Nike sports brand stores. Today the building is looking for a new tenant and is waiting for the beginning of a new page in its rich fashion history.

Ulyana Lekarkina.

Author’s photo