An exposition of wedding dresses opened at the RUSSIA EXPO

On May 14 at the RUSSIA EXPO, within the framework of the First All-Russian Wedding Festival at the Exposition and showcase "Fashion Brands of Russia. Evolution of Russian Style" in Pavilion No. 75 there was another update — the exposition of wedding dresses was opened. It features more than 30 brands reflecting the richness of Russian wedding culture.

"In January at the RUSSIA EXPO, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of the Year of the Family, and we organized the first All-Russian Wedding Festival. There has never been such an event in the history of our country. On its first day, over 300 people got married at the same time - 151 new families appeared. Many couples came to their weddings in national costumes and dresses. We hope that this trend will only get stronger. Russia's strength is in its diversity!" said Anastasia Zvyagina, Deputy Director General of the RUSSIA EXPO.

One of the most significant blocks of the installation was the collaboration with the author's project of actress and producer Sofya Ernst "Getting Married". As part of the project, Channel One broadcast a documentary series revealing the wedding traditions of our ancestors and how they are inherited by young families in the XXI century. Sofya Ernst also became the organizer of the Russian Wedding Exposition at the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Arts, which is dedicated to rethinking ancient wedding traditions.

"This Exposition features both modern designers and traditional fashion, in our project we create and rethink traditional wedding fashion through the prism of modern brands, and here we see how we can approach modern traditional costume in different ways and draw a parallel with the present day. And my task is to inspire the viewers to pay tribute to the traditional costume when choosing outfits for their weddings," said Sofya Ernst.

The "Getting Married" block features costumes reflecting wedding traditions of such regions as the Stavropol, Kaluga, Vologda, Ryazan, Tver and Lipetsk regions, the Republics of Dagestan and Karelia, Udmurtia and Chuvash Republics.

"Today we have the culmination of the ‘Runways of Russia’ project, we have a bridal, rich, opulent runway. More than fifty brands and manufacturers are represented here, and it is very important that we show not only major fashion houses, but also regional brands. And we want today's weddings to be as lush and dressy as our fashion and design," said Georgy Rostovshchikov, curator of the exposition and founder of the FASHION HUB RUSSIA group of companies.

The models presented at the exposition vary from designer outfits from local brands to the most fashionable catwalk collections. It is noteworthy that they are created taking into account folk traditions, but at the same time fit perfectly into modern life.

"Our clients who are interested in wedding dresses want them to fit into everyday life, so I used classic wedding materials, but emphasized headdresses, inspired by the Russian actress Lyubov Orlova, who loved headdresses very much. And I made the silhouettes classic, universal, but with elements of Russian traditions. Because people have started to pay a lot of attention to Russian culture, and they even try to make many home decorations in Russian style," said the founder and creative director of Laroom brand Evgenia Legkodymova.

The central part of the installation is dedicated to the Russian wedding costume in its different variations.

"We are proud that for almost 40 years we have been creating wedding dresses, and brides in Russia, and in other countries start their family's journey in our dresses made in Nizhny Novgorod. In our work we try to preserve the traditions of Russian wedding dress, we use a lot of hand finishing, when truly golden hands embroider details with beads, pearls, sequins, creating a unique pattern," said Elena Maslennikova, Development Director of Belfaso Fashion House (Nizhny Novgorod).

The Exposition features not only outfits for weddings, but also a selection of gowns for church weddings decorated with embroidery and other traditional needlework.

"We specialize in products for church weddings, and not only in the Christian religion. Our customers are both Arabs and Central Asians, but of course the main collection is in the Russian style. We even often order fabrics and laces from monastery manufactories," said PR-director of Edem Couture brand Mikhail Khmelev.

References to Russian folklore are present in most of the presented models. 

"We are very proud of specifically folkloric Russian architecture, and our designer Yulia Yanina has always promoted this, and absolutely all our dresses feature rich and generous handmade embroidery: there is, for example, the ‘Swan Princess’ dress — absolutely the finest work. And, of course, at all the shows our style is immediately recognized — it's so different from other fashion houses," emphasized the brand manager of Yanina Fashion House Lilia Salakhova.

Among the participating brands are Veniz Lace, Yeletsk Lace, Masterpeace, Technorus, Lika Saralp, Izolda Gogichaeva, Ruzanna Paranuk, Munajat Hasanova, ANN Polyakova, Yanina, OSL, The Wedding Atelier, And the brand, Vassa&CO, Belfaso, Edem Couture, Z'KOD Studio, Milva, JM Studio, Lezardi, Ju Ju and others.

At the same time, the exposition of wedding attire is not only dresses and suits, but also fashion accessories: hats, jewelry and other elements that form a single harmonious ensemble.

"I am very happy to see my works combined with famous Russian brands. We work in a variety of styles, and many people are even surprised that we have such a wide range of headwear and accessories trends in Russia. Each headdress has its own story, and they perfectly emphasize both the status of the owner and everything that a person is ready to declare about themselves. And everyone sees something different in them: elements of national style or, for example, Orthodox domes," said Lia Gureeva, the founder and creative director of accessories brand Lia Gureeva.

Also, at the exposition one can learn about authentic wedding culture of the Republics of Adygea, Dagestan, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria.

"We represent the wedding traditions of Circassian costume, while creating them we worked a lot with archives and, observing the artifacts that are kept in the ethnographic museum, we created such looks in a designer interpretation, but at the same time with the preservation of the concept of female and male costume. And in our collection, elements of Circassian costume, such as traditional clasps, are immediately readable," said Lika Saralp, a designer from the Kabardino-Balkar Republic.

The All-Russian Wedding Festival is being held in Russia for the first time. Until May 19, more than 200 couples from all federal districts of the country will get married at the Exposition, and thematic days dedicated to the stages of the wedding rite and various customs will be held. Each of them will be connected with the traditions of Russia's regions and peoples.