Vika Gazinskaya is her own best advertisement. Sprightly, petite, and capable of pulling off acts of enormous fabric, she s the kind of oft-photographed tastemaker whose choices feel infectious. “Maybe I can pull off a giant bow,” you think, or ”Why don t I own a trenchcoat in pearlescent pale pink?” This is to her benefit, of course, as a businesswoman selling her wares, and she s found that stores come to her for both her elaborate party dresses (in the metallic-accented jacquards and figure-flattering A-line fit that have become her signature) and for her statement-making outré shapes (those volumes! Those bows!). For Spring, she s got both covered.
An 18th century–inspired blouse was the starting point for her Spring collection, which took shape after Gazinskaya rewatched Peter Greenaway s 1982 film The Draughtsman s Contract. Elsewhere, the aesthetic took a turn into John Hughes territory, right down to the thick, Easter egg–colored cardigans tossed over a series of prim shirtdresses. “It’s a late ’80s thing,” Gazinskaya explained, and she also duplicated the scratched graffiti from outside Soviet buildings onto a few cutoff T-shirts that she paired with feminine skirts (though, she changed the words on the tees to depict messages of peace). Exaggerated sleeves echoed through several looks, typically in full-skirted dresses, but the best frock of the bunch was a dropped-waist eyelet box pleat shirtdress with only the slightest oomph to the arm; it hung gracefully off the body and was just the thing for next summer s languid, scorching days.
