New Magazine Issue and Exhibition Highlight Soviet Style
For those that remember the Soviet era or those that want to learn more about it, an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary History is running through May 13th that features the styles of the Soviet era. The name of the exhibit is “Fashion and Socialism: A New View” and it has been timed to go along with a magazine issue of “Fashion Theory” that is devoted to the academic study of Soviet fashion.
One of the more humorous aspects of Soviet style is that the clothes were all manufactured in countries other than the Soviet Union. Eastern bloc countries like Poland, East Germany, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia were where the desirable fashions came from - wearing clothes made in the Soviet Union was a big fashion faux paux. Materials like Kapron, the nylon of socialism, were highly sought after as well as being highly flammable.
Russian women and men that enjoy fashion history will like the trip back through time, with items like a bobochka tennis shirt and Czechoslovak nighties on display.
One of the articles in the magazine is about Leonid Brezhnev and the memories of his tailor, Alexander Igmand. Brezhnev wore a size 56 and favored imported boxers shorts.
The Museum of Contemporary History is located at 21 Tverskaya Ulitsa.
