A New Look for Russia's Armed Forces

MOSCOW — Valentin Yudashkin, the first post-Soviet designer to bring a contemporary Russian look to the international fashion world, wowing critics with sumptuous theatricality as well as wearable styles, has taken on his biggest challenge to date: Russia's armed forces.

Mr. Yudashkin's most recent catwalk was Red Square itself, where he debuted his newest collection of uniforms on thousands of soldiers who marched across the cobblestones during a May 9 parade commemorating victory in World War II.

The 44-year-old has created 85 designs, which will come into use during the next three years to dress all branches of the Russian armed services for all seasons.

The soldiers in Red Square sported uniforms inspired by the first Victory Parade of 1945, among other historical influences, including Russia's tsarist past. The uniforms are of noticeably lighter materials.

Russia's envoy of playful extravagance to the Paris, Milan, and New York fashion weeks, Mr. Yudashkin seemed an unlikely choice to reinvigorate the Russian army's wardrobe. The designer became known in Russia when he was in his 20s and dressing Raisa Gorbachev, the wife of the Mikhail Gorbachev. He created a buzz internationally in the late 1990s when he dressed his models as bejeweled and quilted Faberge eggs.

"Compared to the clothes we usually make, this is very different," Mr. Yudashkin said in an interview from Moscow. "Young people joked that soon we'd see the uniform with Swarovski [rhinestones] on the epaulets."

The new uniforms were shown to then-President Putin in January. "We made this big presentation..." Mr. Yudashkin said. "Our president is a very elegant man, and he understood everything. Thank God the army now understands that image is just as important as technical issues."