Inside Gosha Rubchinskiy’s Post-Soviet Generation

In this episode of Global Street Style, i-D heads to Russia for exclusive backstage access to Gosha Rubchinskiy’s spring/summer 18 show in St. Petersburg, and to meet the prolific post-1991 generation carving out their own future.

This is the first generation of Russian youth to have grown up after the fall of the Soviet Union, and are looking inwards to the Eastern Bloc for inspiration, rather than the wider Western world. With designers like Gosha Rubchinskiy popularising post-Soviet style around the world, we discover what effect the former Soviet Union has had on modern creativity, the impact of this cultural explosion on the rest of the world, and what it is to be young in Russia today.

Director Tom Ivin
Producer Declan Higgins
Global Executive Producer Eloise King

Researcher Lily Rose Thomas

Director of Photography Sasha Kulak
Assistant Camera Alexandr Cherviakov
Sound Recordist Anton Baranov

Fixer Pavel Milovidov, You Ask We Fix

Editor Isolde Penwarden
Colourist George Dutton
Sound Mix Guy Chase

Narrator Leala-Rain Shonaiya

Production Manager Lauran Clark
Production Coordinator Rosa Harris Edmonds

Post Production Manager Tom Lynch
Post Production Coordinator Regina Lemaire-Costa
Translator Natalia Yudina

Rights & Clearances Cristina Lombardo
Music Supervisor Alex Benge
Music Coordinator Bonnie Reilly

Senior Designer Rebecca Boyd-Wallis
Designer Kristina Britton

Production Accountant David Gray

Equipment Manager Richard Smith
Equipment Assistant Henry Cotsford

Post Tech Supervisor Dominic Brouard

Commercial Creative Director Bunny Kinney

VP Production, UK Bree Horn
Production Executive Shelley Hurley

Head of Post Production Daniel Elias

Channel Manager, UK Jordan Joseph

Music
“Ariadna”
Written and Performed by Yana Kedrina
Courtesy of 2MR

“XFaw”, “Arm Industrial”,
“Rassveting” (as performed on Gosha Rubchinskiy Spring/Summer 18 soundtrack)
“Dub Hole”, “SH-min”, “Dubber Funk”,
“Beats One”, “Cxema-303”, “Silent Elektro”
Written and Performed by Pavel Milyakov
Courtesy of Buttechno

Photos Courtesy of
Tolia Titaev, Valentin Fufaev, Lumpen Agency,
Sasha Mademuaselle, Artem Nanushyan,
Gosha Rubchinskiy, Igor Bystriy

Archival Video Courtesy of
Ulya Trukhina, Sargon Khinoev, Tolia Titaev, Gosha Rubchinskiy

Special Thanks

Anna Foresman at Comme Des Garçons,
Justinian Kfoury at Total World, Sasha Mademuaselle.

Follow i-D:

[chloe]

*makes a brand based on young people for young people*
*too expensive for any young people to buy*

[samakaeva]

Gosha Rubchinskiy’s brand is too expensive for almost ALL Russian young people! It's so hypocritical to call this video "Inside Gosha Rubchinskiy’s Post-Soviet Generation" - I agree with previous comments - it's just a bunch of hipsters
The video looks nice though

[karinfrostmorn]

Наконец то клятые буржуи будут читать суб титры а не я . ААХХААХАХХА

[ideatorx]

"I don't look at the past its boring, " does an entire show based on the 90's rave scene. right...

[sparklingwater]

I feel like this documentary, brilliant as it is, creates a false impression with non-Russians. I mean, Rubchinskiy is heard of, he is famous or notorious depending on the way you look at him, but his culture is merely a small part of Russian youth. I personally don't know anyone who wears these clothes or similar ones, people around me and in cities I have visited mostly wear H&M, Zara and other mass-produced stuff. There are two reasons for that, the first is that not all Russian youngsters are nostalgic about the '90s (I, for instance, was born in 1994 and don't remember much of the '90s), and the second one is... well... Rubchinskiy's clothes are expensive to say the least. I personally wouldn't pay, like, 250 bucks for a pair of jeans that looks like my mom could wear them when she was my age. If I ever feel like looking like a blast from the past I could simply rummage through my mom's old clothes, not buy ones with a designer label on them. Just my opinion.

[andreypapin]

Just do not think that everyone in Russia is interested in this culture. Literally units

[l.coffey]

Very fuckin rare, mans talented no debate

[MegaKostya]

Living in Russia, I ask myself - "Who are all these people???"

[strawberryjpeg]

Thankyou for this I-D, it made me feel positive about being a youth today in our generation..Means alot xx

[edwardcooper]

I come back to this video every few months. one of the best films i-D has done

[Elle-ira]

As a graphic design student from Holland I find that a lot of youth from my country (and my school, specifically) look to Russian culture for inspiration. I think Russia is very forward thinking and I predict it will influence a lot of fashion and design in the future. There's just this raw, anti-conformist edge to it that is extremely appealing.

[skeng]

to see people strive and prosper in creativity is something really inspiring and to see different regions of the world become more involved with art and fashion is maddd and i think creative people all over the world could learn a thing or two from eastern european and russian culture and history

[OfficialJontyMitchie]

I've met him at Dover Street Market before for the first PACCBET capsule collection. He's a very calm and peaceful guy, he signed my gosha x vans, my paccbet hoodie and my paccbet deck.

[Aryacdsc]

i-D, you should do a film about the youth in the Eastern European countries

[ШВАРЦЕНЕГГЕРАТРОЮРОДНАЯ]

Гоша, где сервант с хрусталём и норковые шапки?

[krystlefrieda]

Hmm... As someone who actively witnessed the energy of '90s raves being a teenager back then and looking at this "post-soviet rave youth" (while also travelled extensively through eastern block countries nowdays), I can't escape from the feeling of Gosha faking it to the maximum. He uses some of his suburban youth fetishes to create actually a very good hommage, but for me it's just an hommage with a contemporary twist to that past time. There is no real underground anymore, and be it Russia or Ukraine, the world is too connected today to have a real and honest rebelling youth, which I think is necessary for the underground. What are this guys fighting for, or against? Just look at them dancing. Cute, but no authenticity in them. From my point of view this is just a typical remake/recycle/revive loop that we mostly can't escape from in contemporary art or design. I'm not saying that there's no more "rave" youth anymore, I just don't feel any authenticity or energy in any of them that was really present in the nineties. This is just an external simulation of the old form, but unfortunately with no real inner substance anymore. I'm not being nostagic for the old days though, I'm being nostalgic for the substantiality and the true cultural avant-garde that subcultures brought with them.

[jotastupr]

I just love the skin head look, is a combination of punk meanwhile stating a fact that is fashion forward without loosing inspiration on the skate vibe.

[EmperorOfCookies]

it's a great insight on what's going on with russia's youth! they really do have a unique way of creating their own pop culture and being themselves

[ernestino]

MARAVILLOSO!!!! I need more fashion documentaries or fashion movements videos, it's incredible to know about other cultures and how that complements fashion, also how young people see the fashion. I LOVE i-D Greetings from Venezuela.

[codyshepherd]

I would love to see an update video of how these kids are doing and dealing with war time Russia and how or if it has affected their scenes or creativity