How to start selling handmade scarves yourself. Conditions of work of the company with wholesale buyers
September
Key decisions:
- Launched email-marketing and sms-mailing;
- Implemented a CRM system;
- Opened your online store;
- Connected advertising in Google.
Result:
- Sale of at least 150 scarves per day;
- "Net" income per month - $ 2,000.
Do you think it is possible to make good money wholesale scarves, using, for example, email marketing?
Many people, especially businessmen of the old school, would say: “No, I have a wholesaler, I just personally go to the points, offer and sell.” In fact, the B2B segment of the Internet is doing just as well as B2C. Just the B2B segment is a little smaller. But the client is more valuable here. Due to the greater turnover, you will earn more profit.
Now we go to the showroom to our students, where we learn:
- How do they wholesale scarves;
- How can this be done through email marketing;
- How can you quickly earn $ 2,000 “clean” on this, just by sending letters.
Are you eager to know about all this? Then start this short video right now:
How to turn your favorite hobby into a profitable business
Oles: We are in the showroom of Vadim and Anna. Great guys who have trained with us. Today we will figure out how they sell their scarves for serious amounts and what allows them to do this. What exactly do you sell: scarves, shawls, right?
Vitaly: Yes, scarves, shawls, stoles, snoods.
Oles: Tell us how it all happens for you? How did you even get the idea to do this?
Vitaly: This idea came to Anna. This was her passion.
Anna: Yes, it was a hobby, but at some point I just realized that the Ukrainian market is almost not occupied by this product. And we began to think about how to deal with scarves more seriously. To stand out in the market, we decided to bring exclusive goods to our country. These are scarves, shawls, stoles - all women's accessories around the neck come from Turkey.
Oles: Did you go there yourself?
Anna: Yes, and already there they searched for a long time and found it. It took us probably a year to discover the country of Turkey and find suitable suppliers. We wanted to figure out what the market needs: what colors, fabrics, models.
Oles: Now you have a complete set: there is a showroom, a warehouse. What did you start with? How many goods did you bring the first time?
Anna: When I flew for the first time, I didn't know anything. I had $1200 with me. I flew with my mom. She supported my idea. We had 2 large empty suitcases. The first batch of goods just fit in them. Then I started selling it all online. Connected shopping clubs: Fame, HILT and others. They were the ones who sold the product to the end consumers.
Oles: Super! Really, all the goods immediately sold out through shopping clubs?
Anna: Yes, Vadim saw it. Because at first there was just a wall of goods at home, and even the kitchen was covered with scarves. And then it just didn't exist.
And the next time we flew to Turkey, we found new suppliers. These were not intermediaries, but representatives of the plant. And they began to buy goods from them - directly and more. This year we plan to place large orders directly to the production itself. We sometimes have orders for promotional products - in one color, in in large numbers with some kind of logo.
Oles: That is, some company buys for itself?
Vadim: Quite right! Such an order can be placed in production because they have periods when they produce a certain color. In this case, you need to immediately order a lot of goods. But we cannot bring only 1 color, because we will have it lying. That is, we place only large orders at factories, which we can immediately implement.
Main feature: exclusive product at a low price
Oles: Let's talk about shopping clubs. Tell us who you work with and what are the usual conditions there? What is their main advantage, how do they sell it, how do they form their audience - share in 2 words. What categories of goods can be sold there?
Anna: In shopping clubs, you can sell everything from children's goods to furniture. They work like this: they are looking for an exclusive product at the best price. After all, this is what interests the audience. That is, it is not a product that can be bought anywhere else. The main thing is to offer the buyer favorable conditions for the purchase, which he will not receive anywhere else. For example, there are sneakers that are sold for 1000 UAH. But in the shopping club they are offered at a price of 800 UAH. This is already a savings of 200 UAH.
Oles: What percentage does the shopping club take? After all, in fact, he sells your product as a partner.
Vadim: For example, Modna Kasta has a fixed markup. The condition of working with them: to provide an exclusive price on the Internet in Ukraine. If this point is not met, you have to pay a fine.
Oles: But they do sell in bulk.
Anna: Yes, but we must also take into account that there are returns. Approximately 10-15% of the scope of supply. And the reasons for this are very different. We offer women's products. And women buy on emotions. Let's say, now she wanted to - she took it. But when she gets it in the mail, she's not in that mood anymore and she returns it.
Vadim: Or the color looked at the wrong angle. She opened it and she didn't like it. Or this situation: I wanted to buy a coat and under it this scarf. I didn’t buy a coat, I bought a scarf - that’s all, it doesn’t fit. There is no coat, there is a scarf. Why does she need him?
