If there’s one Indian stylist who seems to discover new designers before anyone else, it’s Rhea Kapoor. Which explains why her top client, Sonam Kapoor, won’t be ceding ground on Best Dressed lists in the near future. Rhea’s latest headline-grabbing discovery? Yanina Fashion, the 20-year-old Russian couture house helmed by Yulia Yanina.
The icy blonde Moscow-native opened her eponymous fashion house in 1993, immediately attracting the wives and daughters of Russian oligarchs with her wispy creations pulled straight from the pages of a Grimm Brothers’ novel. A team of 30 seamstresses and 20 embroiderers work their magic over ballgowns that will eventually find their way to aristocrats and celebrities from Lady Gaga and Eva Longoria to Sonam and Jacqueline Fernandez.
Yanina’s approach to colour isn’t merely aesthetic; for Autumn/Winter 2016-17, the designer studied the effects that different hues had on the human brain and restricted her palette to shades that encouraged a balance and harmony.
In an interview, Yanina explained the sudden international focus on Russian designers, saying, “there is more soul in our collections. Despite its artistry, the clothes are wearable and timeless. You will never look old-fashioned, even if it’s an archival outfit from a decade ago.”
