Rising star Sasha Wider launches first womenswear collection

Up-and-coming fashion designer Sasha Wider has published a lookbook for her first collection just months after graduating. The womenswear collection, her graduation project for the Moscow Technical-Industrial Institute, takes its inspiration from traditional Russian dress as well as from the work of “neo-futurist” artists. Reinterpreting traditional Russian attire is common among contemporary designers, most famously Ulyana Sergeenko. “It is an interpretation of the historical era through the prism of neo-futurism,” said Wider in an interview with online lifestyle magazine Buro24/7.

The pink and white collection is largely made from natural fabrics such as cottons and silk organza, with the exception of a PVC pencil skirt. Translucent fabrics stand in contrast with cotton floral prints, and streamlined contours with voluminous silhouettes. “For a young designer it’s important to understand that fashion is an industry and that you need to strike a balance between the creative and the commercial,” said Wider. “For me, fashion has moved into a new era — intellectual, feminine and sexual. There’s no longer a need for bare chest or feet. My models represent this new era.”