O N T H E
G R O U N D
M O S C O W
ILLUSTRATION
TANG YAU HOONG
despite being the largest
city in Europe,
Moscow was, until recently, a total design
wasteland. Good-quality, well-designed
products made in Russia were practically
unheard of, and visitors looking for
mementos were directed to dingy souvenir parlours
selling dusty matryoshka dolls.
Luckily, now, things are changing. The city has begun
to reinvent itself as an outpost of global craft mania, and
it is artisan shops, not Cold War-era bunkers, that
Muscovites call their best-kept secret. From hand-
knitted bow ties to exquisite cheeses, various home-
grown brands are ushering in a new era of creativity.
And, happily for the time-pressed tourist, most of these
boutiques are within walking distance of each other.
If you’re in search of souvenirs, I’d recommend
visiting the trendy neighbourhood of Kitay-Gorod. In
clothes store Twins Shop (
s-11.ru/twins-shop
),
custom-
made accessories are produced by the brand Engineer
Garin (the name is a reference to an old Soviet sci-fi
novel). Its founder, Sergei Malykhin, says he’s been
inspired by “old traditions of Russian engineering” to
create his range of quirky, exquisitely crafted bow ties,
which attract a cult following.
Nearby, on picturesque Tsvetnoy Boulevard, is Depst
(
depst.ru
),
a newmultibrand store for up-and-coming
local designers. Here you can opt for a souvenir by Heart
of Moscow, which produces items ranging frommittens
to totes, all bearing a logo inspired by the 1980 Moscow
Olympics. Their singular style has led many to dub the
brand the unofficial symbol of the Russian capital.
Just next door, you can stock up on Igor Klimenkoff’s
modern porcelain models of fruit, vegetables and
figurines, which have been flying off the shelves.
According to the designer, his life-size copy of an
artichoke epitomises the paradoxes of living in a
modern-day city. Even if you don’t buy into his
overblown rhetoric, finding design
products of this quality in the
Russian capital is a sure sign that
the city is changing.
Igor Zinatulin is deputy editor of
the Calvert Journal, a guide to
creative Russia, calvertjournal.com
Have you got
something to say
about your city?
email: ontheground
@
ink-global.com
“
It’s design mania!”
The Russian capital’s creative revival means it’s time to go shopping, says
Igor Zinatulin
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