Ulyana Sergeenko Brand (Q8020)
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Ulyana Sergeenko Brand is a fashion house from BOF.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Ulyana Sergeenko Brand |
Ulyana Sergeenko Brand is a fashion house from BOF. |
Statements
Amid several mood-board mosaics featuring stills from spy thrillers and film noir classics, pictures of people living in the Soviet Union postwar, an oldVoguecover or two, and Michael Jackson’s iconic glove was a photo of Ulyana Sergeenko’s grandmother taken 64 years ago in eastern Kazakhstan. With her close-cropped shelf of bangs and strict white collar against what was likely a black dress, her look registered as rather timeless. But it also reinforced that these haute couture collections invariably connect back to something personal, no matter the narrative. This one just so happened to be a darker departure, with Sergeenko and business partner Frol Burimskiy assembling a glam squad of American femme fatales and Soviet gangsters alike.No doubt the fur-collared barrel coat accessorized with gloves and a sturdy doctor’s bag made a cinematic first impression. And the sense that this lineup could have been a dress rehearsal for some John Huston remake continued through to the paler classic Hollywood dresses further on. But backstage, Burimskiy repeatedly singled out how the intimidating silhouettes were often countered with bits of irreverence: suits punctuated with pistol and lace handkerchiefs; the ultra-luxe gray fur coat accented with small jazz instruments in gunmetal embroidery; frequent bow incrustations; and a minaudière as a sculpted rose. What ensured that these couture pieces transcended costume were the deliberate workmanship and labor-intensive detailing decisions. A soft floral pattern that looked painted was actually dyed mesh appliqués, while glossy panels on a pencil skirt were stamped and lacquered leather. Suit striping wasn’t limited to chalk—it was also alternating panels of tone-on-tone fur.Despite the usual theatricality inherent to the brand’s style, this collection couldn’t have come at a better time given the ’40s references elsewhere. Sure, those looks recall their respective house codes, whereas these aggregate a stylized fiction. But between the black bustier pieces and the more ladylike dresses boasting local Yelets and Vologda lace, the Ulyana Sergeenko spin will easily seduce her clients. Finally, take a look at the designer in the final photo. She created a replica of her grandmother’s dress. For a collection purportedly based on antiheroines, it felt like an authentic happy ending.
5 July 2017
To celebrate her 10th couture collection in Paris,Ulyana Sergeenkoinvited guests to the Cirque d’Hiver, a historic circus and music venue, whereNatalia VodianovaandDoutzen Kroeswere among the evening’s show ponies. As they made their way around the ring, their figure-flattering bustier dresses and longer, languid looks revealed traditional techniques and symbols that begged decoding. “It’s about all the magic things a woman can do,” summed up Sergeenko, who returned to her familiar themes of Slavic folklore and paganism, this time channeled through an imaginary ’80s lens à la Helmut Newton or Steven Meisel.Vodianova, Sergeenko’s close friend, played the role of lead witch, whose contemporary corsetry soon proved to be the collection’s most striking feature. But there were several other highlights, including all the flat and dimensional crochet embellishments—definitely more haute than homespun—and an elaborate yet judicious application of feathers. The subtle difference in her Russian lace (the two versions are called Vologda and Yelets) compared to the familiar French lace was like a watermark of authenticity.If some of the nature motifs were more identifiable to this non-Russian than others—the snakes coiling at a hemline or the lily pad bra cups, for example—nothing overpowered, and the main focus stayed where it ought to be in couture: the construction. There was noticeable lightness to this season, and Sergeenko’s business partner, Frol Burimskiy, confirmed that a concerted effort was directed towards easing the weight from the corsets to the modern maidenly looks. A navy strong-shouldered cape dress with a wispy wake of tulle tacked to the back cast a spell—aided, most likely, by the model’s goggle-shaped glasses.Sergeenko also credited stylist Edward Enninful as the magic ingredient that shifted the overall impression. As he noted, “It’s that fine line between wearability and fantasy.” Truly, it was pleasing and ironic to be in a venue known for its spectacles, and to see that she had left the costume behind.
