Fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin’s collection was dropped from Paris Fashion Week after the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) concluded that he is an “affiliate of the [Russian] regime”.
In an interview with WWD this week, FHCM president Ralph Toledano said it had taken a “firm stance” against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
Putin announced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, a move which has been condemned by world leaders and has seen more than two million refugees displaced.
“We have nothing against Russian [people], but we will not support or accept to have in our calendar those who support his position,” Toledano said.
Yudashkin, who has shown his collections intermittently at Paris Fashion Week since 2016, previously told Reuters he had designed uniforms for the Russian military.
Toledano said FHCM had carried out “in-depth research” to understand whether Yudashkin “had distanced himself from what was his position in the Russian sphere”.
“It became clear that he is an affiliate of the regime. As such, I consider that he doesn’t have a place in the calendar,” Toledano said.
“Until now, the sole criteria we considered was creativity and artistic interest of these candidates.
“We are confronted by a wholly novel situation. At our very small scale, we will be driven to consider this aspect, since we reject and combat as much as we can the initiative taken by the president of the Russian Federation,” he continued, adding that “all Russians can’t be blamed” for Putin’s actions.
Yudashkin confirmed that the show had been removed from the Paris Fashion Week schedule in several posts to Instagram.
“Dear friends, today the brand Valentin Yudashkin was officially excluded from the calendar week showing fashion in Paris this season,” the brand said.
Although the live show was cancelled, it still took place virtually, and was broadcast on the brand’s YouTube channel.
The Independent has contacted Valentin Yudashkin and FHCM for comment.
