Ulyana Sergeenko Couture Spring 2021

Stepping back a full century — perhaps in the hope that the 2020s will also roar — Russian couturier Ulyana Sergeenko sought escape in period glamour.

With her 10th anniversary collection, she took inspiration from Russian silent-movie star Vera Kholodnaya to produce a lineup chock full of Art Deco references, from artist Erté and the Empire State Building to Moscow’s Aeroport metro station.

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Diamond and elongated hexagon shapes were the collection’s main motifs. Some were embroidered, others formed inset panels in lace, crystal or enamel, all made by historic suppliers using the ancestral craft techniques of her homeland, a leitmotif that continues to form the baseline for her opulent collections.

For day, there were sharp-shouldered crêpe jackets and pencil skirts, floaty chiffon dresses and bejeweled cardigans. Sweetheart and deep-V necklines and lace bodices with a boudoir feel punctuated the silhouettes, carrying over into the eveningwear pieces. These were worked in jewel or dusty shades, or in black or white, with billowing skirts or A-line shapes, in silk, velvet or allover embroideries. A beaded mesh shawl and a feather coat ramped up the sense of period drama, while stylized rose motifs featured as embroideries or in the carved wooden clutches that accessorized the collection.

Launch Gallery: Ulyana Sergeenko Couture Spring 2021

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