BABAWEAR
'Made in Russia' fashion industry tries to fill gap left by Western brands' exit (2023)
France 24 / AFP
Issued on: 13/09/2023
03:15
Despite lacking equipment, staff and even fabric, Russia's fashion industry is striving to expand and fill the huge gap – both physical and psychological – left by the departure of Western brands since the start of the war in Ukraine. In Saint Petersburg, the YOU clothing brand has cast itself as an alternative to Spain's Massimo Dutti, which has closed more than 500 shops. "We cannot produce everything abroad," explains YOU CEO Yevgeniya Moseychuk. "We need to reduce distances and organise production here," she added.
‘Made in Russia’ fashion struggles to fill gap
By AFP
September 13, 2023
Russia's fashion industry is rushing to fill the gap left by the departure of major Western labels -
By AFP
September 13, 2023
Russia's fashion industry is rushing to fill the gap left by the departure of major Western labels -
Copyright AFP BAY ISMOYO
Marina LAPENKOVA
Despite staff shortages, a lack of equipment and dwindling fabric supplies, Russia’s fashion industry is rushing to fill the gap left by the departure of major Western labels.
Dozens of brands like Adidas, H&M and Zara have shut up shop in Russia since the conflict in Ukraine began last year, while Western sanctions have cut off access to foreign goods.
Moscow saw its European clothing imports drop by 37.2 percent last year, according to the Fashion Network site.
The Kremlin has cast the sanctions as an opportunity to bolster domestic firms, returning to Soviet-style manufacturing after years of foreign dependence.
But while the state has poured subsidies into industries like clothing, Moscow faces an uphill battle to sell customers on the “Made in Russia” label.
– Industrial revolution –
Nadezhda Samoylenko, who has worked in the sector since 1978, said that when the Soviet Union collapsed, so too did the country’s light manufacturing industry.
Russia stopped producing fabrics and lost the knowledge needed to train managers, as the Soviet-era schools that trained staff closed.
Factories are between 25 percent and 50 percent short of the specialists they need as a result, one industry expert told AFP.
While Western brands such as H&M and Uniqlo have been superseded by Russian replacements like LIME and “Lady & Gentleman”, most manufacturing still takes place abroad.
“Major Russian clothing brands produce in the same Asian factories as the Western brands that left Russia,” said Tatyana Belkevich from RAFI, an association that represents Russia’s fashion industry.
In Saint Petersburg, the YOU clothing brand has positioned itself as an alternative to Spain’s Massimo Dutti, part of the Inditex group that closed more than 500 stores in the wake of Moscow’s offensive.
The company does produce in Russia, but volumes remain low.
YOU said it doubled its production last year, to 4,000 items. The company is aiming to double this again by 2024, “even though delivery times for raw materials and supplies from Asia have also doubled”, CEO Yevgeniya Moseychuk told AFP.
The brand has tripled its workforce in 18 months and opened six stores, but it is still a long way from mass production.
And it lacks a quarter of the sewing staff it needs.
– Patriotic customers? –
Still, the number of clothing companies is on the rise.
According to the Rosakkreditatsiya registration service, the number of companies in the sector increased by 20 percent between 2021 and 2022.
When it comes to marketing, the overwhelming majority of brands have chosen English names in favour of Russian ones.
“In their hearts, Russian consumers are still under the influence of Western soft power,” Belkevich said.
Clothing consultant Stanislava Nazhmitdinova said fashion choices might also be dictated more by financial circumstances than patriotism.
“For consumers now, it is more important to buy cheap than to buy (Russian),” she said.
According to the Fashion Consulting Group, clothing prices have gone up by 30 percent as sanctions disrupt supply chains and the ruble lingers at historic lows against the dollar.
“Russians say now that they are more interested in local brands, but in fact, do they have a choice?” Nazhmitdinova said.
And, in any case, more than half of Russians continue to buy Western brands ordered via third countries, according to the audit and consultancy firm B1, the former Russian arm of accounting giant EY.
“When Westerners return to Russia, they will still find their loyal customers here,” Nazhmitdinova said.
“If they are still alive, of course.”
Despite staff shortages, a lack of equipment and dwindling fabric supplies, Russia’s fashion industry is rushing to fill the gap left by the departure of major Western labels.
