Russian fashion designer Vyacheslav “Slava” Zaitsev has died at the age of 85. This was announced by the Russian Academy of Arts on Sunday evening, as reported by the Tass state agency. Zaitsev died after a long, unspecified illness.
The trained textile artist was the most important Russian fashion designer and designer of the 90s, he was also known as “Red Dior”.
Zaitsev started his career in the early 1960s with designs for farm workers, which were rejected by the Soviet authorities because of their bright colors. However, the magazine “Paris Match” became aware of his work at the time and backed him with a report.
New series and collections followed, which helped him gain respect even within the conservative circles of the Soviet Union. After further success with designs for the Soviet Olympic team for the Summer Games in Moscow in 1980, he founded the Soviet Fashion House.
He later went to Paris, where he was made an honorary citizen of the French capital, among other things. In 1988 he became the head of the Moscow fashion house, which he handed over to his son Yegor in 2019. In addition to clothing, Zaitsev also designed perfumes and soaps. Film and theater costumes were also part of his life’s work, as were costumes for renowned figure skaters.