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MILAN, Italy — With the rising cult of Russian designers from Gosha Rubchinskiy to Ulyana Sergeenko gaining traction from streetwear to haute couture, it is little wonder that the influence of their motherland is being felt in some unlikely places. Take Stella Jean for instance, a designer lauded for her lady-like wares all patterned with wax prints and decorated with bucolic finery.
Why, you may ask, did she feel the need to supplement that with a Soviet theme? To this critic, that question still remains unanswered, despite the current trend of designers flying the political feather — however tone deaf they may be. Here that gesture meant appropriating hammer-and-sickle logo tees, war medal embroideries, and military epaulettes that mingled in— or at times, awkwardly layered — amongst her bustle skirts and homespun cardigans, all of which seemed unceremoniously daubed with Gucci's geek chic brush.
That said, there were signature Stella Jean styles amongst this offer. From folksy tiered skirts to velvet tapestry coats, they’ll keep her print-happy bowerbirds perfectly content. All power politics aside.