Oles: That is, you sell only in bulk to shopping clubs, and they already sell to end consumers. If it's not a secret, how many pieces per month do they help you sell? 100, 200, 3000?
Anna: Today we have one shopping club placed an order for 50 scarves. And we have at least 3 such orders per day.
Vadim: Modna Kasta orders the most. They have a minimum order of 400 pieces.
Oles: And how do they buy: do they pay immediately or take it for sale?
Vadim: First, they launch an action and actively promote it on the Internet. Then they receive orders from customers and transfer them to us. We keep this product on reservation for a week. Let's say the promotion ends in 3 days. We are given another 4 days to ship the goods.
Wholesale
Oles: Tell me how you find wholesale customers? You say there is sms-mailing. What else?
Vadim: At the beginning of 2 years in a row we participated in exhibitions. People from all regions came there. With those who were interested in our product, we exchanged coordinates: city, last name, phone number. All this was entered into the CRM database. Very handy and useful program.
Then we tried to do at the received addresses email newsletter and sms. The latter, as practice has shown, gave more output. Plus there is a showroom. After all, for many people it is important to just come and see. They even come from the regions and immediately make a purchase. That's why we sometimes go out on weekends.
Oles: It is easier for them to come to you than to fly to Turkey.
Vadim: Well, of course! Plus, the Internet helps, because we quickly post photos of a new product on the site. For example, the party arrived today. And today, maximum tomorrow, a new assortment appears on the site. And already on these positions there is an order.
Oles: How many employees do you have now?
Anna: Completely turns out 5.
Vadim: There is one more position we are considering now. This is the operator for entering invoices in 1-C. And by the autumn we plan to launch sales representatives.
Oles: Who does the photo shoots for you? Shopping club?
Anna: Yes, although we used to take pictures ourselves. But we realized that it is very difficult. Need a good photographer + photo studio + time. And when the shopping club does everything, we get rid of this problem and still save a lot.
Oles: What is the benefit of this shopping club? Does he get the exclusive right to post photos? Does he put his own watermarks or what?
Anna: Yes, he can put his own watermark, it's not a problem. This is even a priority, because now a lot of photos are stolen. There are many similar products from China. It is of lesser quality, but looks the same. These sellers take our good photo and sell a cheaper product at their price.
How to wholesale a scarf
Oles: Do you have a Web site. How does he work? What are you doing with it?
Anna: We have a website at Prom.ua. That is, we completely bought the domain and directly on the portal itself there is still a separate advertisement. This is enough for us.
Oles: Do orders come from there?
Anna: Yes, we launched ads on Google and immediately saw results. They started calling and writing to us, and this tool turned out to be effective for us. But then again, we show an ad not just for the request “how to sell a scarf”, but specifically “to sell a scarf in bulk”. This is the most important thing for us.
Vadim: Basically, the site performs the functions of a catalog, because not all potential customers can come to us and see the goods live.
Oles: You have a seasonal product, right?
Vadim: If it is autumn and winter, then 1-2 types of products are mainly in demand. But there are 80-160 colors. If it's summer, then here the assortment is much larger and more diverse. Now it is all presented in our showroom. Therefore, it is more difficult to work in summer.
Oles: How do you see the further development of your business?
Vadim: Suppliers and exclusivity play an important role in our business. Now the priority for us is the development of the direction of India. Next - increasing turnover in Turkey. Direct access to factories. That is, such an option is possible that with an increase in volumes, we will simply place orders at the production site, and not work with intermediaries.
In terms of covering the Ukrainian market, the task now is to become No. 1 in Kyiv and gradually become leaders in the country. Because in Ukraine there are several serious players who have been on the market for a long time. We haven't reached their level yet.
Oles: How much bigger are they?
Vadim: Approximately 10 times.
Oles: What advice can you give to aspiring entrepreneurs, and to those who are just thinking of becoming one. I'm not sure that everyone will start selling scarves. After all, you can sell anything: a service, yourself, some idea, products. What can you advise based on your experience?
Vadim: The first recommendation is to gain knowledge. Our thinking has changed a lot since we passed. Thanks to him, the understanding of how everything works is closed in some kind of chain. Now, in any situation, a marketer wakes up in us: here we need a landing page, there is a website, there we need advertising.
