A great inspiration for my collection was going to the Theatre Museum to see the actual costumes used in ‘The Firebird’ and ‘The Rite of Spring’. These were breathtakingly beautiful and inspired me in terms of colour and embroidery. Tamara Karavina and Anna Pavlova, both ballerinas associated with Russian ballet, were also great inspirations.



5th FAD Graduate Fashion Competition 1st Runner Up
Katie Pope Nottingham Trent University
Email: aa105590@ntu.ac.uk Mobile: 07789 861 324

Both outfits were mainly influenced by Russian architecture. The silhouette of the coat derived from the onion domes of St Basil’s Cathedral, and the colour pallet and fabric choice were inspired by Sergei Diaghilev’s set design for ‘The Rite of Spring’. The dress mirrors the colour and elaborate decoration of the Winter Palace interior.



5th FAD Graduate Fashion Competition 2nd Runner Up
Alex Kearns Nottingham Trent University
Email: aa208290@ntu.ac.uk Mobile: 07976 771 528

The costumes of the dances in the Ballets Russes were a dominant influence in my design development, and the layers adorning ‘The Firebird’ were a great source of inspiration. A series of prints evolved into sketches with sculptural fluidity. Russian architecture provided my inspiration for the outer garment reversing the solely decorative approach of the onion dome by combining function with aesthetics.



5th FAD Graduate Fashion Finalists
Tessa Birch University of Northumbria
Email: tessbirch7@hotmail.com Mobile: 07980 542 579

My inspiration derived from the tiered interior of St. Petersburg’s Marisnky Theatre and the elegant opulence of ‘The Firebird’ ballet. In contrast to this a picture of the bitter journey to Moscow, which ends in the Red Square, with the golden dawn slowly silhouetting the onion shaped domes. The Muscovite peasant’s dress has a golden thread, which also reflects this golden dawn.



Shin Hea Jeong Central St. Martins
Email: heabariii@hotmail.com Mobile: 07884 384 752

If I was Chagall…I become him. As Chagall I want to transmute some motifs into symbols that stand for visual shape. I see two ballets and two cities through Chagall’s eyes, and attempt to transform colour and rearrange lines and shape. Then I draw two paintings, which are now these garments.



Emelie Welander Central St. Martins
Email: emeliewelander@hotmail.com Mobile: 07765 473 160

In designing the delicately draped dress I found inspiration from details of the costumes worn in ‘The Firebird’, and from the Neva River flowing through St. Petersburg. For the outer garment I was inspired by the skyline of Moscow, the soft, rounded shapes of the onion dome cupolas and the tribally inspired costumes in the ballet ‘Rite of spring’. The jacket has a simple construction, and the stiff fabric creates an interesting and voluminous shape.



Anda Nason Brighton University
Email: andanason@hotmail.com Mobile: 07855 343 103

Two contrasting elements of Russian heritage- opulence and romanticism versus traditional peasant style dress- the basis of inspiration for my garments. The hand made and recycling element was a big consideration in designing and using old fabrics was important throughout my work.



Eleanor Brooks Winchester School of Art
Email: elleb83@hotmail.com Mobile: 07812 904 314

‘The idea of Russia as an optical illusion, as something that had vanished like a childhood memory, was a central theme of Russian verse abroad. As Georgy Ivanov put it:
Russia is happiness, Russia is all light.
Or perhaps Russia disappeared into the night.
And on the Neve the sun does not go down,
and Pushkin never died in our European town,
And there is no Petersburg, no Kremlin in Moscow.
Only fields and fields of snow’.

‘Natasha’s Dance’.
By Orlando Figes.
‘A Cultural History of Russia’.

Lucy Bashton University of Northumbria
Email: lucybashton@hotmail.com Mobile: 07971 560 565

The collection has been inspired by the traditional Ballets Russes costumes and patterns along with the unique architecture, lustre and colours of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Creating full and semi-sculptural silhouettes, the designs depict the very essence of glamour with the combination of vibrant colours, luxurious fabrics and attention to detail.



Victoria Maxine Stone London College of Fashion
Email: victoriastone@aol.com Mobile: 07739 963 386

Waldemar Kraus Middlesex University
Email: krauswaldemar@web.de Mobile: 07880 632 581

The dress was inspired by a tiny feature of an original costume from ‘The Firebird’, and has been designed in the form of a sarafan with voluminous sleeves inspired by a bird. The second outfit was inspired by the story of ‘The Rite of Spring’. To make these two outfits work together I designed a cape in a full circle which looks like a bird spreading its wings as it lifts up its arms to fly. The colour is inspired by the Russian history centered on the Red square!



Lucy Beeden Middlesex University
Email: cinderella2nd@hotmail.com Mobile: 07793 024 437

This collection is about the differences between Russia old and new. In travelling to St. Petersburg I wanted to capture a real essence of the country and, most importantly, of the people; an experience exploring the relationship between the Russia of the Ballets Russes era and the capitalist Russia of today.



Lydia Crook Winchester School of Art
Email: lac103@soton.ac.uk Mobile: 07793 953 153

Meke Burn Somerset College of Arts and Technology
Email: mekekvburn@yahoo.co.uk Mobile: 07789 918 837

Chagall was an experimentalist who never lost touch with his peasant roots. The outer garment has an earthly landscape tone overlaid with an elaborate contrasting theatrical element. Musical lightness of touch and movement with rich but subtle golds and creams in the dress reflect the elitist French influence in the Tsarist St. Petersburg.



David Komakhidze Central Saint Martin’s
Email: koma333@mail.ru Mobile: 07910 493 138

«750 kilometers»
... Mood of color...
Petersburg: cold, cloudy, constrained.
Moscow: bright, shouting, colourful.
.... Mood of the form...
Petersburg: strict, harmonous, direct.
Moscow: orbicular , magnificent, expressive.
750 km: the length of a road which unites them…