Dozens of brands like Adidas, H&M and Zara have shut up shop in Russia since the conflict in Ukraine began last year, while Western sanctions have cut off access to foreign goods.
Moscow saw its European clothing imports drop by 37.2 percent last year, according to the Fashion Network site.
The Kremlin has cast the sanctions as an opportunity to bolster domestic firms, returning to Soviet-style manufacturing after years of foreign dependence.
But while the state has poured subsidies into industries like clothing, Moscow faces an uphill battle to sell customers on the “Made in Russia” label.
– Industrial revolution –
Nadezhda Samoylenko, who has worked in the sector since 1978, said that when the Soviet Union collapsed, so too did the country’s light manufacturing industry.
Russia stopped producing fabrics and lost the knowledge needed to train managers, as the Soviet-era schools that trained staff closed.
Factories are between 25 percent and 50 percent short of the specialists they need as a result, one industry expert told AFP.
While Western brands such as H&M and Uniqlo have been superseded by Russian replacements like LIME and “Lady & Gentleman”, most manufacturing still takes place abroad.
“Major Russian clothing brands produce in the same Asian factories as the Western brands that left Russia,” said Tatyana Belkevich from RAFI, an association that represents Russia’s fashion industry.
In Saint Petersburg, the YOU clothing brand has positioned itself as an alternative to Spain’s Massimo Dutti, part of the Inditex group that closed more than 500 stores in the wake of Moscow’s offensive.
The company does produce in Russia, but volumes remain low.
YOU said it doubled its production last year, to 4,000 items. The company is aiming to double this again by 2024, “even though delivery times for raw materials and supplies from Asia have also doubled”, CEO Yevgeniya Moseychuk told AFP.
The brand has tripled its workforce in 18 months and opened six stores, but it is still a long way from mass production.
And it lacks a quarter of the sewing staff it needs.
– Patriotic customers? –
Still, the number of clothing companies is on the rise.
According to the Rosakkreditatsiya registration service, the number of companies in the sector increased by 20 percent between 2021 and 2022.
When it comes to marketing, the overwhelming majority of brands have chosen English names in favour of Russian ones.
“In their hearts, Russian consumers are still under the influence of Western soft power,” Belkevich said.
Clothing consultant Stanislava Nazhmitdinova said fashion choices might also be dictated more by financial circumstances than patriotism.
“For consumers now, it is more important to buy cheap than to buy (Russian),” she said.
According to the Fashion Consulting Group, clothing prices have gone up by 30 percent as sanctions disrupt supply chains and the ruble lingers at historic lows against the dollar.
“Russians say now that they are more interested in local brands, but in fact, do they have a choice?” Nazhmitdinova said.
And, in any case, more than half of Russians continue to buy Western brands ordered via third countries, according to the audit and consultancy firm B1, the former Russian arm of accounting giant EY.
“When Westerners return to Russia, they will still find their loyal customers here,” Nazhmitdinova said.
“If they are still alive, of course.”
‘Rearguard soldiers’: Women sew for Russian victory
By AFP
September 12, 2023
The Kremlin has cast its soldiers as heroes battling for Russia's very existence
Romain COLAS
In the cluttered basement of a residential building outside Moscow, 81-year-old Raisa carefully attached plastic strips to a camouflage net stretched over a wooden stand in front of her.
“It’s for our boys who are over there,” Raisa told AFP, with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“We are worried for them, of course,” she sighed. “We are ready to do everything to provide moral and material help.”
As Russia’s assault on Ukraine takes a heavy toll on the army and economy, the Kremlin has cast its soldiers as heroes battling for Russia’s very existence in the face of Western aggression and “Nazism”.
Raisa is one of a dozen mostly elderly women who make everything from camouflage nets to underwear in a workshop in the town of Zhukovsky, around 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of the Russian capital.
The volunteers say they were inspired by the Soviet Union’s historic mobilisation against Nazi Germany during World War II.
The seamstresses work in quiet concentration, surrounded by sacks and boxes destined for the front. A portrait of President Vladimir Putin is pinned to a wall. One of the posters says “From home with love.”
Manager Elena Poteryaeva proudly presented one of their latest creations — a green fabric stretcher with padded handles.