Oles: one hundred%! In this sense, you become abnormal;)
Vadim: In any case, you first need a theory: how to organize a business and how to sell correctly with new technologies. This will help to be in the subject on the market and stay on it for at least 2-3 years. Next is a matter of technology.
Another point that we faced is the selection of personnel. It is very important to find the right people and keep them motivated. Here, too, you need to choose an approach in order for everything to work out.
Do you want to be the first to know about the launch of the training that helped Anna and Vadim take their business to the next level and reach a net income of $2,000? Click !
If you want to make money on Etsy but don't want to do anything with your own hands, you have a few options. One of them is to sell vintage items.
But not all vintage items sell well on Etsy. But you can calculate those that sell well for sure.
Some of these things are vintage scarves of famous fashion houses (Chanel, Trussardi, Hermes, Christian Dior and others):
They are fashionable (despite their age, and vintage on Etsy is considered to be over 20 years old), beautiful, and some of them are quite expensive ($100 and up). Therefore, they are well bought.
Two Malaysian girls are already successfully selling such scarves on Etsy. One came to Etsy in 2017 and has already sold over 950 of these scarves (her store is etsy.com/shop/PureScarfVintage):
Another arrived in January 2018 and sold 150 scarves in two months (her store is etsy.com/shop/ALLVINTAGEMY):
I don't know where they get them (although there are stores of French fashion houses in Malaysia), but their supply does not dry out.
Perhaps, such scarves can be found at flea markets or in second-hand shops. But be careful - there are a lot of fakes around. Before you start selling these scarves, learn how to tell the real from the fakes (you can find articles on the Internet explaining how to do this).
But if you are not very familiar with the scarves of French fashion houses, do not be discouraged. There is also a niche for you on Etsy - to sell Russian and Ukrainian shawls:
(Sold at etsy.com/shop/bestLuba)
Although they cost less than $ 100, the Chinese do not copy them (I think):
(Sold at etsy.com/shop/russianicon)
In any case, it is easier for our man to get such a thing.
If you want to know what other vintage items you can profitably sell on Etsy, join our course.
Galina Utesheva | 01/23/2015
The Pavlovo Posad shawl as a fashionable Russian brand has received recognition not only in our country, but also in the West. And although the share of exports of Moscow Region shawls and scarves is insignificant (about 1.5 percent), nevertheless, buying a Pavlovo Posad accessory, like a nested doll, becomes a dream of any foreigner. In a long FashionUnited interview with Vyacheslav Dolgov, Deputy General Director of Pavlovo Posad Shawl Manufactory, we discussed both historical and economic issues of the company.
How do you evaluate 2014 for your company in terms of business? Has there been a drop in sales of accessories due to the financial crisis?
The indicators of 2014 practically do not differ from those of 2013, that is, there is no fall, but there is no growth either.
What are the company's plans for 2015? How many stores do you intend to open, how will you expand production?
For 2015, we have planned production in volumes no less than in 2014. But at the same time, we will closely monitor all changes in the market and sales volumes so that we can respond flexibly to what is happening. We plan to open several new stores, but their number will be insignificant, and only in the most visited shopping malls subject to the rental rate available to us.
How does Pavlovo Posad Manufactory fight counterfeit scarves? How acutely does this problem affect your company?
Our efforts have led to the fact that the brand "Pavlovsky Posad Shawl" is recognizable in Russia, and our scarves, with their beautiful patterns and environmental friendliness (100% natural raw materials), are in good demand. The presence of counterfeit is becoming a significant problem for us.
It is well known that fakes occur only in well-known and promoted brands.
Due to the peculiarities of the technology, it is impossible to make a fake for our scarves “on the knee”, such products can only be made at an organized textile production equipped with printing equipment. Those fakes that we are fixing now are made, according to our assessment, in Turkey and China.
Moreover, there is a direct deception of consumers - all fakes are made of synthetics, and counterfeit dealers inform buyers that the fabric contains natural wool fibers. To mislead customers, the pattern of our scarves is used or slightly modified, but in the style of our artistic tradition; on the attached label they indicate “Manufacturer - Shawl Manufactory, Russia”, and in words they say that this is “Pavlovsky Posad”. And of course, the price of fakes is significantly lower than the cost of our scarves. For example, for a fake scarf measuring 1 meter by 1 meter, they ask for about 300 rubles, although even the cost of such a piece of woolen fabric, without a pattern and fringe, is at least twice as much.
In the fight against counterfeiting, we will use all the power state support- both the law and the security forces.
Tell us more about the company - what is the annual production volume? How many artists work at the manufactory? How do they share responsibilities?
