Dressing up in Russia has always been political.At one time the Russians were ordered by their tsar to change into western clothes; two centuries later they were taught that foreign fashion magazines were subversive propaganda. But Russian clothing has also had style, something definitely not for boneheads alone. Alexander Pushkin, the national poet who consistently manages to look fairly chic in the thousands of statues dedicated to him, once said, "It is possible for an intelligent man to think about the shape of his nails." Now that the Soviet era's often anti-fashion consciousness is in its grave, contemporary Russians are showing the world their particular taste: mini skirts, home-made French haute couture, hats galore, flowing scarves, unmistakable makeup, men's sweat suits and loads of leather. How did Russian fashion get here?The story of a definable Russian fashion business could be said to begin in the late 1700s, when Peter the Great tried to bring a backward nation up to date, at least its apparel. He introduced balls and masquerades and ordered that courtiers adopt western fashions. Gentlemen were to wear colorful brocades and, depending on the occasion, ladies were to be adorned in long tunics with a girdle at the waist or a domino with lace and a small farthingale. The clothes were either imported from the West or copies were produced by serf women.Empress Catherine the Great had a love for everything Russian, and out went the brocades in favor of white or deep purple silk clothes. Fur coats were shaped in at the waist and the necks of aristocrats were decorated with rows of pearls. Her grandson Nicholas introduced uniform clothing for his officers of the guard, who wore breeches of white cloth, silk stockings and silver buckled shoes. For women, style became a dress of white silk with a red velvet bodice, a long embroidered train and a red velvet head dress -- a kokochnik -- covered in jewels.As the years went by brocades and silk came and went, but most of the materials and designs were still imported. Outside the imperial court St. Petersburg society went its own way, choosing a style closer to that of Paris. But while the fashion-conscious in the imperial capital adhered strictly to European fashions, Muscovites tended to add their own variables. Most common was a tendancy to exaggerate existing styles -- an over-large shawl, a parasol covered with a fantastic number of bows, trains for dresses that were often absurdly long and crinolines so wide that getting through doorways was often a real problem.At the turn of the 19th century, revolutionary ferment brought more than political and economic change. Cheaper materials and the opening of many shops in cities meant that a wardrobe became something for everybody. A delayed industrial revolution had finally brought mass-produced clothes for the working and middle classes."Village girls in the beginning of this century had a peculiar love for black velvet. It started with fashion and ended in kitsch," says Tatyana Aleshina of the History Museum of Russia. "Velvet was a practical material that was used until the forties. Later this love for black shiny material switched to artificial black fur coats. To this day one can spot a village girl in a city crowd."With the period known as Art Deco -- the Russians call it simply modern -- geometrical designs were introduced on loose fitting kaftans and shirts, worn with dramatic, large brimmed hats. Cotton padded jackets also became extremely ? la mode, especially with a home-grown touch of Russian patterns, like the world famous babushka shawl in quilt.When World War I began the apparel industry was put on hold, maintaining Art Deco's popularity. After the 1917 Russian Revolution the Bolsheviks nationalized, at least in name, most of the country's large garment factories."I would say that the Bolsheviks adjusted western fashion to their needs. Even if you can't really talk about fashion as we have it today, of course there were 'trends' and details that were especially popular, even among the poorer people," Aleshina says.Straight leather coats and air force-style jackets were very popular. Factory workers still wore red scarves, but now a bit lower down on the forehead. At the beginning of the 1920s the Bolsheviks shifted toward the market with the New Economic Policy, and a decaying private fashion industry got the boost it needed.At the 1925 World Exhibition in Paris the top fashion award was taken by designer Nadezhda Petrovna Lamanova, who opened an atelier in Moscow in 1885. By introducing folklore dresses, inspired by the crafts of the Voronezh region, she pioneered the idea of 'ethnic' fashion. Her designs were similar to contemporary European dresses, minimalistic in cut and often with a V-neck, but the front had a colored middle piece of embroidered linen.Although Lamanova retired after World War II she occasionally made costumes for theater and film productions, including the movie 'Alexander Nevsky.'"Apart from Lamanova and Levasheva it is very difficult to speak about names of designers," says Aleshina. "It is not really until now that the names of people are actually known, as all the creators of the clothes were within an industry and individual fame was not exactly encouraged."Under Stalin, the first Five-Year Plan set standards for the clothing industry. Some of the new guidelines were an incitement against fashion. One of them read, "Garments should be made for their purpose: to protect the bearer against the cold and rain. They should be well constructed to please their wearer in daily life, without being exaggerated in model, color or material ... or to any extent be a hindrance to wear."The All-Union Fashion House was set up in 1935 with the aim of creating "a new Soviet style in women's and children's clothes."Its first magazine was published four times a year and featured both western and Soviet styles, and had the goal of inspiring the population to dress for the coming success of the U.S.S.R. Something that could be called White Fashion became the rage."Everybody in the Soviet Union