Denis Simachev is known as the "most Russian" of the bright young generation of Russian fashion designers. The "Denis Simachev" label makes wide use both of the old Soviet and the new presidential insignia. T-shirts declaring "Ya iz SSSR" (I’m from the U.S.S.R.) or those printed with a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin are very popular among the country’s elite, from businessman Umar Dzhabrailov to actor and producer Gosha Kutsenko. Simachev recently became the first Russian fashion designer to be featured in the 2003 Absolut fashion calendar. This LifeStyle correspondent literally fished him out the moment he returned to Moscow from his extensive tour around Europe. We met in Zhiguli, the noisy bar with an 80s theme where Simachev designed the wait staff’s outfits using his trademarked Soviet-era style.

It is almost impossible to get an interview with you. First you’re in France, then you’re in St. Petersburg, and then you’re in Italy. Where do you live?

Somewhere between St. Petersburg and Moscow. In a week, I’ll spend three days in Moscow and four in St. Petersburg. In Moscow it’s easy to do things. I mean it is easy to make arrangements and strike deals. But the production lines are in St. Petersburg because the prices are three times lower there. If I had to produce all these items in Moscow…just the thought of how much it would have cost me is dreadful. Besides, people in St. Petersburg work for the idea, not for the money. They are heartfelt people, and whatever they do they put their hearts and souls into it.

Why did you agree to take part in the Absolut Metamorphosis project?

As I see it, the Absolut brand is not seeking to show off famous names and compromise itself at the expense of art or design. What they are doing is creating conditions in which beautiful things can be created. Besides, their themes and ideas are centered on very abstract notions. Somebody might think of metamorphosis as transformation, while others might see it as a transition or development.

I must say it is impossible to recognize your style in the work you did for the calendar...

That could just as well be a work by [British designer Alexander] McQueen, especially if you notice the toughness of the manner. Of course, the presentation style is very important.

How was the idea of your May page conceived?

Someone called me and said that I had five days to create something with a metamorphosis theme and that I would be paid a certain amount for the job. Incidentally, the pay was only enough to cover my expenses related to the work. I have always associated May with spring moods, metamorphoses and Victory Day. In general, it evokes really positive emotions.

Your previous works are dramatically different from the style that you used for the calendar. Does that mean that the Soviet-themed Simachev has transformed into a new Simachev, a more tender and fragile one? Someone who works more along feminine lines than on your previous masculine ones?

What I can promise you is that Simachev will vary – masculine, feminine and never what he is expected to be. There are lots of ideas but they require a lot of effort, money and time. I put out two collections a year and this takes an enormous amount of time. Can you imagine how I would feel with having to do four or six lines? Besides, menswear collections, which Russian designers do not consider to be prestigious, are just as difficult to create as women’s collections. Take a men’s jacket, for example. It is a very complicated item and a very difficult thing to design and manufacture.

You were educated as a shoe designer and you work with leather. You used an innovative approach when you created the glove for the Absolut calendar. Could you tell me about it?

I did the design and the people who are in charge of all leather items – from footwear to jackets – produced for the Denis Simachev label did the manufacturing. In creating the glove for the Absolut Metamorphosis calendar, we decided that the fingers should be very thin; it took us quite a long time to find the person to match it. An interesting part of the work was the creation of tiny bottles shaped as petals that eventually transformed into a glove.

Let’s talk about the symbolic sense of your work. After all, you have proven that fashion design is a meaningful art.

The image with the glove tells a story about a girl transforming into a plant or vice versa – a plant transforming into a girl. Some other associations come to my mind, too. For example, if we add a hood to the outfit the image would be gloomier, as if the plant is sucking the life out of the girl. The way it looks now, the work provokes some mysterious and even magical thoughts.

Let’s now return to your previous collections. How did you come to the idea of addressing the Soviet theme?

I don’t know. I had the idea and put it into practice. Back then the word "U.S.S.R." was not honored and was almost a curse. I grew up in the 1980s and I feel a certain nostalgia for young pioneer camps, [the Soviet cartoon character] Cheburashka and the Olympic bear. Regarding today’s teenagers, they just think it’s cool to show up in a T-shirt decorated with the Soviet coat of arms. For them, it’s another story. But nobody is indifferent to it.

How do foreigners perceive the [Soviet] theme?

There is nothing special about their perception. The Soviet theme is very popular in Russia. Even in the West, undershirts and T-shirts with pictures of Putin are popular. He is a famous and respected man there.

Where do your buyers live? In Russia or in the West?

Half are here and half are there. In Russia, my sales will remain on the level they are today because we have very few good stores and even fewer rich people. In the West, the situation is exactly the opposite: They have just begun to recognize Russian designers and the demand for our items has begun to grow. Sales are on the rise and the number of our boutiques has begun to increase. My items are in demand in Italy and especially Japan. The Japanese are ready to spend millions to buy the newest and most expensive thing.

Why are your items so expensive?

Because their quality is high and they are sold only at upscale stores. I would be happy if my items cost kopeks and were beautiful. But I’m determined to make high quality stuff, which turns out to be expensive.

You haven’t shown your collections during Moscow’s fashion weeks for several years now. Why?

I’m not ignoring it. It’s just that we have been out of sync. But now I’m meeting my deadlines and I will show my 2004 Spring/Summer menswear collection in Moscow on June 13. This will be the collection’s premiere after which it will be shown in Florence on June 20.