26 January 2017
A trip backstage atUlyana Sergeenkois a lesson in Russian history. In her nine seasons on the Paris calendar, she and her partner in the business Frol Burimskiy have touched on everything from the Orient Express (obvious) to St. Petersburg’s Soviet era apartments (more esoteric). They’re wildly enthusiastic about all of it, and they produce some of the most theatrical clothes on the couture schedule. Sergeenko’s new Fall collection was different. Once more, she and Burimskiy claimed the Motherland as their starting point, specifically the 1960s childhood of their parents. By their mutual account, the ’60s in Russia were an optimistic, even utopian time, but the tone of the collection was more sedate than what they usually get up to. It was far less frivolous than Sergeenko’s most recent outing, and that’s a good thing.The new sensibility came down to the emphasis on daywear like professorial tweed pant suits and sporty Lurex bodysuits emblazoned with Y’s (for Ulyana). Botantical motifs apparently lifted from biology lessons inspired the subtle jacquard of a skirt suit. And there was even a co-ed’s leather motorcycle jacket and a mini skirt embroidered here and there with patches. Ribbed knit tights that pooled at the knees and ankles and humble patent leather loafers contributed to the academic, if not downright geek-chic feel of much of the collection.To be sure, it wasn’t all textbooks and cramming for exams. There were a few too many girdle-slash-garter belts in the mix; they looked silly. One of the compelling aspects of this brand is its celebration of native handiwork. Here, it was showcased on a black off-the-shoulder column dress in two different kinds of handmade lace and hugely time-consuming mosaic furs that took their cues from the humble needlepoints found in Soviet homes. It was in those instances that the earnestness was most winning.
3 July 2016
Every season withUlyana Sergeenkoit’s a new story about her native Russia. Her Spring couture collection marries two eras: the 1980s, just before the fall of Communism, and the turn of the 20th century, just before the Russian revolution.Madonnaand Boy George were on Sergeenko’s mood boards, as was the Russian noble Nikolay Yusupov, whose eccentricities reportedly included stocking a pond on his manor with fish pierced with gold earrings. Sergeenko reproduced one of those fishes as a scaly minaudière, hoop earrings and all. This was a collection rife with such excesses. Big ’80s volume in the leg-of-mutton sleeves. A sugary Jordan almond color palette. Stephen Jones–designed newsboy caps à la Madge. It had a freewheeling spirit that you could chalk up to the fact that Sergeenko and her right-hand man, Frol Burimskiy, having bought out their former investor, are now bankrolling the collection themselves. There’s a certain liberty in that.Will it prove seductive to Sergeenko’s clients? It won’t hurt that ’80s silhouettes are becoming a thing in the wake ofJ.W.Anderson’s last two collections. And it could also work in her favor that Soviet-era Russia is trending elsewhere in fashion. (Also, Russian-bornGosha Rubchinskiyis a hot young thing in menswear;Vetements’sDemna Gvasaliahails from Georgia.) To this reviewer’s eye, though, the more outré shapes came off costumey (they look just as silly to me at JWA, for the record). The molded leather corsets, on the other hand, were beautifully made, and it was easy to imagine them becoming a hit for the brand. In the end, the most charming pieces here were the ones that showcased the work of Russia’s ownpetites mainsclass. This season that was a pair of handmade lace slip dresses of such laborious workmanship they reportedly took five months each to make.
