Gosha Rubchinskiy has broken conventions with his approach to fashion. Linking up with adidas Football, he has taken the game to entirely new places off the pitch and drawn inspiration from Russia's skate and rave scenes. Combining counter-cultures with football has paved the way for a revolution in street style and this documentary from i-D explores the inspiration that lies under the hood of this creative.
The affect that Gosha Rubchinskiy's work has had on a street scene is apparent all over. Through his collections, he has a unique ability to personify a mood that washes through an undercurrent of cool. With adidas Football, he was able to pinpoint the styles he was seeing across various sub-cultures in Russia and apply them to a three striped game. Taking pieces from the adidas archive and reworking them for a contemporary class, his collaborative collection speaks volumes as to where off the pitch street culture is positively effecting a game that famously made it's headlines, traditionally, off it.
By mixing cultures and dipping into various touch points as well as interest groups, all who share a mutual appreciation for football, this short film from i-D, explores the booming street scene in Russia that Gosha has helped bring to the wider world. With the next generation taking hold of creative cultures in Russia's Post-Soviet state, his influence works in a two-way motion. He is inspired by the fresh class of fashion while he similarly influences them. Directed by Tom Irvin, this documentary showcases the value to the scene that Gosha has brought forward. Almost a frontman for the movement, in his own words, the creative process is explored as it ventures from skate, to rave and with both on and off the pitch football culture running throughout, the adidas link up lets Gosha design with snippets of the game running riot in blurring the lines between street and performance wear.
This is purely performance apparel being adapted by a designer who lives outside the conventions of sportswear design. A symbol in itself for the way the brand is trying to move from stadium to street and right back again, you can consider the lines creatively blurred. If there's one thing to take away from a short film like this and a Gosha way of thinking, it's about bringing fashion from places where you are most passionate. It's about dipping into different genres and owning a look that tells a story while characterising elements of who you are.
With less than twelve months before the start of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, we can expect a truly bespoke tournament where fashion will play a big part. It's going to be a World Cup that most definitely will have its own iconic image.
