Corporate history highlights. Gosha Rubchinski has won the hearts and minds of many fashionistas with his maiden collection. His debut show, staged in 2008 at the Sokolniki Arena, Moscow, starred professional models alongside 16-18 year old amateur skaters and was attended by over 600 visitors. It was followed by fashion shows in a now defunct Old Believers church and a makeshift gym, but it was the deal with Comme des Garcons, signed in 2012, that catapulted his profile around the globe.
In a matter of a mere couple of years Rubchinskiy has risen to the status of the Russian fashion ambassador to the West and one of the most hyped newcomers on the market that can boast having Dover Street as a stocklist, London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, and Pitti Uomo as regular venues for showcasing his collections, as well as high-profile collaborations with Reebok, Rihanna, and ASAP Rockie all wearing his "Paccbet" hoodies. He's won so many accolades and cemented his reputation to such an extent so as to feel secure enough to turn down Paris and other fashion capitals of the world and to choose the provincial city of Kaliningrad, Russia, that is to host the World Cup matches in 2018, as the place to present his A/W17 show (in partnership with Adidas). What's truly remarkable about Rubchinskiy is that his essentially niche products have earned recognition well beyond the intended audience. This claim is well supported by the fact that his pricing policy is a popular subject for jokes among the users of major social networking sites in Russia.
Brand's DNA. Nemo propheta in patria: unlike Westerners, Russians show little if any interest in the brand, save for the KM20 and Science and Art (NII) regulars. Commuter town aesthetics as well as the 'splendours and miseries' of the 1990s do not appeal to the tastes of most Russians because track jackets, track pants, and old-school track shorts, as well as hooded sheepskin coats look anything but revealing and unique to them. The $100 tie ear flaps hat is too much of an investment for the majority of them. That said, the post-Soviet tinge of Rubchinskiy's collections is highly acclaimed in the West. Whatever your opinion of the final product, few would argue that Rubchinskiy has succeeded in capitalizing on reliving memories of his youth.
The right mood and demand have been whetted by brand image building products like interviews with 'the guys next door', photographic books (all published as limited editions, of course), and active participation in the projects like a short directed by Renata Litvinova or an exhibition curated by 032c, a Berlin-based culture magazine. Rubchinskiy as a stylist is not a stranger to the shoots of well-established brands either (think Opening Ceremony, Nike, Topman, and the like).
Pricing. A piece of outerwear by Gosha Rubchinskiy costs about $600, denimwear and trousers are $300, while, socks are as cheap as $25.
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