27 January 2016
Rihanna wears an Ulyana Sergeenko piece in her NSFW video "Bitch Better Have My Money." Emilia Clarke chose one of Sergeenko's red-carpet numbers for the Seoul leg of theTerminator Genisystour. That's a good week by any designer's standards. Sergeenko has come pretty far since her first couture show three Julys ago. The Chambre Syndicale made her an official guest member earlier this year.Her new Fall collection, like all of them so far, tells a story about her native Russia. This one focused on Saint Petersburg's Soviet-era communal apartments, which saw once-grand 10-room homes divided among their once-grand mistresses and any number of sailors, peasant families, KGB officers, and army men. Interiors were the starting point, but with the exception of a few pieces—a fur coat tufted like a sofa, a fully embroidered dress with a lampshade hem, a bulky off-the-shoulder knit dress—much of the collection exhibited a new lightness. The strength of Sergeenko's brand is its precious, delicate handwork for which she employs many homegrown artisans. It was put to lovely use on a dress tatted from two different colored yarns and layered over a pale lavender slip, and again on a black velvet dress with a lace bib featuring a squirrel lifted from drinking glasses that Sergeenko and her right-hand man, Frol Burimskiy, remember from their childhoods.As sweet as that sounds, and aside from the occasional fur bonnets, it wasn't entirely innocent. It never is here. The apartment theme gave Sergeenko a reason to explore boudoir-ish pieces. A black silk dress wrapped closed like a peignoir and a floral jacquard pajama set came trimmed with a fur collar. Bad gal RiRi can wear the velvet fil coupe robe in her next video.
5 July 2015
After five seasons on the haute couture runway, Ulyana Sergeenko presented her new collection in a salon at Le Bristol hotel today. The optics of the situation weren't so hot: Untrained Russian ingenue makes a big, expensive splash complete with an endorsement from model Natalia Vodianova, only to be forced to downsize a couple of years later. That said, the one-on-one appointment is probably how Sergeenko, whose design experience is in inverse proportion to her ambition, should've gotten her brand off the ground in the first place. If there's a bright spot in Russia's ruble crisis for her, it's that she's found a setup that suits not just her fledgling business but also her aesthetic.Sergeenko likes to reference specific eras of Russian history. She's an ambassador not just for her country but also for its traditions, employing upward of 100 people whose handwork is often native to the region. This season, she explained, she chose Russian neighbors Georgia and Armenia as points of departure. True to form, the embellishments were exquisite, and at times mind-numbingly minute. Crisscross stripes on a pale blue dress weren't printed but embroidered with narrow bands of tulle hand-stitched in place, ironed, and accented at the intersections with tiny crystals. In some cases the fabric of a garment itself was embroidered all over. Why make tiny white stitches by the thousand when selecting a piece of white silk might do? Why not?The attention to detail was impressive, but more than that, Sergeenko has eased some of the beginner's excesses out of her system. The best pieces—a strapless waffle silk dress with an emerald green velvet lining at the scalloped hem, an unstructured midnight blue frock with a draped cutout at the midriff and a pair of high slits—didn't verge into costume territory but retained a strong sense of place.
27 January 2015
Ulyana Sergeenko's show started with a bang. It was the sound of an explosive going off. This wasn't going to be another of her Russian fairy tales, the soundtrack suggested, and the first look out—an officer's coat cut from glossy black leather—confirmed that impression. Backstage, Sergeenko and her partner, Frol Burimsky, expressed their dismay at the current situation in Ukraine and the repercussions throughout the region, indicating that it prompted her to think about another time of upheaval in the history of the region: the first twenty-five years of the 20th century, when the czar fell and the USSR emerged.In the end, the show wasn't as politically charged as all that setup suggests, and it was probably better for it. The officer's coat gave way to a crystal-covered opera coat. A starring role was played by vibrant gradient-knit mohair sweaters inspired by constructivist artist Kazimir Malevich, and Sergeenko's familiar molded bustiers—in satin under bias-cut chiffon, and in leather over silk pajama separates. Amid the many different looks and moods represented on the runway, a nipped-in waist provided a through-line. Naturalistic and nationalist embroideries were another; sheaves of wheat, which appeared on everything from an abbreviated dress to a covered-up jumpsuit, are a symbol of Mother Russia. The collection would've been stronger minus a few outliers—a black leather pinafore minidress and an embroidered strapless bodysuit come to mind. But there were a few beauties here. We liked the make-do spirit of a black velvet hourglass number wrapped at the waist with what could have been a hand-tatted white linen napkin.
