This year, Nizhny Novgorod, one of the oldest and most beautiful megacities in Russia, celebrates its 800th anniversary. On the occasion of the anniversary, large-scale improvement works are being carried out in the city, a culture of charity and social entrepreneurship is being formed, projects initiated by residents are being implemented, and events are being held that affect various spheres of society. One of these was the "Dress with History" exhibition, organized by Center 800 with the support of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. It was visited not only by residents of the city, but also by celebrity guests.
To draw attention to the history of the city and its cultural heritage, 32 outfits of famous and successful women from Nizhny Novgorod and other cities of the country were presented in the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum (Sirotkin House) together with works of world art: Natalia Vodianova, Ekaterina Andreeva, Olga Tomina, Ekaterina Nikitina, Larisa Verbitskaya and others.
Fashion historian, TV presenter, member of the Russian Academy of Arts Alexander Vasiliev personally attended the grand opening. The master provided three outfits from his collection for the exhibition, and also looked and commented on each of the exhibits presented.
“One of the most famous fashion designers of old Russia was a native of the Nizhny Novgorod province - Nadezhda Petrovna Lamanova. A replica of one of her dresses is exhibited here, but the embroidery was done not by hand, but on a typewriter. The idea to popularize the work that is kept in the Hermitage is, in my opinion, very good.
All 32 dresses presented at the exhibition belonged to women with a bright destiny and were created by real artists at different times - from the 19th to the 21st centuries. For example, the velvet rotunda belonging to Tatyana Pavlovna Vinogradova was made of panne velvet in 1865. This is one of the oldest items in the collection of the exhibition. I liked her more than anyone else!”- shared Alexander Vasiliev.
Another star guest was the famous TV presenter Andrei Malakhov. The country's leading journalist assessed the exhibition through the prism of art.
“The first time I came to Nizhniy was in 1995, when I was still a journalist for the morning program. And I can say that over the years, the city has changed a lot. Especially now, during the 800th anniversary, when such large-scale works are being carried out.
It seems to me that Nizhny is becoming the capital of contemporary art. The way the cross between the past and the present looks like is the most impressive. I have a large collection of contemporary art and one of the first works that I acquired was created by the Nizhny Novgorod artist Valery Barykin. I even curated his exhibition. And the work of "Garages" by Pavel Otdelnov, who was recognized as the best artists of 2020, is considered the best among the visitors to my exhibition in Apatity - it resonates in the hearts of people."
“Dresses are definitely works of art. After all, it is with the help of clothes that you can make the first impression, create a certain image. Unfortunately, as the heroines of the exhibition, I do not have costumes with which special stories are associated. Although for the past 20 years I have been in the same physical condition, so I can wear old clothes. But there is one sweater, bought back in the nineties, which I keep as a memory of those times when I saved, did not finish eating, but still I was able to afford something relatively expensive from clothes to please myself. In this life, everything really pleases you, probably once or twice - then it becomes a habit. My relationship with things is not the same as that of my friend Philip Kirkorov - with clogged houses of clothes. But for me it is also a feeling of a holiday, when I put on a beautiful suit or jacket, I feel differently,”said Andrei Malakhov.
According to Oleg Berkovich, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Minister of Culture of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the exhibition is very popular. In just 10 days, almost three thousand people came to admire the creations of decorative and applied art, so it was decided to extend the exhibition "Dress with History" until March 17.
