Soviet fashion: How designer clothes helped people through the dark times

What could be more inappropriate than a fashion house right in the midst of a terrible war? But that is testimony to the courage of the Leningrad people, their will to survive.

During the blockade they listened to Anna Akhmatova's and Olga Berggolts's poems broadcast on radio and loudspeakers. Throughout the ordeal, theaters, cinemas, jazz clubs and libraries kept on working to support the suffering nation.

Immediately after the Nazis were repelled, the city’s cultural life revived with new strength and vigor.

In April 1944 the first Soviet house of models was opened at 21 Nevsky Prospect in Mertens House, a building used to host a fur store before the 1917 Revolution. Today it is home to a large Zara store.

During the Brezhnev era of stagnation, Soviet modelers brought a little fresh air to the working people, creating colorful patterns and clothes samples and accessories for sewing factories.

Let's take a look at some of the best models captured against stunning backdrops of Leningrad that were displayed not only in the USSR, but even abroad.

(All the retro captions are saved)

Waterproof autumn overcoat with fake fur elements, 1970

P.Fedotov/TASS

Tweed suit with extended skirt and short waist jacket, 1970

P.Fedotov/TASS

Pant suit with a bright scarf, 1970

P.Fedotov/TASS

Summer dress and extended silk jacket, 1970

P.Fedotov/TASS

Coat and evening dress, 1968

P.Fedotov/TASS

Red velvet youth dress, 1969

P.Fedotov/TASS

Suit and dress with Russian motifs, 1969

P.Fedotov/TASS

Raincoat with zipper and dress with bright tie, 1968

P.Fedotov/TASS

Elegant ensemble, 1972

P.Fedotov/TASS

Platina fox overcoat demonstrated at the Leningrad House of Models, 1982

Yuri Belinsky/TASS

Elegant evening set made of thick silk and hosiery fabrics, 1984

Yuri Belinsky/TASS

Leningrad House of Fashion shows retro-style clothes on the embankment near the Admiralty building, 1984

Yuri Belinsky, Igor Zotin/TASS

From today’s St. Petersburg to the horrors of Leningrad under siege: A photographer combines frightful scenes of the Leningrad Blockade (1941-1944) with bright views of the present-day city. Click here to see the collages>>>

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