Last April, Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy announced he would be moving away from seasonal collections, signaling the end of his namesake brand as we knew it. Last month, the launch of a new venture was announced: GR-Uniforma.

Primarily a clothing line with a strong focus on the idea of uniform (the clothes drop tomorrow at Dover Street Markets worldwide) GR-Uniforma also serves as a name from under which a series of art projects will be released – after all, Rubchinskiy is not a designer who has ever focussed solely on creating clothes; his photography and film work has always co-existed with his fashion. 

The first new project is musical: a band called GRUPPA (which translates to “band” in Russian), formed of Rubchinskiy, past collaborators Pavel Milyakov and Valentin Fufaev, and models Stepan Yasinsky and Nikita Bobkov – who featured in Rubchinskiy’s show in Yekaterinburg in January last year. While Rubchinskiy and Milyakov produce, Yasinsky and Bobkov act as the faces and voices of the band.

GRUPPA’s first single is called “YA I TY” (“Me and You”), which opens with a lyrical prelude, inspired by poetry written by a friend of Rubchinskiy, and written by the group collaboratively when they were recording in a village studio outside of Moscow. The video, which premieres above, saw the band travel to Georgia in October to shoot in a derelict electrical factory in Tbilisi, in the mountains of Kazbegi, and in a Stalin-era resort in Tskaltubo.

“There is no special concept about the place, it was just (the) right energy and beauty for us. I looked for (an) apocalyptic atmosphere, something surreal,” Rubchinskiy said of his choice of location, which sees Yasinsky and Bobkov run through and perform in the abandoned setting and landscape. “I like how it all looks together. Little sadness but with hope inside.”

“YA I TY” is taken from a full, ten-track album called IZ SKAZKI (“From the Fairytale”) which was recorded between August and December last year in both Moscow and London. It will be available to stream next month, followed by a limited-run vinyl release. There’s also a photobook coming – with updates set to be posted on @gr_uniforma.

The release of GR-Uniforma comes after Rubchinskiy was accused late last year of inappropriately soliciting photos of a teenager via Instagram, which he says was a model casting. Read the designer’s full statement here.