STYLE KAPITAL

 

MILAN, PARIS AND LONDON BETTER WATCH THEIR BACKS – MOSCOW IS FAST BECOMING THE NEW FASHION FOCAL POINT OF THE WORLD

By Jeremy Case

 

There’s a popular joke in Moscow’s bars. Two women bump into each other carrying the same Gucci bag. The first says: “£300, Milan.” The second boasts: “£500, Moscow.”

Yep, the Russian capital is one place where credit is refusing to be crunched – but while bling is king, there are bargains galore in this shopping-mad style mecca.

Lust for labels has inspired an influx of top designers – Marc Jacobs is one of the latest to open a flagship store in the city – and lured cash-splashing celebs such as Paris Hilton and football tycoon Roman Abramovich’s girlfriend Daria Zhukova.

And the Versace and fur-clad Russian fashionistas put British WAGs to shame as they try to outspend each other at the designer shrines of Tretyakovsky Proezd (Bond Street with bells on) and GUM (think Harrods but in Red Square).

Shopping on a budget

If you want retail therapy at high-street prices, check out local boutiques, where the country’s designers create original clothes for the Russians’ famously bold fashion sense.

Designer Denis Simachev sells kitsch-but-cool Putin and USSR tees, and jewellery inspired by the kopek coin.

For statement pieces, head to COX, otherwise known as the ‘Council of Xperiments’, or the chain Sultanna Frantsuzova – a Russian Karen Millen – which is great for well-cut jackets and basics.

The weekend Vernisazh Market is a treasure trove of this season’s vintage military chic such as greatcoats, hats, badges and belts, as well as hand-knitted cashmere shawls.

These might come in handy if you’re visiting in winter.

But in summer the sun sets at 10pm, when impromptu parties spring up along the banks of the River Moskva.

Seeing the sights

No matter how good the shopping, you can’t come to Moscow without visiting that monumental symbol of power – the Kremlin.

Inside its towering vermilion walls you’ll find churches, museums, Fabergé eggs and stunning architecture.

Outside are the colourful onion domes of St Basil’s Cathedral and the vast Red Square, where the non-squeamish can peer at Lenin in his mausoleum.

Get around on the subway – it’s ridiculously cheap and the stations are works of art (Mayakovskaya is the best).

Then dress up to the nines and start your evening at the world-famous Bolshoi Ballet, sharing a bottle of Russian champers at the interval.

Afterwards eat at Café Pushkin, an institution since the 19th century, famous for serving Russian classics such as beef stroganoff with a side of pelmeni – small dumplings traditionally filled with meat and spices, but made with salmon at Pushkin’s.

Or splash out on top-notch cuisine at Sky Lounge, a designer restaurant in the Soviet Academy of Sciences with stunning views.

Forget your ten quid bottle of Pinot Grigio though – wines start at £50 a bottle. Stick to beer with a vodka chaser – drunk neat, of course – if you want to economise.

The nightlife is wild and nowhere more so than at Rai Club (the name means Heaven).

To a background of classic house, watch a Muscovite social spectacle unfold as moneyed Russians, beautiful girls, and the city’s party people mix with fire-eaters, stilt-walkers and women adorned in body paint.

You can live like the super-rich at the glass-roofed O2 DJ bar on top of the Ritz Carlton in Red Square too.

The next day, detox Russian-style at the recently updated 1896 Sanduny Bath House.

In addition to the steam room and baths, in the women-only section there are Jacuzzis, a solarium, a thalassotherapy area plus a beauty salon where you can unwind with a manicure.

That’s if you even bother going to bed – bars, restaurants and shops are open all hours here. Just don’t forget to catch your flight home.

 

PHOTOGRAPHY: CAMERA PRESS, matrix, GETTY IMAGES, RIA NOVOSTI. All prices correct at time of going to press.