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November 27, 2007
USSR 2.0: The Enthusiasm Builds Among the Fashionistas
Just as Kesher Talk predicted a few weeks ago, the cultural rebirth of the USSR is proceeding at a smart clip. Why, the New York Times says so, with an article today about hip fashion trends reflecting the symbols and images of the glorious republic of workers and peasants. Titled, "The USSR is Back (at Least on Clothing Racks)," the article says,
one of the most popular fashion designers this fall is Denis Simachev, who is selling overcoats fastened with hammer-and-sickle buttons, gold jewelry minted to look like Soviet kopecks and shirts festooned with the Soviet coat of arms, complete with embroidered ears of wheat.“People in their 30s see these kinds of symbols as reminders of happy memories, like going to pioneer camp where they lived together, ate breakfast together and played sports,” said Mr. Simachev, 33, who wears his hair in a Samurai-style ponytail. He insists he is no Communist — for one thing, his overcoats sell for about $2,100 and his T-shirts for about $600. His boutique is sandwiched between Hermès and Burberry stores on a pedestrian lane, Stoleshnikov, that is one of the capital’s most expensive shopping streets.
I see -- because he's not a "Communist," then that makes everything OK, a hip, ironic meta-commentary on happy memories. I'm sure you can find folks elsewhere who think the same thing about swastikas and Confederate battle flags. Meaning comes from emotional responses, not historical facts.
The article drapes the trend in terms of retrograde politics, identity crises, and rejection of western values. To her credit, reporter Natasha Singer did find one dissenting opinion -- carefully balanced by another analyst who gets pretty much the final word, that the symbols are all in fun, nothing to get alarmed about:
Russians more steeped in Soviet history say they are appalled at the merchandising of the symbols of totalitarianism. “Personally, I would never wear something by Denis Simachev because, for me, those symbols mean Stalinist terror, Communism, a K.G.B. spy system and the cold war,” said Alexandre Vassiliev, a fashion historian who has published 14 books here. “I disapprove completely.”The designer’s fans say his motives are purely commercial. “Why did Andy Warhol paint Mao Zedong or Lenin? Because they are easily recognizable symbols,” said Nicolas Iljine, who specializes in Russian-American cultural exchange for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. “This is all pop nostalgia in a light-handed way. It doesn’t have deeper meaning.”
I bet if he looked hard enough, Ilijine could find pop nostalgia that he doesn't like so much. General Pinochet t-shirts, anybody?
Van | 11/27/07 at 07:05 AM | Categories: Competing narratives
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Comments
Interesting to say the least.
Paul | November 28, 2007 08:47 AM
Soviet chic redux?? :-)
Paul | December 1, 2007 07:01 PM
