120 years of fashion

GUM’s been in the epicenter of Moscow fashion all 120 legendary years of its history. Even in years of total shortages people could find something stylish like from a magazine cover. Own atelier of GUM was in great demand among the party elite members.

 In its anniversary year, Main Department Store offers a unique exhibition, which helps modern visitors of GUM see how the first buyers of the former Upper Trading Malls looked like. It is a retrospective of fashion on Red Square 20, 50, 80 and 120 years ago.

 Fashion is inseparable from the history, and garments reflect all events during the centuries: world wars, two consecutive revolutions, change of the political system and economic policy. The exhibition features about 300 authentic costumes from Alexander Vasiliev’s private collection.

Fashion expert and well-known TV presenter personally opened the exhibition in GUM. We did a great work before the opening as for every costume we made special demonstration mannequins. Exhibition visitors may be surprised at how tiny the XIX century beauties were!


 Ladies in lace and ermine capes show the fashion during the reign of Emperor Alexander III and Nicholas II. Mannequins with wasp waists in flowing lace dresses, large hats demonstrate subtle taste of fashionistas in early XX century. A little further we can see smart and a bit flashy NEP style, trophy outfits of generals’ wives, extravagance of so called New Russians representing newly rich business class of post-Soviet times and the era of glamour. Step by step mannequins show the viewers fashion from the past to future and in the center of GUM by the fountain the «journey» ends with fashion of 2014.


 Exhibition of historical costumes in GUM lasts from December 2013 to February 2014.