Our manufactory produces more than 1.2 million handkerchiefs a year. Our company employs 10 artists who today create drawings at the manufactory. All of them are independent authors. These are talented people who differ in their experience, skill and individual style. Some of them have received State Prizes of Russia and honorary titles of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation for their creative achievements. But each of them began by necessarily mastering the basics of the artistic tradition of creating handkerchief drawings. And today, scientists and art historians note that the School of Pavlovsky Posad handkerchief drawing has been developing at the shawl manufactory for more than 150 years (since the middle of the 19th century).
And the main problem for current artists is the "competition" with the rich creative heritage of the authors of previous generations - now you need to create a drawing that will be printed only if it is no worse than the work of its predecessors. So, in our assortment there are scarves with drawings that have been printed for more than 100 years (for example, the "Horseshoe" by the artist N. Postigov), many drawings created by the authors several decades ago, etc.
The Pavlovo Posad shawl is a recognizable brand not only in Russia. How are overseas sales going?
The main sales market for our shawls is the territory of Russia (over 95%) and other post-Soviet republics. Our direct export to other territories is insignificant (no more than 1-1.5%). At the same time, it is well known that our scarves are sold (but the number of such sales is small compared to Russia) in many European countries (including Western Europe), in the USA, Canada, Australia, Israel, etc. We receive a lot of positive feedback about our products from buyers from these countries.
What place does your brand occupy on the accessories market in Russia? How does she manage to maintain her position?
There is a simple historical explanation for this. If before the revolution of 1917 in the Russian Empire there were several large industries printed woolen scarves that really competed with each other (at the same time, the brand of the Labzin-Gryaznov Manufactory Partnership from Pavlovsky Posad was already widely known), then by the decision of the new, Soviet government, within the framework of the economic policy of a single State Planning Committee, it was approved that for the female population of all of Russia (as it later turned out, the entire USSR) one production that survived in the difficult years of wars, perestroika and various crises, which has been developing and since 1995 has been called Pavlovo Posadskaya Scarf Manufactory, will be quite enough.
The production of scarves requires both talented artists and specialists in complex piece specialties with unique work experience - colorists, technologists, printers, fringe makers, etc., as well as very complex technological and expensive equipment. Therefore, it is very difficult to create such a production. And it is no less difficult to become a famous brand.
In addition to scarves, what else does the Pavlovo Posad manufactory produce?
In addition to scarves from natural fibers wool, silk (satin, crepe de chine, jacquard), cotton of a large range of sizes from 65x65cm to 148x148cm, with and without fringe, we produce for women - woolen and silk scarves, for men - woolen and silk muffs with wool, as well as for family use - table covers or tablecloths made of natural cotton and linen with dirt and water-repellent impregnations. In total, we offer customers more than 700 items of various products, and almost all of them with a beautiful printed pattern.
The perfect scarf is one in which a woman feels happy - from joyful excitement or from peace. For different women, such a scarf can differ, as well as the types of female natures - in material, in pattern, in color, in combination of ornamental elements and colors. But, of course, such a scarf is always beautiful and harmonious. And we try to ensure that every woman can find such a scarf for herself in our collection.
With what patterns do you produce the most scarves? Are flowers always in fashion?
From the middle of the 19th century, certain trends prevailed in the designs of the scarves produced by our manufactory in different periods - either an ornament or flowers. But flowers are always in fashion. And at present there is no dominance of ornament or colors. We produce scarves with different patterns, but always with beautiful ones.
Do you follow fashion trends? Are they reflected in the products of your brand?
Our creative experts follow the trends in the fashion world, and we apply innovations, but very tactfully.
How do you develop online brand sales?
On our website www.platki.ru, which is more than 10 years old, the work of an online store has been organized, in the very near future a service for paying for orders with electronic money and credit cards will be opened, Express delivery in Moscow. For more than 10 years we have been sending orders by mail to any corner of Russia, now it has become possible for residents of Belarus and Kazakhstan.
How many own stores operate throughout Russia? What regions are you interested in from a business point of view?
Retail trade of our branded products is represented by mono-brand stores with the trade name "Pavlovo Posad Shawls" with a single style of signage and trading floors. Such stores are open in all regional cities of Russia from east to west - from Vladivostok to the Baltic Kaliningrad, and from north to south - from Murmansk to Sochi, with a total number of more than 120; and in Moscow and St. Petersburg - more than 20 in each of the capitals.
