EXPATS has premiered its S/S 2020 debut collection during the MBFW Russia
EXPATS, a newly established fashion collective of Russian and American fashion designers founded by Stephan Rabimov, award-winning fashion editor and publisher, has premiered its S/S 2020 debut collection of 25 distinct looks on October 18th, 2019 during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia, the largest fashion week in Eastern Europe.
Each
half of the collection this season was designed and produced in the USA and
Russia respectively. EXPATS is synonymous with the notion of fashion
diplomacy: Respecting craftsmanship traditions as well as
cultural legacies of each country, EXPATS seeks to create one-of-kind garments
that inform and inspire a deeper creative connection between the two nations.
The
location of the show – inside Moscow’s historic Manege Hall next to the Kremlin
and the Bolshoi Theater – carries a special significance as EXPATS
collection was inspired by three centuries of Russian history:
-The Polenitsa – mythical Russian
women-warriors,
-The House of Romanovs, with its dramatic story, and
-The October Revolution;
Hundreds
of years apart, these historic moments all share one symbolic color
– Russian
Red
– which is the main leitmotif of EXPATS debut collection.
Embodying
powerful Russian women of the past and present, the S/S 2020 collection
featured bespoke military suits embellished with Russian royal house symbols,
demi-couture gowns that evoked Polenitsa’s kolchuga dresses, and ready-to-wear
separates made of eco-friendly Japanese-made Ultrafabrics© leather and other
innovative materials, produced using low waste methods.
This
season EXPATS collaborated with VOID – a Russian footwear start-up company –
that uses 3D technology to craft bespoke pairs of EXPATSxVOID lightweight
concept boots.
Entire
EXPATS collection is available for sale online at https://expats.design
About EXPATS
EXPATS
(est.
in 2019) is one-of-a-kind global fashion collective of Russian and
American designers with a mission to build a creative bridge,
between the two nations and their distinct cultures, through the language of
fashion. Founded by Stephan Rabimov – an
award-winning US fashion publisher and editor – EXPATS collective also
includes:
San
Francisco (USA) based fashion designer Vasily Vein – famous for his
striking red-carpet looks adored by many American socialites; and
Vyborg
(Russia) based Liliana Bahor and Ella Shadrunova –
together they run a successful made-to-measure fashion salon that has
outfitted, among the many, the Russian Army, leading politicians, and
celebrities.