Russian Romanticism in Paris: Moncler and Kenzo

The Russian economy might be collapsing, but its culture is enjoying a moment in the current Paris season, with two impressive collections of Russian chic.

On Tuesday, March 10, Moncler unveiled its high-end Gamme Rouge collection designed by Giambattista Valli, whose inspiration was the recent “Magnificence of the Tsars” exhibition of court dress in London’s V&A Museum. On Wednesday morning, March 11 at Kenzo, the house’s designer Antonio Marras incorporated everything from the film "Doctor Zhivago" to 1920s art movement Soviet Constructivism in a conceptual ode to the Russian steppes.

Moncler Gamme Rouge unveiled its Tsarist down jackets for fall 2009 in an exceptionally well-staged presentation in the Rotonde de Caves, with actors in Solovetsk Calvary uniforms, a general’s camp bed with a fox-lined sleeping bag and even two live white horses, almost as surprised to see the audience as they were to see them. In one dark cave, Valli projected scenes from “Russian Arc,” the 2002 movie filmed in a single 90-minute Steadicam shot in the Hermitage.

Valli showed his volume puffer jackets with Cossack high collars in fur, Catherine The Great swirling coats embellished with crystal imperial motifs and a down jacket in gold shaped like a Faberge egg. Valli has always had a good sense of humor, testified to by two very cool boleros, one in gray and white chinchilla, and the other in a highly convincing fabric imitation of real fur.

“Now you see it, now you don’t,” beamed the designer, who celebrated his success with a Caviar Kaspia dinner for 40 pals and late night dancing in the Paris club of the moment, Montana.

The following morning at Kenzo, designer Marras went east as well; taking his customer for a walk in Tartar-style platform boots with fur trim and rabbit fur parkas worn under some great jacquard Anna Karenina coats.

An invitation in the shape of a matryoshka doll hinted at the idea, as did the balalaika chords during the show. Great splayed jackets in petrol blue with Hussar’s frogging, fabulous evening coats in color blocking worthy of Russian artist Rodchenko and mink micro capes over silk dresses in a floral print of mini Central Asia flowers all looked great.

Marras did cut the silhouette a tad large at times, perhaps the influence of the dolls, but his checkered artists’ broken herringbone jackets nipped in with military belts were a look that was chic, cool and flattering.

Backstage, the largely Russian casting embraced the gentlemanly Marras with fervor rare even for models. They were right to do so, as this was a very fine collection.

The production, however, was not as successful. A soundtrack far too loud for a morning show, bizarrely hit and miss lighting, which caused far too many photographers to use a flash, and a banal wooden runway added up to a lamentably inept performance by the show producers.

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