Interview: Galina Utesheva, FashionUnited
In order to keep the manufactory afloat, the owners started reforms: they laid off some of the workers, began reconstruction, and set up the production of scarves, mufflers and stoles. In 1995, we decided to organize our own sales network. “We realized that it is risky to depend solely on the will of a trading partner - attempts to become monopolists in trade begin, then you already depend on this monopolist,” explains Kartashov.
In 1995, the manufactory began selling scarves according to the "Shawls by Mail" catalogs with postal delivery, which were distributed in the regions and were accompanied advertising campaign in the women's magazines "Lisa", "Peasant", etc. But sales grew slowly: from 1995 to 2006 they increased by only 20%. Therefore, the owners of the enterprise decided to develop retail: the first store was opened in 2007 in Elektrostal near Moscow. Then dealers opened stores under the Pavlovo Posad Shawls brand - now the manufactory cooperates with six dealer companies that conduct wholesale and retail sales.
The retail network includes 131 stores throughout Russia, 26 of which are located in Moscow and 33 in St. Petersburg. Company stores account for 50-60% of the total monthly sales of scarves, says Kartashov, with another 10-15% of sales coming from the online store, which overtook mail-order sales in 2010. Since the opening of the first store, the number of sold scarves has grown by 40% (financial indicators at the factory are not disclosed).
According to the general director of the manufactory Alexander Kartashov, government agencies often buy scarves as gifts.
The factory does not work with third-party retail chains. “We created our network precisely because we realized that you can’t get into someone else’s network, except on enslaving terms,” explains Kartashov. But the manufactory continues to work with wholesalers: now the company has about 1,000 direct contracts. The minimum wholesale order is from 50 scarves, the manufacturer does not make discounts for larger orders. “There is nothing to drop,” Kartashov explains. Instead of discounts, the manufacturer gives wholesalers a discount of 8-10% for prepayment, the same amount for pickup. But huge orders still almost never happen - as a rule, even the largest customers take no more than 1 thousand scarves from the enterprise at a time, the general director admits.
According to SPARK-Interfax, from 2010 to 2014, the revenue of the Pavlovo Posad Manufactory increased from 513 million to 733 million rubles, net profit increased from 51.8 million to 107.4 million rubles (including state subsidies, for more details see the certificate on p. 81 ). These figures take into account revenue from direct sales to wholesalers, catalog orders and online store, as well as take into account retail sales handled by dealers. Now the factory produces and sells 120,000-150,000 shawls a month, depending on the season - shawls are best sold in autumn and winter. In the high season, the profitability of the enterprise reaches 15%, says Vyacheslav Dolgov, deputy director of the Pavlovo Posad shawl manufactory, and on average it fluctuates at the level of 7-10%.
Marketers in the artistic council
The company buys raw materials for the production of fabrics at the Troitskaya Worsted Factory, and the patterns for scarves are manually created by eight full-time artists of the manufactory. Handkerchief drawings - crocs - in natural size and in real colors are made with gouache on a sheet of whatman paper. Then all the paints are separated into color layers and based on them, templates are created for applying paint of each color to the fabric. According to the chief artist Viktor Zubritsky, about 300 drawings are currently in production. There are 5 times more variations for scarves: each pattern is often made in several colors. The artist issues a new drawing every two months: he needs to come up with an idea, draw the details, think over the color scheme and submit the development to the artistic council.
Recently, employees of the marketing department have been participating in meetings of the artistic council, says Zubritsky. Artists evaluate whether the pattern is in line with tradition and is compatible with technology, and marketers evaluate what colors and ornaments are in demand by buyers and what is in fashion.
An artist from Pavlovsky Posad creates a drawing for a scarf - crocs - in natural size with gouache on a sheet of drawing paper. (Photo: Vasily Popov for RBC)
“A French woman sometimes collects money for a Hermès scarf throughout her life - this is her cherished dream,” says Kartashov. “And any Russian woman, if she loves it, can come and buy a Pavlovo Posad shawl overnight.” In company stores, scarves cost from 450 to 4200 rubles, not much different in price from similar accessories of mass brands like Massimo Dutti or Zara. “We take into account the purchasing power of our citizens, and we are not interested in selling two scarves, maybe even earning the same money. It’s more pleasant to sell 20 – then we become 10 times more popular,” says Kartashov.
protocol gift
The manufactory has regular customers, which bring relatively little revenue, but provide status - these are various government agencies. According to SPARK-Interfax, in 2013 the factory won three tenders for the supply of scarves for a total of 702,000 rubles: two for the Administration of the Governor of the Moscow Region and the Government of the Moscow Region, and one for the State Duma. In March 2015, another contract was signed with the Moscow authorities - for the supply of 190 scarves for 650 thousand rubles. And one of the last orders came from the presidential administration: in April, they made a batch of scarves based on the prototype of the song "Blue Handkerchief" from the repertoire of Claudia Shulzhenko.
