Tsar Karl: Lagerfeld’s Russian dolls

The Independent – December 8, 2008.

Lagerfeld picked a Russian theme for his show last week, reflecting Chanel’s historic connection with Moscow – where sales of his luxurious clothes are booming. Carola Long reports from Paris.

Sparkling white Christmas trees might have been the closest thing to a Russian winter in the streets of Paris, but inside the city’s Théâtre Ranelagh last week, Karl Lagerfeld paid his own tribute to the theme. Mufflers with the double “C” logo and white snow-queen knitwear glittering with crystals as if flecked with snow and bathed in moonlight, created a decidedly Russian flight of fantasy.

Magnificence of the Tsars (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Red wool coat from the wardrobe of Peter II, 1727-1730. © The Moscow Kremlin Museums

The Financial Times – December 6, 2008 – By James Sherwood.

Though many have been watching the luxury market with anxious eyes in these recessionary times, recent events in London suggest a slightly different perspective. In May it was announced that Fabergé, the imperial Russian jeweller, is to be revived by a group of investors, with Mark Dunhill, formerly president of luxury goods firm Alfred Dunhill, as chief executive and former Tatler jewellery editor Katharina Flohr as creative director. Then, this week, the exhibition Magnificence of the Tsars opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum, displaying the coronation uniforms of seven successive emperors of the Romanov dynasty.

Imperial Russia’s jewels showcased at museum

The Coronation Egg.

The Times of India – December 7, 2008.

NEW DELHI – A placard hanging inside the exhibition hall at the National Museum reveals that Carl Faberge, a jeweller best representative of Imperial Russia’s torrid affair with opulence, turned to nature for inspiration. 

The exhibition, Faberge : Precious Jewellery of the Russian Empire, is as much a celebration of the jeweller’s artistry as it is of the charms of forget-me-nots, lilies-of-the-valley and wild pansies. The placard states that the jeweller, whose masterpieces were created in the late 19th and early 20th century, preferred the modest beauty of common flowers to “exotic orchids” and other exquisite blooms of foreign lands. 

Tsars in their eyes: A new exhibition reveals the amazing decadence of Russia’s rulers

The Tsars were some of the most lavishly dressed royals in history (portrayed here by Greta Scacchi and Ian McKellen)

The Daily Mail – 22 November 2008 – By Barbara Davies

Organised by the ill-fated Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Alexandra, it was remembered as the last great ball in Russian imperial history, a fancy dress spectacular at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. 

The 416 guests were requested to come in costumes from the time of 17th century Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich. And, on 11 February, 1903, the Imperial Hermitage was transformed into a breathtaking scene of wealth and splendour. 

Religious symbols from the Romanov era are on display at Memorial Art Gallery

The Iverskaia icon (circa 1875-1900) shows how ornate some of the objects could be. This icon is tempera on wood with silver gilt, filigree enamels and seed pearls.

Democrat and Chronicle – November 1, 2008 – By Stuart Slow.

Russian Orthodox icons continue to be revered as relics from a royal past.

Diplomats posted to Russia during the 1930s were surprised to find they could buy centuries-old religious icons — sometimes at fire-sale prices.

In fact, the atheist Bolshevik regime had gleefully tossed these relics into bonfires since the 1917 revolution. But to finance Russia’s industrialization, they began selling confiscated church treasures for cold cash.