Upon watching Emir Kusturica’s film Time of The Gypsies (1988), and living amongst the Romani people (who are still referred to as “gypsies” throughout Russia, despite the term’s often negative connotations), 22-year-old Russian designer Roma Uvarov dedicated his spring/summer 20 collection to the fairytale like excess and freewheeling romance of the Romani wedding tradition. The designer, who is entirely self-taught, showed his eye-catching collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Moscow and it quickly became a standout.
“The collection is oversaturated with luxurious details and techniques. We have developed our own print, reminiscent of roses, from various rhinestones,” Umarov explains. “[Many] clothes were made in the patchwork style, combining an inconceivable number of different fabrics. Couture dresses were embroidered manually with artificial flowers.”
Umarov’s eclectic use of rich fabrics and florals, done up in oversized sleeves and turned into surreal drawstring skirts and dresses were further exaggerated by long gold chains, embroidered bags (which gave new life to vintage carpets), and chunky jewelry made from found objects. Not to mention the bedazzled tights and beauty looks to match.
“Using this collection’s theme, we could not do without gold. In the necklaces we used vintage black and white photographs, as well as gypsy fortune-telling cards. We turned vintage coins into earrings and buttons,” Uvarov says. “For a month, we searched the vintage markets for various crystal chandeliers. We divided all these chandeliers into components: from flower shades, we made stunning rings, from large crystal drops we made earrings, from small crystal rhombuses made crystal necklaces, some details of the chandeliers went to the decor of jackets and bags.”
The highlight of course was the finale, which brought the wedding procession to life, and saw Uvarov join his pistol-wielding bride on the catwalk to triumphantly close out the evening in Moscow. See backstage photos from the over-the-top runway show below.
