Unseen images of 90s Russian ravers from Gosha’s new zine

In case you missed it, last night Gosha Rubchinskiy showed his SS18 collection in Saint Petersburg, bringing the energy of 90s Russian rave to the catwalk. Held in the city’s first ever rave venue, the afterparty also took place in one of the era’s nightlife hotspots. 

As well as the return of adidas Football, there was also a surprise collab with Burberry, remixing the house’s classics. If that wasn’t enough, the Russian designer also dropped a new zine dedicated to the original ravers that inspired him. Giving more context to the collection and its inspiration, the introduction explains the boom of the underground subculture during the 90s. “As the Iron Curtain fell and an internal crisis consumed the USSR, a new international movement swept the city – young artists and musicians, who had experienced the rave phenomenon abroad, dreamed of orchestrating something similar at home.”

The previously unpublished images in the zine feature teen ravers from the era at the popular clubs of the time: Tunnel, Planetarium and Fontanka – all dressed up in similar ensembles to the models from the collection. In addition to the archive images, there are also interviews with OG ravers like Russia’s first female DJ, Lena Popova and the founder of Russia’s first techno club, Tunnel, Denis Oding. 

For the project Rubchinskiy teamed up with Moscow-based publishing and online platform INRUSSIA. It is the second time the two have worked together, previously creating a book that was a city guide to Kaliningrad – the location of the AW17 show that took place earlier this year. Produced in a limited run of only 500, fans of all things Rubchinskiy who are desperate to get their hands on the newest zine will have to wait and see if it goes up for sale. 

Head to the gallery above for more images