wore white, from shoe to hat. Keeping the clothes white and in shape was of course a problem, so all items were washed with chalk powder," Aleshina says. "This fashion went on for many years, more or less up to the World War II. And who could blame us for wanting a little bit of brightness in all the dark."From the end of the war to the middle of the 1950s haute couture was not a top priority. The Soviet Union had suffered millions of casualties under Stalin and during World War II."We used to say that there were three students to a pair of trousers; one to wear them, one to ask for them and one to stand in line. Still my brother, who was a chemical student at the time, was never allowed to sit an exam without a tie," says Aleshina with a smile.The State's dress code kept contradicting itself, but ultimately to be clothes conscious was to be bourgeois. A new younger generation, however, was growing keen to learn about the fabrics and colors of the world outside its borders. In 1957 the world listened to radio bleeps from the first space satellite, Sputnik 1, while Soviet citizens still were unable to tune-in even to European radio stations. The very same year, Moscow hosted a world festival of youth that created a small revolution. For the first time young people behind the Iron Curtain could see world fashion. Christian Dior had recently launched his New Look and young Russians seemed to want it too.The U.S.S.R. started to produce bright patterned shirts, and the All-Union Fashion House had to at least try and keep up. Models were few and clothes were produced in large quantities. The Russian Fashion Center, one of the state design factories, was kept busy."The most fashionable young men wore big thick woolen jackets with huge shoulder pads and narrow trousers. They had bright yellow or green shirts and often ties with a girl sitting under a palm tree or something similar," said Aleshina says. "Their shoes had thick tractor tire soles (creepers), but their hair was probably what upset people most. Men with long hair! Most people thought it was outrageous."Although people who dared dress like Elvis Presley risked being beaten up on the streets, foreign fashion magazines appeared here and there. And despite official disapproval, The Beatles filtered into popular culture."I remember how my brother and I used to listen to the radio after 10 at night, when it was possible to hear music programs from England. We heard Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. It was like hearing something from a different planet, it was so wonderful, so different from anything we had ever heard before," recalls Aleshina.In 1961 Yury Gagarin became the first man in space. The Russian Fashion Center was given more rope. A few talented designers got control over a few smaller factories and for the first time since Lamanova, Moscow was up to date again."Pastel colored, typical 60s dresses were produced, still en masse but at least they were available," tells Lena Vashinskaya, designer at the Russian Fashion Center."The styles were fresh, new and modern, the materials were cotton and linen for summer and wool in winter. American films inspired the Russian designers, as well as traditional clothes." The World Festival of Fashion took place in Moscow in the early 70s. Velvet was revived after having been forgotten since the 40s, but this time in a quite different form. Behind the ideas stood Alla Levashova, the driving power of the slowly growing Russian Fashion industry."Then, velvet was only used for making teddy bears," recalls her daughter, Tatyana Oskokova."I remember my mother standing in the kitchen making miniskirts out of curtain material as one couldn't buy velvet in any other form. She also used furniture materials and traditional flower printed shawls to make jackets, introducing completely new ideas to the Russian world of fashion."The materials were the same but the styles were new and daring, as the seventies became the decade for fashion-hungry Russian hippies. Eventually flared pants and platform shoes were manufactured by the state fashion establishment, but the red tape had been too sticky. The state-produced clothes were no longer in demand when they finally reached the shops.Moon boots and shiny materials arrived in the U.S.S.R. almost 20 years after Gagarin conquered space, but they were imported from the West. The Russian Fashion Center began to revamp its traditional Soviet-ethnic styles.The underground scene became more and more radical in the early 80s. Heavy metal and especially punk attracted a disillusioned youth who, unlike their counterparts in the United Kingdom, really did have something to shout about.Hair was cut, old military boots returned to circulation, and shirts were sewn out of old red banners. Jackets reading 'No Future' can still be spotted in the Moscow Metro. With attempts at reform under perestroika, some fashion designers were let free of state industries. Slava Zaitsev, one of today's most famous designers, went private."We now have our own interpretation of Western fashion based on historical traditions. Moscow still lags behind by about five years. It is like a big village in the mentality of the people who are, maybe, too easily influenced by the West," says Aleshina."The biggest problem we have at the moment is our inability to produce.We simply have not got the means for mass manufacturing."Adds Vashinskaya: "Nobody in Russia works like that. The fashion business now consists of individuals who make clothes for other people, and there is no such thing as an industry, even if we have many talented designers here in Russia."There are certainly designers worth talking about. The wacky avantgarde duo La-Re, for example, who just finished their last fashion tour. Their show includes clothes made of everything from linen and plastic to eggs.And then there are Irina Selitskaya, who makes blue sturgeon shoes out of fish skin, and Irina Krutikova, whose trailing fur coats would not have looked out of place where the debate over Russian fashion began, at the court of Peter the Great.