Announcement

"Fashion for Classics". Reflection and embodiment

On 18 September, a unique concert-fashion show is performed in the JINR Cultural Centre "Mir" - a show of collections of young Russian designers and a live performance of masterpieces of world classics. The opening of the concert season of the Dubna Symphony Orchestra will be so unusual. We talked about the "Fashion for Classics" to the orchestra's Director Natalia Castro.

- Natalia Aleksandrovna, it will be the first time such an event will take place in Dubna. Although, the fashion world's legislators know very well how effective such a combination is...

- Exactly, just imagine: "…New York Fashion Week is in full swing, London, Milan and Paris are ahead - dozens of shows, where in addition to the collections themselves, a lot of new, cool and fashionable things happen. Including live performances by musicians - this is a rare occurrence on the catwalk, but always impressive!"

- Speaking about musical performances at shows, which ones come to mind first?

- Definitely, the spectacular Victoria's Secret shows. Models with the best bodies on the planet in diamond-studded bras, with massive wing structures on their shoulders, walk the runway to the accompaniment of Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Ariana Grande, Rihanna and other top pop artists.

- Karl Lagerfeld has always had a special passion for live performances...

- Yes, Lily Allen, Chromatics, Florence and the Machine sang for him at Chanel shows over the years. Avant-garde artists Viktor & Rolf also loved to invite musicians to their shows: La Roux performed at the men's show in spring 2011 and Roisin Murphy in a dome-shaped dress to match the models' outfits performed at the women's show of the same season.

- However, the performance of Paloma Faith's composition Only Love Can Hurt LikeThis with the symphony orchestra from the autumn-winter 2014 show surpassed everything that had come before and became truly one of the most poignant performances of musicians at fashion shows ever.

- Well, how can one resist the temptation and not try oneself in this kind of synthetic art! And not take an even bolder, paradoxical path, uniting not just live performance of music, but baroque music and a modern view of the future in the embodiment of collections of young Russian fashion designers!

- I think this combination is very logical!

- Of course, for Fashion is something that always outpaces our ideas, expands the boundaries of consciousness, gives us a special view of modern reality and something that moves our thoughts into the future, creating a new image of person! But when creating an image of the future, it is impossible to break away from the origins. And then we rely on the classics, the classics in literature, architecture and in our case - in music. After all, it is the classics that give us a sense of stability and a confident look into the future.

- What a surprising contrast!

- Yes! But it is the main essence of our creative concert-defile. When the contrast and time difference of the music of the 16th and 17th centuries and collections created by our contemporaries will unite into an amazing tandem, helping us to understand how closely everything is united in our lives!

- Tell us, please, how was this particular project conceived?

- For me, everything is based on personal experience, interests, hobbies. Sometimes, it is surprising how certain circumstances in life develop. How did it happen that fate gave me the experience of participating in fashion shows, working as a model for the famous Russian fashion designer Alena Akhmadullina, participating in the graduation show of the collections of the HSE Fashion Design Department and others. It was an unforgettable experience, unforgettable acquaintances and meetings that resulted in the idea and creation of this project. And also, of course, love for music, admiration for the musicians of our orchestra, when the desire to show their art to everyone-everyone-everyone haunts you, the desire not to repeat myself, the desire to be modern, but most importantly - a feeling of colossal respect for the listeners that deserve only the best!

- Now, I remember the phrase of Teodor Currentzis: "The art of the future is a synthetic art… The boundaries are erased. Dance, theater, visual art and music become one whole. Therefore, in ten years, it will be very difficult to understand where one genre begins and another ends…"

- I want to admit that for me this quote from one of the most extraordinary and bright conductors of our time became a starting point, a vector, along which I and my colleagues, musicians of the Dubna orchestra decided to follow, by aligning our work. Yes, indeed, the new time dictates its own rules, its own laws, its own new forms of perception of various types of art. And it so happened that the synthesis of the most diverse art trends and live music, live performance became the most attractive for a wide audience.

- Over the past few years, you and your colleagues have carried out more than one experiment in this area and today, the time has come to unite live music performance and a fashion show!

- I think it will be very impressive, for the tandem of musicians conducted by Sergey Pospelov, soundtracks in live performances of concerts by Vivaldi, Rameau, Telemann, Bach, promising talented fashion designers, HSE graduates, their fantastic collections - all this is exactly the art without borders that Teodor Currentzis spoke about.

- And also... synthesizing the different, you need to see the important thing that unites.

- Therefore, you can't do without important questions, such as what idea is put into this composition or this collection, what do you need to attract the attention of the audience to and what emotions would you like to evoke.

- Fashion designers, professional models will be present at our fashion show, perhaps, they will be waiting for a verdict from the Dubna public on how accurate their idea was in its implementation.

- And the ideas are very beautiful! Thus, designer Dmitry Kovalev wanted to convey thoughts on the topic of growing up in a hostile environment in his collection. Expressing aggressive protest and protection with internal fragility and vulnerability is the main goal of the La Vie en Thorns project. The author's taste and field of research allowed him to take a fresh look at images that have seemingly become cliched in visual culture - flowers. Thus, the main metaphor on which the collection is based was found - a young rose that has not yet had time to open but is already overgrown with adult thorns.

Designer Daria Lukash noted that she dedicated the Witch Hunt SOS collection to witch hunting in the modern world. "I drew a parallel between how people used to be skeptical and fearful of those that were not like them and how often unusual people that do not fit into the framework of society are rejected by this society. That is why the heroine of my collection is a 21st century witch with an iPhone in her hands, that is not afraid to be herself, to declare herself and gather her own around her," Daria explains.

Designer Ksenia Galkina will show the OUT OF REACH collection. The project is a statement about the need to build barriers and wear "blinders" in modern information and news spaces. The flow of information received is so fast, powerful and often traumatic that the desire to hide and protect oneself from it becomes natural. The author's prints "White noise", developed on the basis of the image of white noise of television and a computer screen, directly speak about the flow of news, events, information, from which the hero of the collection wants to establish protection.

The audience is definitely in for something amazing at the Cultural Centre "Mir". On 18 September, at 7:00 PM, the fashion show "Fashion for Classics" will certainly attract the attention of music and fashion show art lovers!

Interviewed by Eleonora Yamaleeva, member of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation
Photo from the personal archive of Natalia Castro