Link: globeandmail.com: Russian revolution.
With a population of more than 10 million, Moscow is now the biggest city in Europe. It is also home to an increasingly large share of the world's wealth. According to Forbes magazine, the number of Russian billionaires grew by 19 last year, which places them third in the world behind the U.S. and Germany. They are also the youngest, with an average age of 46 and a total fortune at their disposal of $282-billion. The tastes of these new young oligarchs run to czarist opulence at home as well as in cities such as New York and London, where lifestyle retailers are increasingly discovering a market for over-the-top luxury goods. These days, nothing is too gilded or jewel-encrusted or laden with caviar. (...)
The faces of Russian Style
Dacha/Folklore
From actual birch stumps to graphic twig and forest prints, the Russian woods have become a popular motif on everything from tableware to wall coverings. Nesting dolls, traditional folk patterns and anything evoking dachas (Russian country cottages) are also big, providing unlikely embellishment on contemporary furniture, accents and rugs.
Czarist Luxe
Imagine the ultimate in opulence, from rich gilt furnishings to heavy jacquards, velvet and damask in jewel tones. Actual gems, cabochon-cut, are used as trim, while red and amethyst glass, Fabergé eggs and warm, sumptuous furs abound. Heavy embroidery, weaving and carpets hold pride of place, as do French classics such as Louis XIV chairs and Baroque clocks, their richness and grandeur exaggerated.
Icy Allure
Think Dr. Zhivago cool. Ice, glacier and snow motifs in tableware, lighting and industrial design. Cut glass, Lucite, mercury glass and mirror as decorative accents. White and more white. And trapper furs and pelts as upholstery and accents.
Mobster Chic
Swank sleaze characterizes this look, which includes irreverent damasks and toile, ruble-patterned fabrics for window coverings and upholstery, and gilded guns and stolen jewels as patterns, motifs or sculptural kitsch.
Modern Russian Design
From fashion designer Denis Simachev (whose retro-Soviet T-shirts send up the icons of the old USSR) to Yar Rassadin and Sergey Mozheyko of Manworks (which reimagines Russian classics like samovars and nesting dolls as functional industrial objects), the new design from Russia is hip, wry and self-referential.
