Russian fashion pack queen Ulyana Sergeenko pairs craftsmanship with style
Foray into the world of haute couture reflects a desire to promote and preserve her country's traditional artisans
Not a runway show, but an intimate presentation at a suite in the Hotel Bristol in Paris last season introduced the latest couture collection by Russian designer and street-style star Ulyana Sergeenko.
A former model, fashion editor, photographer and designer, she is one of fashion's new aristocrats and a part of what has been dubbed "the Russian fashion pack", which includes Miroslava Duma, Vika Gazinskaya and Elena Perminova.
They rose to fame in the past five years, capitalising on the crest of street-style mania with their good looks and distinctive style. They all forged enviable fashion careers. Of course, there were naysayers when Sergeenko launched her couture line in 2011 at Paris' Couture Week, but they were largely silenced by what has emerged as a small, but strong, independent label that earned kudos for its striking individual style and uncompromising attitude towards craftsmanship and quality.
Her team, nearly all impossibly good looking, includes her handsome business partner, Frol Burimskiy, dressed that day in a luscious quilted jacket-robe. A rich spread of traditional Georgian foods greeted visitors, and regal old furniture bought from her home in Moscow transformed the suite - giving it a warm, eclectic, folky ambience.
"My husband [billionaire insurance oligarch Danil Khachaturov] is Armenian and was born in Georgia, and this collection is dedicated to those two countries," says Sergeenko in front of rails of handcrafted outfits that come alive on the models. "I wanted something to connect to his native land."