Fashioned in Red
As my final MA project, I created a book titled Fashioned in Red that discusses fashion in the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991. Encompassing information cross-referenced from Russian and English sources, original interviews with Soviet fashion industry practitioners, and original photography that spans the entire Soviet period, Fashioned in Red is the first book of its kind suitable for readers of all kinds.
For decades the Soviet Union and its affairs have been shrouded in secrecy, forcing any curious and eager outsider to be left in wonder. Today, with new material uncovered and secrets unravelled, the Soviet myth is gradually being debunked, revealing to us that behind the mighty and mystical Iron Curtain there was just another country trying to persevere. While Soviet politics is often presented as a strange and even exotic force to those from the outside, Soviet fashion was in fact a concept very close to our modern understanding of it, involving the same processes of catwalks, models, and fashion seasons.
A notable revision of Soviet history, Fashioned in Red is an exploration of a still somewhat uncharted territory, where politics and fashion interweave to create a dictatorship of propaganda over fashion, all the while the clothing preferences and styles of a common Soviet person from 1917 to 1991 take centre stage.
Fashioned in Red — Lexi Fadina