Shows that stood out at Cycles and Seasons could depressingly be measured by the amount of photographers present and whether some weird dude from MTV Russia popped up or not to shove a mic in my face asking me about "T.R.E.N.D.S".  In an event where there were only seven shows the name that were on everyone's lips were predictably the ones that were worth looking into properly.  Vika Gazinskaya's face and image might precede her design work but fronting and physically embodying your own collection is no bad thing in Vika's case. 

(P.S. This was about as dressed down as I'll probably ever see her but you should know by now that I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with grey marl sweaters so I was even more eager to give her a hug…)

I was hoping I'd get to see her studio to see how she worked as I saw her sketch books in Paris last September, and I loved the way she referenced things and how that infiltrated her work where ostensibly, you never really see any overly literal images.  However she unfortunately came down with a bit of post-show illin' so I never got to really investigate her work properly in Moscow but thankfully after rushing backstage, I salvaged my photos somewhat (rotten luck at the show showered me with a broken SD card and poor lighting) of her A/W 11-12 collection that was faithful to that perfection of line and silhouette that Vika is so adept at. The flared out skater peplum over a skirt or a dress was the leitmotiv of the collection along with cuffs of sleeves that flared out as well as a clean-cut take on a fishtail dress.  It could have looked like there were flared-out lines for the sake of creating shape but it worked because of Vika's precision with the fabrics that she used ensuring nothing was rumpled or out of place. 

This perfection of line can be somewhat intimidating but then she bought in other elements which softened or 'blurred' the vision a little, which I welcomed with open arms.  This print for example was made to look like a felt tip pen had been drawn directly onto calico rendering these dresses something like an evolved take on 'form' dresses, the basic beginnings of a piece normally made out of calico or any other cheap plain fabric.  I don't think this material was actually calico but the illusion of it was pretty convincing…    

Vika also injected this astroturf-like texture which for a tactile fiend like me was a little smear of heaven only because it made those lines less rigid and formed a suitable contrast point to the grey wool flared-out jackets and hooded coats.  Anything resembling Muppets costume in a controlled measure is bound to yield good things, plus I love the idea of a Russian woman's fur turning green and faux for one season…

I dug these out from last season's pics but I loved her mahussive sketchbook where she has been documenting her references, shows, invitation designs etc from past seasons…

Yes this is indeed… a SOAP BUBBLE dress… sadly I feel only Vika not my Bubbly self could pull this piece off..

Here's a sketch of THAT famous bit of Vika Gazinskaya headgear that graced Hanneli's head and was reblogged over and over..

The current S/S 11 collection is also forthcoming with perfect lines albeit with a curvier edge and perhaps silhouettes that would appear challenging to many people.  Razor sharp knife pleats in a skirt, bulbous leg o'mutton sleeves, shirt rompers that end in elasticated knickers and super jumpsuits with flared out legs are not for those that fear extreme shapes.  I'm intrigued by the idea of these extremities made a reality and for me, the challenging qualities of her work seem to represent two fingers up at the legions of "easy-to-wear" clothes that we are confronted with day in day out which is always a cause for a WHOOP in my books…