The Fondation Pierre Berge - Yves Saint Laurent exhibit on Russian Dress is filled with wonderful details, in a carefully designed space complete with lighting, and scenic elements which evoke the idealized world of the Russian peasant. I was taken in by the sheer splendor of this beautiful exhibit space: Sheaves of wheat decorated the room, patterns of light were on the walls and the floors were covered with wooden floorboards which felt different under your feet. Music played and a large grouping of white figures dressed in full costume stood silently, as if a performance was about to begin.

The archive of Russian costumes were lovingly assembled by Yves Saint Laurent, an avid collector of all things Russian during his lifetime. He even built a Russian summer home, a dacha on his property at Normandie. A replica was recreated as part of the exhibition space and cleverly divided the rooms. I was prepared for a series of costumes that were simple in character: regional, homespun, and evocative of the typical Russian peasant that populates a Chekov play. Some of those costumes there, were showing homespun details, embroidery and fabrics mostly red in color. 

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