The Making Of Ulyana Sergeenko Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2022

This season, the fashion house continued its longstanding collaboration with traditional ateliers: the collection includes crystal details, created at the Maltsov Crystal Factory in Gus’ Khrustalny, and painstakingly delicate lace pieces, woven by the craftswomen in the “Kruzhevnoi Krai” atelier. Furthermore, the house’s own designers and artisans have improved signature techniques of knitting and embroidery.

Yelets lace

The collection includes multiple pieces, which incorporate Yelets lace: a bustier, fragments of corsets, gowns and decorative inserts. A floral pattern is discernible within the design of the lace, complemented by the broad colour palette of the string used. By virtue of the lustre of metallic string and the interwoven crystals, these garments obtain a particular splendour. A white dress, entirely woven out of Yelets lace, was worked on by 10 craftswomen simultaneously, amounting to 2450 hours in total.

Gus’ Crystals

Artisans from the legendary Maltsov Crystal Factory in Gus’ Khrustalny have been crafting miniature crystal details of various shapes for several seasons. Transparent, dark blue and emerald crystal details adorn bustiers and corsets, headpiece and sock closures in the new collection. Each detail’s surface is diamond-cut and includes diagonal stripes - a repeating motif within the collection. Silver frames have been developed especially for the crystals.

The fashion house’s signature techniques

Each season, the fashion house’s designers and artisans expand the range of knitting and embroidery techniques used in Haute Couture collections, employing more intricate methods, devising unique combinations and perfecting patterns.

A sporty black mini-dress and a peach and mint two-tone evening gown are both knitted from thin viscose string, intertwined with beads. An emerald-green dress and a brown men’s vest were knitted by hand using silk string and crystal beads. The dress alone took the knitter 240 hours, requiring more than 30 000 metres of silk webbing and 1kg of beads.

The fashion house’s designers also implemented this technique in a cashmere set, which includes a cropped cardigan and a midi-skirt. The set is knitted from cashmere string, interwoven with transparent crystal beads. A particular approach allows to retain the softness of the cashmere, and the beads add texture and shine to the look.

One of the fashion house’s favourite accessories - the boa - is introduced in two colourways this season: in white and in a combination of vivid pink and lilac. Both boas are composed of pompoms of varying size, reminding one of a string of hydrangea blooms. Each pompom is constructed by hand from chiffon ribbons and feathers, then the petals are embellished with crystals. The boas took 3 months to create.