Rebecca Taylor: An American in Moscow

They used to spy on Americans in Moscow, now Motorola finances New York designers to show in Gorky Park.

The latest Manhattan label to tread the boards in Russian Fashion Week is Rebecca Taylor, who staged a well-received show in custom-built tent complex where most of this seven-day season is held.

"We have this one fantastic client, and our business with them keeps growing and growing. So we jumped at the chance to come here and check out the scene," Rebecca Taylor's owner and designer Beth Bugdaycay told FWD post-show.

She was referring to Mercury, the powerful local retailer that owns a whole luxury street around the corner from Moscow, with boutiques like Tiffany, Dolce&Gabbana and Armani Casa.

Taylor's brand of party dresses, big-flowered prints, crocheted white cotton cocktails and snug jackets and boleros has won a strong following among local gals in Mercury's Zum, a cleverly renovated former Soviet department store located smack beside the Bolshoi Ballet.

"It's definitely been worth the visit. So many women here are beautiful and have style," added the globe trotting Beth, who returned to New York Tuesday morning before jetting off to Tokyo for a trunk show this weekend.

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