7 July 2014
In every couture collection, Ulyana Sergeenko tells a story. This time, it was a reimagining of a ride on the Orient Express. Sergeenko's new heroine not only crossed borders (the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), but also, in a manner of speaking, cross-dressed, borrowing clothes from the men she met on her travels and mixing them with her own more feminine attire. "She could be a movie star," Sergeenko said, "but shes definitely a femme fatale."It's the kind of trip that John Galliano would've once taken us on at Dior. He was a virtuoso, and Sergeenko is a couture arriviste, but damned if she isn't determined. The train car set and sound effects…the all-star hair and makeup team of Orlando Pita and Pat McGrath…the tubeteika-inspired hats made by milliner Stephen Jones…and especially the made-in-Russia workmanship of the clothes. At a preview a couple of days before the show, Sergeenko was keen to point out the hand-painted beaded fringe suspended from the back of a silk chemisier gown, or the way the stripes on a sheath weren't a print but rather intarsias of narrow bands of silk. It was impressive stuff in close-up, as were the hand-embroidered cotton buds (a nod to Kazakhstans major crop) that decorated many of the looks.With Raf Simons ensconced at Dior and Karl Lagerfeld putting sneakers on the Chanel catwalk, couture has taken on a more modern tone, and Sergeenko's destination-oriented approach starts to look old-fashioned. That said, she's worked hard to lighten up her constructions since her debut four seasons ago. She's still at the beginning of her couture journey.
20 January 2014
After collections devoted to Russian fairy tales and American literature, Ulyana Sergeenko turned to orthodox architecture and priests' vestments as inspiration for her third couture show. Bell silhouettes replaced the wasp-waists of her recent outings, ruffled collars grazed the chin, and arms more often than not were covered. Deep pleats, dense wools, and an abundance of black and charcoal gray added a certain austerity to the proceedings, alleviated by a pair of cardinal-red dresses and another in absinthe-green silk velvet.Sergeenko makes no apologies for her love of native dress. On the contrary, she sees it as a strength, creating detailed mood books for each season thick with clippings of paintings, photographs, and other artifacts. She's got a strong signature, and certainly there are women in the couture crowd who approach dressing with a similar kind of drama. But to others her clothes look likes costumes. They're right, up to a point. Still, it's worth taking a closer look at what she does. The pleats on the back of one gray frock are dotted with tiny river pearls embroidered with orangey-red thread; the effect is fairly enchanting. And the neckline of a black frock is painstakingly yoked in Vologda lace. A three-quarter-sleeve blouse in the stuff will cost a small fortune, but without Sergeenko or another obsessive like her, the centuries-old technique stands a good chance of dying out.Does the collection at times lack finesse? Sure. And is it presumptuous for Sergeenko, who is untrained, to present on the same schedule as masters like Lagerfeld and Lacroix? Well, yes. But if France's petites mains are worth celebrating and saving, then certainly so are Russia's. Back in Sergeenko's temporary Paris showroom, there's a capsule collection of ready-to-wear that she's made at retailers' requests. Silk blouses and dresses reinterpreting her theme look utterly wearable and sweetly charming.
1 July 2013
"Gone With the Wind, the Headless Horseman, Huck Finn—it's our American collection," Ulyana Sergeenko said before her second Couture show today. Having explored her Russian roots at her debut in July, Sergeenko was eager to surprise. If nothing else, the U.S. contingent was amused by a soundtrack that ranged fromThe Wizard of OztoDjango UnchainedtoRocky. There wasn't a bad tune in the lot, but their cumulative effect bordered on kitsch.Sergeenko's clothes are unapologetically theatrical. Scarlett O'Hara's widow's weeds made an appearance, as did her famous green curtain dress. One model carried a bindle down the Théâtre Marigny runway, and another hitched a wooden slingshot into her belt. To some, the Russian is better suited to Hollywood back lots than to Paris haute couture. Certainly, outfits like a corseted velvet onesie and taffeta balloon cape, or a ball skirt worn with nothing but a pointy bra, seemed self-indulgent. The mistakes of a neophyte.But not so fast. The buttons nipping up the back of gowns were porcelain, hand-painted with characters out of Russian nursery rhymes, and delicate crocheted embroideries were inset like cameos into sweet silk blouses. If Sergeenko can hone that sense of subtlety and nurture her wild devotion to detail, she just might make a designer out of herself yet.
21 January 2013