With Russian Fashion Week about to roll into town, Sonya Rinkus goes behind the scenes to shine a light on the most fashionable places to see and be seen in Europe’s new capital of bling
In the 21st century, riding a wave of oil money, Moscow has built a reputation for unparalleled hedonism, stunning visual excess and, yes, flowing rivers of vodka. It’s a city where some of the world’s richest people work and play, attracting droves of visitors looking to get close to the flame. For those with enough patience to bear the visa process, Russia’s capital offers lots of memorably glitzy opportunities to burn money, starting from the moment you arrive.
If you’re in Moscow between 14 and 21 October, you may catch a glimpse of native designers debuting their spring-summer 2008 collections at Russian Fashion Week (www.rfw.ru). Although not yet considered in the same league as Paris or New York, every year it makes a bigger splash on the world fashion scene.
“Russian Fashion Week has played a strong role in the evolution of Moscow and Russia as a whole,” says general producer Alexander Shumsky. “We have seen a phenomenal influx of revered brands, while simultaneously growing and exporting our own.”
Those who don’t manage to finesse an invitation to the shows can view or purchase collections in GUM (State Universal Store) the following week. And if you want to hang out with the fashion set, here are the places to go…
The bigger, the better
Prices for accommodation in the capital hit a record high with the June opening of the Hotel Ritz-Carlton, located within sight of the Kremlin at the historic 3 Tverskaya address. Rooms at the Ritz, which start at RUB 18,000 (€515) per night, evoke 18th-century Tsarist opulence with dark cherry wood furnishings and marble from Russia’s Altay Mountains. Walk your complementary plush slippers (embossed with the Ritz Carlton logo) to the glass-domed O2 Lounge on the hotel’s top floor for cocktails overlooking the Presidential Administration.
The top of Putin’s head has its own allure, but the city’s best panorama can be found at towering Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy on the banks of the Moskva River. Compared to the Ritz, its rates are plebian at around RUB 13,500 (€390) per night, leaving you spare cash for shots of Russky Standart at City Space on the 34th floor. The vertigo-stricken will prefer the sleek Golden Apple, Moscow’s only boutique hotel, where rooms are artfully minimalist – rare for a city that loves gaudy excess.
Style over substance
The restaurant scene has developed with an eye for style rather than haute cuisine. The city’s most popular dining locales are always a spectacle in themselves, both in terms of interior design and clientele. The empire of Arkady Novikov, Moscow’s alpha restaurateur, dips as low as karaoke halls and bargain-basement family restaurants. But he’s perhaps best known for glitterati hotspots such as GQ Bar, a joint venture with the men’s fashion magazine, where you’re liable to find off-duty models nursing RUB 380 (€11) bottles of water.
French industrial designer Philippe Starck hand-picked Moscow as the location for his third Bon, a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the New Russian.
Its dark, Gothic interior is outfitted in the bizarre, mismatched trappings of wealth, from stuffed owls wearing jewellery to Kalashnikov lamp stands.
The greatest visual novelty of the culinary scene, however, is the much less ironic Turandot, a €36.8m restaurant that grabbed headlines across the world when it opened at the end of 2005. Named for the Chinese princess of an eponymous Puccini opera, palatial Turandot serves Russo-Asian fusion food that’s nothing special but still exorbitantly priced. But, remember, it’s not about the food. You’re paying for the luxury of dining in a 19th-century chinoiserie where the wait staff wear powdered wigs and the base colours are gold, gold and more gold.
Wear your wealth
Downtown landmarks GUM and TsUM (Central Universal Store), where the proletariat once queued for basic clothing items, are now only accessible to Moscow’s elitny (elite) shoppers. In GUM, which borders Red Square, boutiques of Escada, Burberry and Russian high fashion line Bosco di Ciliegi, sponsor of Russia’s official Olympic gear, face off against the Lenin Mausoleum. TsUM – a huge edifice near the Bolshoi Theatre which recently received an architectural face-lift – ran a summer ad campaign this year featuring Milla Jovovich.
Those with an eye for more alternative designers will find what they need in the new Cara & Co, located in art complex WinZavod, a former wine factory that positions itself as Moscow’s upmarket trendsetter. Owner Rozalia Kamenev imports funky Australian and New Zealand labels for young Muscovites casting their gaze beyond Gucci.
The past year has also seen the rise of Russia’s hipster designer Denis Simachev, who opened his first mono-brand store on pedestrianised fashion lane Stoleshnikov Pereulok. His eye-catching collections – including RUB 7,000 (€200) “Oil is Our Everything” and “I Heart OPG” (Russian organised crime) t-shirts – poke fun at the West’s greatest fears about Russia.
Never let a club grow cold
Whatever your fashion fancy, make sure to get properly dressed up before taking on Moscow’s infamous club scene, otherwise you’ll fall foul of the equally infamous homegrown practice of feis kontrol (face control). Essentially, entry is granted based on whom you know or, failing that, how much money you’re wearing. It might take a Simachev t-shirt to get into the boutique’s very own bar, which is 2007’s hottest destination for the zolotoi molodyozh (golden youth).
Mega-clubs, however, are more to the taste of the ultra-glam clubber. Dyagilev, which opened in spring 2006, is still the king of clubs, despite its advanced age (Moscow clubs have a legendarily short shelf life, sometimes less than a season, as people continually defect to the newer and more over-the-top).
