Alexandre Plokhov’s New Focus on Footwear
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Alexandre Plokhov is no stranger to the fashion community.
Over the course of his career, he has designed for everyone from Helmut Lang and Versace to Uniqlo and Cloak. For the last two years, he has helmed a men’s brand named Nomenklatura Studio known for its distinctive tailoring pieces infused with military references.
For the brand’s fifth collection, the focus is on the red-hot footwear category.
“All previous collections/releases consisted of apparel, footwear and selected accessories,” he said. “For this release, we decided to concentrate on footwear exclusively since it has historically been our strongest performing category. In addition, due to unavoidable disruptions in the supply chain — from fabric to fabrication — apparel manufacturing has had to be put on hold temporarily. Clothing design will always be an integral part of Nomenklatura Studio. But while it was reality that pushed us to concentrate on footwear for now, we are so happy with the results that we see it continuing to be a foundation of the brand offer. I have always enjoyed designing shoes — for Cloak, Versace and Helmut Lang — it’s just that now they are no longer an afterthought.”
For this collection, Plokhov is offering up four styles created from leather sourced in Italy and France and manufactured by artisans in Montegranaro, Italy. Soles are offered in two options: a hybrid with a Cucio welt and Vi-Lite Vibram outsole or a Vachetta leather with an angled footprint.
Models include the patent leather D-Ring Derby, inspired by the German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Dusseldorf; the Goth Boot, which draws its references from Peter Murphy sporting a pair in a Bauhaus publicity photo; the Eighties-inspired Zipper Engineer in pebble-embossed leather, and the Parabellum Mkll, the second iteration of a boot originally offered in the first collection and inspired by the combat service boot issued to the military in World War II. They will retail for $475 to $750.
To promote the collection, Plokhov worked with photographer Nicholas Alan Cope to shoot the campaign images.
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