Functionality and Democracy: The Evolution of Soviet Fashion
One of the main principles of modern fashion is functionality and accessibility. In Soviet modeling, right after the Great October Socialist Revolution, the foundations of the New Suit began to take shape, giving rise to designs for mass clothing. The creativity of artists and designers like Nadezhda Lomanov, Vera Mukhina, Lyubov Popova, Elena Pribylskaya, Alexandra Ekster, and many other unique talents laid a solid foundation for the theory and practice of Soviet modeling. By 1925, at the World Exhibition in Paris, Soviet models inspired by folk costumes received the Grand Prix and international acclaim.
Unfortunately, many interesting ideas failed to achieve mass production during those years. Fashion began to be viewed as a bourgeois extravagance, foreign to the communist culture of everyday life. However, life moved on, and there arose an urgent need for a Soviet center of modeling that would provide a unified direction for fashion in the country.
In 1932, a nationwide clothing review took place, marking the transition from declarations and experiments to improving the quality of mass-produced clothing. In 1934-35, the House of Models was established in Moscow based on the experimental technical laboratory of the “Mosbitel” trust. N. Makarova, already a well-known designer and theatrical costume artist, became its first artistic director.
The artistic council played a special role in the activities of the first House of Models, which included not only designers but also prominent representatives of Soviet visual arts—artists like M. Altman, E. Lansere, M. Rodionov, A. Tyshler, V. Favoritsky, M. Saryan, and Yu. Pimenov, as well as sculptors S. Lebedeva and V. Mukhina. The council also included T. Vasilieva, secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, L. Sidorova, secretary of the Moscow city committee of the Komsomol, and others. N. Makarova recalled, “Meetings of the artistic council turned into genuine creative discussions; we debated everything in every respect—their merits, shortcomings, and viability.”
The first issue of the magazine “House of Models” in 1936 outlined the goals set by the newly established organization. The designers decided to pursue two paths: adopting the best elements of folk motifs and critically reworking proposals from Western fashion. The House of Models was tasked with establishing fashion directions and developing the foundational elements for models of each season: silhouette, construction, and lines of the suit, as well as the character of fabrics and embellishments, while simultaneously overseeing the work of sewing enterprises and studying their capabilities for mass production. N. Makarova was not only an excellent organizer but also actively participated in developing many clothing samples intended for mass production.
These models were characterized by thoughtful design and strict simplicity, which was achieved “not easily,” but rather as a result of “great labor, observation, and careful study, primarily of folk costumes with their extraordinary logic of cut.” Thus, the principle of variability was discovered—creating a wide range of variations based on a single design by altering details such as collar shape, sleeve length, and decorative elements. This method has since gained widespread development in contemporary clothing modeling.
Soviet designers also began creating clothing for children, which was also highlighted in the first issue of the magazine.
After the Great Patriotic War, the House of Models quickly resumed its activities. In March 1948, it was renamed the All-Union House of Models, and in December 1955, it became the All-Union House of Clothing Models. During these years, Houses of Models opened in Leningrad, Kyiv, Gorky, Minsk, Tbilisi, and other cities across the country.
For the first time, the All-Union House of Models participated in an international clothing competition in Prague in 1953, and by 1958, at the World Competition, designer V. Aralova won first and second prizes for her dress models “Plakhta” and “Suzdal”; she also introduced Russian boots into fashion.
The history of Soviet modeling is filled with illustrious names. The experience and ideas of the first designers helped the next generation achieve significant success. At the World Fashion Festival in Moscow in 1967, designers V. Zaitsev, G. Gagarina, T. Osmerkina, L. Telegina, and E. Sterligova received international recognition for the first time.
Artists E. Ivanova and A. Igmand became laureates of the Lenin Komsomol Prize in 1986 for developing youth fashion models for the World Festival of Youth in Moscow. Annually, the All-Union House of Models develops over three thousand designs for women, men, and children.
The All-Union House of Clothing Models has maintained extensive international connections. Over the past 25 years, the work of our artists has been showcased in many countries across Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. Each year, we host numerous foreign delegations, maintaining ongoing communication with many countries and exchanging ideas. For nearly 30 years, we have established permanent contacts with socialist countries.