Rai (Heaven) came along at the beginning of this year as a formidable challenger. With fantastical naked sculptures, otherworldly go-go dancers and a €22,000 table on top of a waterfall, the club changed Moscow’s nightlife rules forever by instituting two levels of feis kontrol: one for entry to the bar and yet another for entry to the dance floor.
As access to both Dyagilev and Rai is notoriously difficult, a safer bet for Moscow novices might be Fabrique, a perennial favourite among tourists and expats alike for its relatively relaxed entry policy. It has an excellent summer veranda and a young clientele, and it’s packed on weekends when it hosts international house and techno DJs.
An extended stay in Moscow is something you may never recover from – spiritually or financially – and at the very least it will take years off your life. However, at least you can show your grandchildren photographs of how you were there when Moscow was one of the hottest cities on the planet.
FR » Podiums et caviar
Dans ce 21e siècle, Moscou a gagné une réputation inégalée d’hédonisme et d’excès visuel, ce qui n’a pas manqué d’attirer des masses de visiteurs. Le Russian Fashion Week, du 14 au 21 octobre, constitue une autre opportunité pour cette capitale de briller, lors de la présentation par les stylistes russes de leurs collections printemps-été 2008. Voici un aperçu des endroits où la ville vibre…
En juin, l’Hôtel Ritz-Carlton a ouvert ses portes affichant les prix les plus élevés du tout Moscou, à €515 la nuit, offrant à ses hôtes l’opulence tsariste du 18e siècle. Le Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy tout en hauteur, pratique des tarifs légèrement plus réduits, mais une vue plus élevée de son City Space bar au 34e étage. Le Golden Apple est une vraie rareté – un hôtel- boutique minimaliste à Moscou.
Ici, les restaurants valorisent le style plutôt que la haute cuisine. Les lieux incontournables du gratin, du restaurateur Arkady Novikov, comme le GQ Bar, par exemple, sont typiques tout comme le Bon de Philippe Starck – un hommage à la Nouvelle Russie. Mais celui qui couronne le tout est le Turandot, une apparition de €36.8millions d’or à perte de vue, de l’or et encore de l’or, une fête pour les yeux plus que pour le palais.
Les anciens grands magasins d’Etat GUM (sur la Place Rouge) et TsUM (près du Théâtre du Bolshoi) ont été transformés en magasins design complètement occidentalisés. Des noms de créateurs plus alternatifs peuvent être trouvés chez Cara & Co, dans le centre d’art de WinZavod. Le styliste russe Denis Simachev a également ouvert sa propre boutique où le prix des t-shirts démarrent à €200.
Pour entrer dans les boîtes de nuit ‘in’ de Moscou, vous devez impérativement montrer votre richesse, auquel cas vous serez relégué dans la file infâme des feis kontrol (à la tête du client). Si vous ne parvenez pas à entrer dans les clubs Dyagilev ou Rai, essayez Fabrique, où la politique de sélection à l’entrée est plus relax.
NL » Moscow glamour
Sedert het begin van de 21e eeuw heeft Moskou faam verworven met haar weergaloze hedonisme en de visuele overdaad die bezoekers in horden aantrekt. De Russian Fashion Week van 14 tot 21 oktober is nog zo’n kans voor Moskou om te schitteren, wanneer eigen ontwerpers hun lente-zomercollecties voor 2008 komen showen. Het is hier dat het modieuze hart van Moskou klopt!
In juni opende het Hotel Ritz-Carlton zijn deuren met de hoogste prijzen van de stad. Voor 515 euro per nacht worden gasten hier omringd door de tsaristische weelde van de 18e eeuw. Het torenhoge Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy is iets minder duur, maar biedt een beter uitzicht vanuit de City Space-bar op de 34e verdieping. De zeldzame parel The Golden Apple is dan weer een minimalistisch boetiekhotel.
In de restaurants hier primeert stijl op haute cuisine. Restaurateur Arkady Novikovs hotspots voor de beau monde, zoals de GQ Bar, zijn daar typische voorbeelden van, net zoals Philippe Starcks Bon, een eerbetoon aan de Nieuwe Rus. Maar de prijs voor de overdaad gaat toch naar Turandot, een kunstwerkje in goud, goud en nog meer goud ter waarde van 36,8 miljoen euro. een feest voor de ogen in plaats van het gehemelte!
De voormalige staatswinkels GUM (op het Rode Plein) en TsUM (dicht bij het Bolsjoi Theater) evolueerden naar het duurdere marktsegment en bulken nu van de westerse designerwinkels. Nog meer alternatieve namen vind je bij Cara & Co, in het kunstencomplex WinZavod. Ook de Russische ontwerper Denis Simachev opende zijn eigen winkel, met T-shirts vanaf 200 euro.
Om in de betere nachtclubs van Moskou binnen te raken, moet je voorzien zijn van de nodige glitter en glamour als je niet in aanvaring wil komen met de beruchte feis kontrol (face control). Als je er niet in slaagt Dyagilev of Rai binnen te komen, moet je het eens proberen bij Fabrique, waar de ‘deurpolitie’ minder onverbiddelijk is.
Images Corbis / Images Patricia Bailer,
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