Style Icons of the Iron Curtain Era: Inspiring Soviet Women

Every girl who is no longer indifferent to fashion follows Bella Hadid, tries to repeat the images of Dua Lipa and subscribes to hundreds of accounts of street style heroes. All in order not to miss a single new trend. So what existed before the era of social networks and full digitization? Who were the fashionistas of the 20th century?

The main influencers of the last century were the stars of the cinema and music scene. In America they were inspired by the style of Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, in Europe they tried to imitate Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Marlene Dietrich. And what happened in the Soviet Union? Our country had its own style icons, who were in no way inferior to Westerners. They didn’t follow the trends, they set them. After the release of Soviet girls, every girl’s wish list was replenished with new things.

Don’t you know what it’s about? We are happy to tell you more about the seven main style icons of the Iron Curtain era.

Lyubov Orlova

From a girl selling frozen milk cartons on a cold winter to a real star of Soviet cinema. She owes much of her success to her husband, director Grigory Alexandrov, who made Orlova a fashion icon for millions of women in the USSR. The well-known image of the artist Alexandrov was borrowed from his ex-girlfriend, Marlene Dietrich. Platinum curls, top hat and famous gloves became the attributes of Orlova, which almost every Soviet fashionista dreams of after the release of the films “Jolly Fellows” and “Circus”.

Marina Vladimir

Marina is the daughter of Russian ballerina Milica Envald and opera singer Vladimir Polyakov, who emigrated to Paris during the First World War. Vladi gained wide popularity among the Soviet public after marrying Vladimir Vysotsky. In her wardrobe were all the fashion novelties of Paris. Marina boldly wore tight-fitting Levi’s jeans, bright floral dresses, and turtlenecks of all colors. After each release of Vladi, his things became the object of desire of all Soviet girls. The couple Vysotsky and Vlady was especially actively discussed in public, and their wedding images “turtleneck + jeans” caused a real resonance in society.

Edita Piekha

Before Edita Piekha, the Soviet stage was a rather boring and monotonous show – the performers, as a rule, remained motionless and did not make eye contact with the guests. But the young singer made a real revolution on the main stages of the country and gave her the long-awaited slack.

After the revolution on the stage, Edita organized a revolution in the fashion world of the USSR. At first, he was even called a dude because of the updo hairstyles, catchy arrows, blouses with bows, and even miniskirts on the stage, which were unusual for the general public at that time. By the way, many images were created for her by the famous fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev.

Sofia Rotaru

Maybe there were no hippies in the USSR, but Sofia Rotaru did. It was he who introduced ethnic motifs into Soviet fashion. Under the influence of Rotaru, the national clothes of the peoples of the country were redesigned in a more modern way: bright ornaments, wide sleeves and colorful ornaments were added. Thus, in the style of Soviet youth, traditions were mixed with popular culture of the West.

Ludmila Gurchenko

Invented by Christian Dior in 1947, the New Look style reached the USSR only in 1956. Lyudmila Gurchenko in the image of Lenochka Krylova from the movie “Carnival Night” breathed new life into the already fading style in the West and brought her popularity among the Soviet female audience. Probably, after the release of the film, almost every girl in the USSR had a similar dress in her wardrobe, but it looked especially attractive on Lyudmila due to her thinnest waist – 48 cm.

Gurchenko loved not only to buy fashionable clothes, but also to sew them with pleasure. He was inspired by the style of the 1920s and often designed new dresses suitable for that period.

Maya Plisetskaya

The world-famous ballerina and beauty from the USSR Maya Plisetskaya could not go unnoticed by the elite fashionistas of Europe. Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint Laurent personally created works of art for him. Even Coco Chanel once held a show of her new collection for Plisetskaya, where the ballerina could choose as a gift the dresses she liked. Maya’s life was a dream for women of the Soviet Union – as soon as fashionable novelties appeared, she immediately fell into the hands of Plisetskaya. Even the military style, sharp and somewhat vulgar for a ballerina, was brought to the USSR by the Maya.

Raisa Gorbacheva

In 1988, Time magazine published a cover with Raisa Gorbacheva, and it became a real sensation for the Soviet space. Before Raisa Maksimovna, none of the wives of the general secretaries led such an active secular and political life. But Raisa Gorbacheva was not going to be overshadowed not only in the world of politics, but also in the world of fashion. She was the one who brought women’s business suits into fashion. Previously, suits with skirts caused people to associate them with something boring. But Gorbacheva managed to turn public opinion around, proving that even “gray” clothes can be an elegant outfit. And the key to a successful image is the right style.