The Best Russian Brands You Need to Know Right Now

Russia has an interesting rap in these 50 states of ours. Saying nothing of our tumultuous political history via the Cold War, the current, post-Soviet government with Vladimir Putin at the helm is basically doing everything it can to ostracize itself from the international community. While the current focus and significance of national relations rests on Crimea and relations with Ukraine, Americans are mostly not really up on Russian culture.

However, take geopolitical issues out of the equation for a second, and it's plain to see that Russia is a fertile ground for the growth and development of young talent—especially in the field of fashion. Many talented designers in the country haven't studied in Europe or worked alongside another major (note: western) name brands, but this means a Russian perspective has developed independently on its own.

Perhaps the grittiness of Russian urban landscapes and the harshness of life in its countryside have instilled an overall darker aesthetic among the emerging designers. But whether they're crafting gothic collections or building outerwear that's strong enough to handle the nation's snow and storms, these designers and their visions are proving that Russia is a relatively untapped well of talent. Read on for The Best Russian Brands You Need to Know Right Now.

Probably the most well-known designer from Russia at the moment, Gosha Rubchinskiy has expanded in both sales and following since he started his brand in 2008. From the brand's start to 2010, Rubchinskiy was quietly producing strong collections before going on a hiatus for roughly two years to work on personal artistic projects. After receiving financial backing from Comme des Garçons, Rubchinskiy returned strong, producing full collections that have showcased a more mature but never boring direction.

Rubchinskiy has personal ties to the aesthetic of '90s angst, and draws from the culture of post-Soviet Russia, with his earlier work pulling particularly from the nation's skating scene. As a modern artist, Rubchinskiy is just as inspired by his personal photography endeavors and experimental art projects, something that is undoubtedly inspired by predecessors like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, early Supreme projects, and the NYC club kids scene of the mid- and late-'90s. While his earlier work consisted primarily of punk-inspired tees, his recent resurgence on the scene includes sneaker collaborations with Vans and Camper, and a completely updated look that includes with double-breasted jackets, fur coats, and a new streamlined rendition of his earlier T-shirts.

Former director of NYC-based brand Cloak, Plokhov moved on to design menswear at Versace, Helmut Lang (where he currently heads menswear), and in 2011, start up an eponymous label. His direction is one that sits comfortably alongside designers like Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto, focusing on a darker palette, with strong sportswear influences via military utilitarian design cues.

While street goths were lurking in the shadows since the movement gained momentum circa 2011, Plokhov has been producing clothes with a dark aesthetic starting well before 2010, albeit on a much smaller scale and with far less recognition than what similar labels are currently enjoying. If you subscribe to a macabre vision but also love following the histories of Italian tailoring styles, Plokhov is your fashion designer spirit animal. With a collaboration with Uniqlo popping up later this month, even those with budgets more minimal than Plokhov's designs can afford a piece of his moody creations.

A graduate of Central Saint Martins and an LVMH scholarship winner, Tigran Avetisyan's designs look as if a blackboard liquified and then materialized into a collection of skinny trousers, T-shirts, and roomy work jackets. In fact, for the designer's spring/summer 2014 collection, all the garments were written on with chalk, with phrases that included “No Jobs,” “Stop Dreaming” and “Too Much Pressure.” While that does sound like something straight out of a "Fashion Bros." episode, the words are inspired by Avetisyan's time at CSM and the troubles plaguing his fellow classmates as they struggled with their daily lives trying to be creatives in the 21st century.

Avetisyan has held internship posts at Acne, and the experience at the vaunted name shows in his designs and his color palette, which leans towards a light blue, white, and black motif in the spring/summer 2014 collection. Most recently, he showed his spring/summer 2015 collection in the VFiles Made Fashion show in NYC. If you're looking for a designer that's not only going to be turning heads, but also resembles the melting pot of the London cultural experience, Avetisyan is not one to ignore.

Anteater is a small streetwear brand that has experimented with brands outside of Mother Russia, but is almost completely unavailable in any country that is not a former member of the Soviet Union. With stores that geographically span from Ukraine to Russia's far eastern coast, Anteater has a pretty low profile for a label that has had the pleasure of working with Saucony, G-Shock, and Sneaker Freaker.

Born in 2007, the label has a vibe that conjures up comparisons to A Bathing Ape. Like the legendary Japanese streetwear brand, Anteater focuses on using unconventional camo patterns, character logos, and an overall youthful sense of humor. The brand's creator Nikita Vilkin is also the editor-in-chief of Russian skate/snowboard/streetwear culture magazine CREAM, and the influences of these subcultures definitely shine through in Anteater's collections season after season.

Panika Derevya designs gear for both men and women, and has managed two brands before her current eponymous one. The first was called Pomestaymenyami and focused moreso on women, while her second brand, Notrich, was an accessories label. Both brands had enough attention and praise to show at Moscow Fashion Week.

Using a muted color palette, her namesake label is focused on menswear as much as womenswear, and the clothes have a homemade feel, with certain pieces including athletic details like reflective stripes. Her most recent collaboration, completed with the help of the Strelka Institute in Moscow and London design studio OK-RM, is a bright yellow, unisex raincoat that boasts a thermo-reflective silver lining. But even with tech-infused touches, the clothing isn't overtly aggressive or futuristic and is still incredibly wearable.

