Who Knew Provincial Russia Was a Hub of Y2K Fashion?
Ch4rm, an emerging fashion label helmed by Nikita Chekrygin, marries the campy glam of the early aughts with the aesthetics of Eastern Europe for a result plucked straight off the Legally Blonde red carpet. Do American Y2K fashion and provincial Russia seem like unnatural bedfellows? Chekrygin doesn't think so.
Chekrygin's brand operates out of Tula, a city in western Russia that provides the designer with some surprising stylistic inspiration.
"Ch4rm presents its own understanding of the aesthetics of Russian beauty salons," Chekrygin tells Highsnobiety. "The source of inspiration can be [seen] not only in the brand’s perception of elegance but also in the details — colors, tailoring, and prints."
For Spring/Summer 2022, the designer translates the look of his local salons to punchy separates seemingly excavated from a mid-2000s time capsule.
Liana, a vine often used the decorate the façade of Russian storefronts, manifests as tattoo-like embroidery on denim corsets, low-rise pants, and velour tracksuits. Cutesy illustrations on tees and tank tops take cues from advertisements promoting local beauty parlors.
Chekrygin also pays homage to Russians' penchant for getting dressed up "with or without a reason."
"Many people wear heels and do evening makeup every day," he says.
Dresses printed with the suggestion of anatomy recall body contouring and, similarly, jeans painted with manicured fingers whisper of the pride that Russian women take in always looking their best.
Picking up on Gen Z's love of all things Y2K, trendsetting brands like Versace and Miu Miu have already begun luxurifying throwbacks.
As on-trend as Ch4rm's low-slung jeans and belly chains are, Chekrygin's references to the decade came about organically.
"The perception of time is different here," he says of provincial Russia, where American fads such as low-rise pants never went out of style.
As for Ch4rm's nostalgia-inducing butterfly tops? "We didn't expect that they would become a trend," Chekrygin admits. But wouldn't you know it? Everything old is new again.
