Eastern Bloc Hipsters Are Just As Confused As Their Williamsburg Counterparts
Turns out the Cold War really was the clash between two radically different ways of life. And it continues. Here in the First World, for instance, thirtysomething creative-classers wear ridiculous clothing out of nostalgia for the halcyon leg-warmer days when their parents dressed them. Over in Russia, however, thirtysomething creative-classers wear ridiculous clothing out of nostalgia for the halcyon fur-hat days when the government dressed them. The hot new trend this season in Moscow? "[H]ammer-and-sickle buttons, gold jewelry minted to look like Soviet kopecks and shirts festooned with the Soviet coat of arms."
As star designer Denis Simachev explains, "People in their 30s see these kinds of symbols as reminders of happy memories, like going to pioneer camp where they lived together, ate breakfast together and played sports." Unfair! Mom and dad never let me go to pioneer camp!
Fortunately, though, Putin-era Russia has liberalized enough to make neo-Soviet prêt-à-porter accessible to the common man. Whereas it used to to take a good five or six months of gulag labor to get that C.C.C.P. t-shirt feeling perfectly soft and lived-in, you can now buy a chic-off-the-rack Simachev version for a mere $600. Still, don't think today's trendy Muscovites are just nouveau poseurs; they (the ones who were born, anyway) learned a thing or two at pioneer camp.
Like how, when it comes down to it, world revolution really is a matter of feelings—specifically, one's own:
Critics have interpreted his collections as endorsements of, or protests against, past and current regimes. But Mr. Simachev described himself as apolitical. "I am a mirror for what is going on around me," he said.
He added: "Nobody wants to go back to Communism. But it had certain attributes and symbols which for younger people are not associated with the regime, but with our own personal memories."
Also, reminder: one of his T-shirts costs $600. As Lenin said, the best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency.
