Ulyana Sergeenko’s Fall-Winter 2021 Haute Couture collection was inspired by the natural beauty and the rich culture of Karelia – a land of lakes and dense woods, strewn with myths and legends. The constrained colour palette is reflective of the hues seen in the Russian North. The cool blue skies, the gray layered marble, the pale coral cloudberries and the silver aspen church domes.

Clean silhouettes with sharp angles, achieved through corseting, are a reference to the streamlined architecture of ancient wood constructions. Transparent, flowing dresses with elaborate embroidery neighbour more exaggerated garments with enlarged shoulders, rigid leather corsets and thick fabrics.

This season, the fashion house continued to incorporate elements of traditional craftsmanship and assimilated new techniques into the atelier – novel forms of embroidery, lacemaking and laser cutting. Jewelers from the “Rostovskaya Finift’” factory have created brooch sets in the forms of mythical characters for the collection. Multicoloured details decorating several pieces were carved out at the Maltsov Crystal Factory in Gus-Khrustalny.

Yelets lace components, painstakingly hand woven over the course of 4 months by the “Kruzhevnoi Krai” atelier, feature upon corsets and evening dress basques.

Floral designs are entirely absent in the collection and replaced with geometrical patterns. Much was based around the shape of a “lemekh”, a scale-like wooden shingle covering the church domes of the “Kizhi Pogost” – an architectural ensemble on the Kizhi island. Moreover, ancient drawings of solar symbols, normally placed on the outside of a house to protect against evil spirits, were reinterpreted by the design bureau. References to these elements can be found in lapels, streaming rows of fringe upon a corset or a dress, a unique technique of leather perforation, in the pared back geometry of Yelets lace and in the patterns of knitted pieces. One can also discover pagan myth characters – birds, horses and wolves, traditionally seen in Zaonezh and Pudozh embroidery – among the details of the collection. The image of the bird represents happiness in Slavic cultures, and the horse symbolises a protector. These creatures come alive atop jackets, dresses, in the intricate webs of Yelets lace and in appliques.