“That way the soldier won’t hurt his hands while pulling his wounded comrade,” the 50-year-old said.
The workshop is part of a network of about 10 in the regions of Moscow and Tver that produce up to 300 camouflage nets a month.
The nets then get delivered to Ukraine by volunteers or picked up by soldiers before joining the front.
Initially, several local grandmothers started sewing socks for soldiers last year, Poteryaeva said.
– Passionate support –
As the fighting continued, their efforts received official support, with the mayor’s office in Zhukovsky providing the women with a place to work.
While many Russians prefer to keep their distance from the conflict, the women volunteers make no secret of their passionate support for the Kremlin’s offensive.
“We support our guys and we believe that what they are doing is right,” said Poteryaeva.
“We already feel like soldiers, rearguard soldiers,” added the woman, an aeronautical engineer by training.
“I really hope that we will celebrate the victory together with our warriors.”
Her comrade Natalia Shalygina said the conflict divided Russians and that patriots like them continued “the work of their grandfathers”.
“In times of war there are those who help, those who wait and those who do harm,” said the 52-year-old philologist.
“So we need to reach out to the guys and tell them loud and clear that we are waiting for them here, helping and supporting them,” she added.
The women showed AFP a video of Russian soldiers thanking them for their support.
The workshop buys the necessary materials including fabrics and fishing nets from several companies across Russia and said it keeps going thanks to private donations.
Shalygina said she was already working on the new season as she pointed to a spool of white and green fabric for snow camouflage.
“Winter is coming soon,” she said.
By AFP
September 12, 2023
The Kremlin has cast its soldiers as heroes battling for Russia's very existence
- Copyright AFP Natalia KOLESNIKOVA
Romain COLAS
In the cluttered basement of a residential building outside Moscow, 81-year-old Raisa carefully attached plastic strips to a camouflage net stretched over a wooden stand in front of her.
“It’s for our boys who are over there,” Raisa told AFP, with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“We are worried for them, of course,” she sighed. “We are ready to do everything to provide moral and material help.”
As Russia’s assault on Ukraine takes a heavy toll on the army and economy, the Kremlin has cast its soldiers as heroes battling for Russia’s very existence in the face of Western aggression and “Nazism”.
Raisa is one of a dozen mostly elderly women who make everything from camouflage nets to underwear in a workshop in the town of Zhukovsky, around 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of the Russian capital.
The volunteers say they were inspired by the Soviet Union’s historic mobilisation against Nazi Germany during World War II.
The seamstresses work in quiet concentration, surrounded by sacks and boxes destined for the front. A portrait of President Vladimir Putin is pinned to a wall. One of the posters says “From home with love.”
Manager Elena Poteryaeva proudly presented one of their latest creations — a green fabric stretcher with padded handles.
“That way the soldier won’t hurt his hands while pulling his wounded comrade,” the 50-year-old said.
The workshop is part of a network of about 10 in the regions of Moscow and Tver that produce up to 300 camouflage nets a month.
The nets then get delivered to Ukraine by volunteers or picked up by soldiers before joining the front.
Initially, several local grandmothers started sewing socks for soldiers last year, Poteryaeva said.
– Passionate support –
As the fighting continued, their efforts received official support, with the mayor’s office in Zhukovsky providing the women with a place to work.
While many Russians prefer to keep their distance from the conflict, the women volunteers make no secret of their passionate support for the Kremlin’s offensive.
“We support our guys and we believe that what they are doing is right,” said Poteryaeva.
“We already feel like soldiers, rearguard soldiers,” added the woman, an aeronautical engineer by training.
“I really hope that we will celebrate the victory together with our warriors.”
Her comrade Natalia Shalygina said the conflict divided Russians and that patriots like them continued “the work of their grandfathers”.
“In times of war there are those who help, those who wait and those who do harm,” said the 52-year-old philologist.
“So we need to reach out to the guys and tell them loud and clear that we are waiting for them here, helping and supporting them,” she added.
The women showed AFP a video of Russian soldiers thanking them for their support.
The workshop buys the necessary materials including fabrics and fishing nets from several companies across Russia and said it keeps going thanks to private donations.
Shalygina said she was already working on the new season as she pointed to a spool of white and green fabric for snow camouflage.
“Winter is coming soon,” she said.
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