With a history that includes positions as a stylist at L'Officiel magazine and fashion editor at OM magazine, Dmitry Loginov brings a huge amount of experience to his current position of creative director for his brand Arsenicum. His debut collection in 2004 (a strictly menswear offering) earned him heaps of press in Russia, culminating in a GQ Russia “Designer of the Year” award.

The brand is now comprised of a mix of men's and women's clothing, with a recent focus on women's. In fact, the last significant men's offering was seen in the brand's fall/winter 2013 collection. The collection, titled “Kosmos,” was shown as a film projection at the Moscow Planetarium and featured a distinctly Russian, 1950's “cosmonaut” presentation art style. As of this month, Loginov just completed work on Arsenicum's fall/winter 2015 collection, with the concept centered on modern witchcraft.

A tailor through and through, Loginov's designs carry a traditional suiting vibe, with a unique difference in the shapes and the proportions of garments he creates. While some of his designs may lean more towards gaudy instead of stylish (and he's certainly not afraid to put a guy in a kilt), he is certainly one of Russia's more globally recognized luxury designers.

If Jeremy Scott fused himself with Issey Miyake, then teleported to Russia and was inspired by 8-bit video game characters to design avant-garde collections, the result would be something similar to what designer Yulia Vorobieva produces under the name Turbo Yulia.

With a syrupy color palette that looks like it was sucked out of your sister's third grade Lisa Frank folders, Turbo Yulia's collections bring to mind "Power Rangers" villains and '80s TV loops. The materials include plenty of synthetic nylon, lacquer headgear, and holographic textiles. It's hard to say if her clothes are inherently male or female; the futuristic design of the clothing makes just about every piece unconventional and exotic, while retaining a unisex thread.

Her brand has also done video pieces to work alongside the collection: One was shot as if it's occurring within the confines of an Atari 2600, and the other film putting out considerably goth-y vibes. If you're down with wearing experimental contemporary art, this is about as turbo as it gets.

Designer Artur Lomakin is making some of the coolest knitwear, not just in Russia, but worldwide. His label Forget Me Not is staggeringly dramatic for someone solely focused on crafting knitwear. Starting in 2010 with his first collection, Lomakin has been making moody, textured knits, with his most recent collection looking like it was plucked from a Fear of God lookbook. Wool, camel felt, mohair, and unrefined cotton are the designer's go-to textiles, which are all raw enough to match the equally gritty Moscow suburb of Chertanovo—where Lomakin calls home.

Recently, the quiet designer worked on a collaboration with fellow designer Chaos Reigns, produced under the name "Standard Deviation." The collaboration garnered much international praise for its highly conceptual streetwear. His most recent solo lookbook features models in tightly gauged textural turtleneck, custom hooded sweaters, and floor length knitted outerwear. Flipping through the images of the lookbook, you can almost feel what it's like to be a 20-something creative in a rather inhospitable Russia.

Forget Me Not offers a countercultural perspective in Russia; as Russian celebrities and major designers wear gaudy jewels and extravagant furs, Lomakin (and the friends and designers he collaborates with) focus on a more realistic Russia—one of cold, concrete, and humble beginnings.

Leonid Alexeev started the brand Ultimatum in 2002, and opened his own studio in 2004. He's impressed the Russian public so much that he has received positions producing costumes for Moscow’s Chekhov Art Theatre, a GQ “Designer of the Year” award in 2009, and even a spot as an editor and presenter on Russia's version of "Project Runway" on MTV. He's one of the bigger names at Russian Fashion Week, and his spring/summer 2012 and 2013 collections are something that would look at home on the runway in the much larger publicized London and Paris Fashion Weeks.

Ultimatum's collections begin as a study in contemporary tailoring, messing with the proportions of trousers and shirt structure, with each season evolving into something that combines flowy layering with lighter fabrics and heavy outerwear. The spring/summer 2013 collection is intense and brooding—a lineup that would fit nicely into the wardrobes of any respectable goth priest acolyte. Alexeev's most recent work, the spring/summer 2014 collection, looks like a mix between sprezzy Italian tailoring shapes and tribal island-inspired accents and accessories.

SH'U is an outerwear brand based out of St. Petersburg. The designs by creator Andrey Kravtsov are simple and understated. The signature piece, the spring seasonal raincoat, is the most requested item, according to Kravtsov—it's the first thing he sewed up and what pretty much single-handedly launched the brand back in 2012. Needless to say, it's a consistent seller, and is a piece he produces in some iteration every season.

For fall/winter, Kravtsov is producing jackets that are still water and wind resistant, but have either a quilted lining, faux fur in the pockets, and/or Italian made fabrics with Belgian IsoSoft insulation. Kravtsov credits St. Petersburg's less-than-hospitable climate for some of the necessary details he's installed into his outerwear. If you're into the minimal outerwear produced by the likes of Elka or Stutterheim, you're going to be right at home with SH'U's designs. If it's not high-test outerwear that you're in need of, check out the designer's line of single color bags, which are made with quality that would rival every man backpack producer Herschel Supply Co. For a guy who has no formal training in fashion design and works alone in an attic in St. Petersburg, Kravtsov's work is certainly something we wish was sold outside of Russia.