Roza’s red hot
This Russian designer exhibits her curiously English styles at a suite in a London hotel While British couturiers are busy with their preparations for London Fashion Week this month, Russian designer Anna “Roza” Bystrova has already been bringing her own brand of glamour to the cream of London society. In a nod to the old-school [...]
This Russian designer exhibits her curiously English styles at a suite in a London hotel
While British couturiers are busy with their preparations for London Fashion Week this month, Russian designer Anna “Roza” Bystrova has already been bringing her own brand of glamour to the cream of London society.
In a nod to the old-school fashion ateliers, Bystrova is showing her current collection at an exclusive suite at The Westbury Hotel, off Bond Street in Mayfair [+44 (0)20 629 7755, www.westburymayfair.com] where she is staying until April. Her passion for groomed sophistication is proving popular with buyers, who are enjoying the bespoke attention that comes with shopping in such an intimate environment.
The collection, reminiscent of pre-war English styles, with high waisted pants, cashmere coats and bias-cut skirts in dark brown,
lilac or caramel colours, was launched at The Westbury last winter with a glitzy catwalk show attended by Princess Michael of Kent,
followed by cocktails for 200 at nearby Crockford’s casino.
And with prices starting at around £1,500, she is hoping to open concessions in some of the capital’s multi-brand fashion and upmarket department stores, while also looking for opportunities in the Middle East and Chinese markets.
“Roza understands the British market,” says one well-placed fashion insider. “Even Russian clients who live in London don’t want more of what they can get back in Moscow – they are buying into the British idea of style, which is less showy and more about sophistication.”
With a background in economics, Bystrova switched to fashion design 15 years ago and opened her first boutique for occasional wear in Moscow in 2006; it quickly became a popular haunt of the city’s social elite.
She describes her core client as “an intelligent woman, capable of leniency but intolerant of falsehood, and this applies to everything: relationships and clothes”. She adds: “I am indifferent to trends because they go against my main principle, which is individuality. My collections transcend fashion and time.”
As a mark of her own independent spirit, Bystrova designs a new collection whenever she feels inspired rather than the established twice a year, to fit the traditional spring and autumn fashion schedule. However, her next catwalk show is set to coincide with London Fashion Week this month and will take
place at another exclusive venue in the capital.Ulla Kloster
