Author: Varvara
12 In Couture
Warsaw, Poland, 2017
12 In Couture is a Barbie doll size fashion show.
The show consist of exact replicas of Haute Couture fall 2017 collections handmade by Varvara Frol, in Barbie and Ken dolls sizes (about 12 inches tall) . She took a series of pictures at a staged fashion show, choosing dolls that resemble real models the most.
Replicas of Armani, Dior , Chanel , Fendi , Jean Paul Gaultier , Maison Margiela , Schiaparelli and Valentino dresses.
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Find out more about Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Elsa Schiaparelli and Valentino on Artsy.
Fashion Week
Paris, France, 2016-2017
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FOOD Couture
Warsaw, Poland, 2011
5 costumes inspired by food
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Selected
2010-2018
Selected
2013-2018
GIF Hypnosis
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FROM COMMUNISM
Izhevsk, Russia, 2011
When, in the early 1990s, Varvara Frol’s father brought some clothes he bought in the West to Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurt Republic, his family must have experienced quite a shock. At the time, colourful sweatsuits, patterned sweaters, and printed T-shirts were not a common sight among the concrete developments erected on the vast open plain that stretches between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Outside of Russia, Izhevsk is known primarily to military buffs; its most famous inhabitant is Mikhail Kalashnikov, and the factory that manufactures his eponymous rifle is the largest industrial complex in the region. In the period directly following the fall of the Soviet Union, local sensibilities were still shaped primarily by enduring pre-Christian beliefs and a lingering Soviet mentality. If to this we add rampant banditry and the endemic poverty that was prevalent at the time, it is easy to understand that the last thing one would want would be to stand out from the crowd on the street. One could lose one’s life for wearing a colourful shirt or “foreign” hat.
Even so, it was impossible to resist the charm of the clothes the father brought home. That’s why Varvara’s family put these clothes on in their apartment and took pictures of one another. An incredible private archive was created in this way—a spontaneous Udmurtian lookbook. The photographs became evidence of a time when a bright yellow sweatsuit could represent a means of escaping from the shadow of post-totalitarian greyness.
Years later, Frol, now an artist living in Poland, transformed these pictures into a project, which is being shown to the public for the first time in the Limits of Fashion exhibit at Bunkier Sztuki.
Text by Paweł Szypulski.
LIMITS OF FASHION, 2013 Krakow Photomonth Festival
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Alba 1913
Poland, 2016-2017
From Communism
Izhevsk, Russia 2011 – 2013
When, in the early 1990s, Varvara Frol’s father brought some clothes he bought in the West to Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurt Republic, his family must have experienced quite a shock. At the time, colourful sweatsuits, patterned sweaters, and printed T-shirts were not a common sight among the concrete developments erected on the vast open plain that stretches between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Outside of Russia, Izhevsk is known primarily to military buffs; its most famous inhabitant is Mikhail Kalashnikov, and the factory that manufactures his eponymous rifle is the largest industrial complex in the region. In the period directly following the fall of the Soviet Union, local sensibilities were still shaped primarily by enduring pre-Christian beliefs and a lingering Soviet mentality. If to this we add rampant banditry and the endemic poverty that was prevalent at the time, it is easy to understand that the last thing one would want would be to stand out from the crowd on the street. One could lose one’s life for wearing a colourful shirt or “foreign” hat.
Even so, it was impossible to resist the charm of the clothes the father brought home. That’s why Varvara’s family put these clothes on in their apartment and took pictures of one another. An incredible private archive was created in this way—a spontaneous Udmurtian lookbook. The photographs became evidence of a time when a bright yellow sweatsuit could represent a means of escaping from the shadow of post-totalitarian greyness.
Years later, Frol, now an artist living in Poland, transformed these pictures into a project, which is being shown to the public for the first time in the Limits of Fashion exhibit at Bunkier Sztuki.
Text by Paweł Szypulski.
LIMITS OF FASHION, 2013 Krakow Photomonth Festival
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Fashion week
Paris, France, 2016-2017
ANIMATING THE STREET STYLE STARS OF PARIS FASHION WEEK
“If you’re over seeing the same old fashion week photos, then let us introduce you to the work of Varvara Frol. The Russian-born artist and photographer brings street style moments to life with her animated images capturing glamour on the move.
It’s no surprise to find out that she spent her childhood immersed in the atelier where her mother worked as a fashion designer. Whether drawing out the shades of a patterned skirt, the structured glamour of a Dior coat, or the fun of a Fendi baguette, Varvara is all about the details.”
—HUNGER, 2017
- Selected GIFs by Varvara Frol
- 12 in Couture – haute couture dresses in Barbie and Ken dolls size
- Interview for METAL Magazine