Officials order handkerchiefs as official gifts. So, in 2010, the then President Dmitry Medvedev, during one of his trips to the regions, presented a scarf to a resident of Kursk, and in 2013, President Vladimir Putin presented the product to the mother of the President of Finland, Hilkke Helena Niinista, during a visit to Helsinki. The initiative for such purchases, as a rule, comes from customers. “From the management of the affairs of the State Duma, the Federation Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government of the Moscow Region, these are already native people at the enterprise, they regularly come here,” says Kartashov.
The shawls from Pavlovsky Posad meet the requirements for gifts established by the rules of diplomatic protocol, sociologist Olga Kryshtanovskaya explains: they are symbolic, look expensive, carry a part of Russian culture and, most importantly, are made in Russia.
patriotic goods
Pavlovsky Posad shawls have always been one of the recognizable patriotic symbols and have been used in a variety of art projects: from the scandalous works of the artist Alexei Belyaev-Gintovt like “We will return everything back” to the 2010 action “I am Russia” of the public movement “Woman for Traditional Values”, founded by Kryshtanovskaya. "Women covered their heads in a different way- Muslim women tied it like a hijab, Russian girls - like a headscarf, in Russian - it seemed to us that this unites all women, ”says Kryshtanovskaya.
In addition, scarves have become part of street fashion, says CEO Y Consulting agency and fashion blogger Daria Yadernaya. If sales increased largely due to advertising and development retail network, then penetration into mass culture happened regardless, she believes: Russian women picked up the topic of headscarves and began to replicate it spontaneously, and the manufactory was able to successfully seize the moment.
Pavlovsky Posad shawls have repeatedly appeared in the works of Russian fashion designers: back in 2010, Vyacheslav Zaitsev created the Origins collection on their basis, and now several young Russian designers use them as a material at once. True, scarves are an expensive fabric: at a wholesale price, they cost about 1,800 rubles. per unit, and the company is reluctant to meet small wholesalers, says Anastasia Makarkina, owner of the Varvara brand, whose showroom sews jumpers, skirts and mittens from Pavlovsky Posad shawls. In addition, before sewing, the scarf must be subjected to special processing so that the wool does not crumble when cutting, she continues. Technologically, the process is quite complicated, and at the end it adds 30% to the cost of manufacturing the product. As a result, Varvara jumpers and skirts are sold at a price of 6-8 thousand rubles.
To print one handkerchief, a set of 15-20 templates is required for applying each color to the fabric (Photo: Vasily Popov for RBC)
But all the difficulties pay off, admits Makarkina: clothes made from scarves are willingly snapped up, including foreign customers. “When I started making things from Pavlovsky Posad shawls, I just liked them myself, I picked up the colors and beautifully combined them with clothes. I came to this intuitively, and people with a business sense will surely understand that a scarf is like a historical value, part Russian culture, it can be put on a par with a matryoshka,” says the designer.
In high fashion, accessories such as Pavlovo Posad shawls should be used with caution, according to Russian fashion designer Igor Chapurin. “Of course, scarves can be part of the image a la russe, but it didn’t work to beat them - great art, accessible to a few,” he says. — When we started showing our collections in the West as part of Paris Fashion Week, some expected something ethnographic from us: wild fur, Khokhloma painting, Soviet symbols and other things in the same vein. But we understood that this is a dead end - to surprise at once.
Russian motifs in high fashion were once actively promoted by designer Denis Simachev, from time to time they slip into the collections of Western fashion designers, notes Alena Doletskaya, editor-in-chief of Interview Russia magazine. In 2005, Russian-style Cossack headdresses and floral prints were used by Roberto Cavalli; in 2012, dresses with folk colors reminiscent of patterns on scarves appeared in the autumn collection of Dolce & Gabbana. Such outbreaks of interest in Russian fashion add short-term popularity to shawls, but in general they are rather timeless, Doletskaya believes. Pavlovsky Posad shawls have such rich traditions that they cannot go out of fashion, she says, “and if nesting dolls, for example, have become the subject of remakes - humorous, satirical and others, then the shawl is an incredibly feminine accessory and besides good quality, so it will always be elegant.