Ksenia Schnaider AW13 "Bodywarmer"

For Autumn/Winter 2013 European unisex brand Ksenia Schnaider present “Bodywarmer”, a collection inspired by the classic bodywarmer, a quilted garment which was incredibly popular in the Soviet Union due to its affordability, utility and versatility.

Ksenia has taken inspiration from the iconic garment and carried it through the entire collection, quilting dresses, skirts, jackets, coats and the backs of t-shirts, mixing her fanned panelling technique with a unique approach to quilting. Despite the affordability of the bodywarmer during its boom in the Soviet Union, Ksenia has, as with all of her work given classic silhouettes and traditional techniques a luxurious twist with her continued use of leather, velvet and silk throughout the collection. Dresses, coats and t-shirts are soft to touch, and the iconic bodywarmer is coated in leather, enhancing its quilted qualities with deep, almost segmented detail, inevitably placing it at the heart of the collection.

After receiving a great response to their Spring/Summer 2013 collection, “Camouflage”, from popular publications such as Vogue Ukraine and Vogue Russia, the Ksenia Schnaider brand is steadily growing. Ksenia and Anton, the duo behind the brand, continue to sketch, sew, develop and inspire, and “Bodywarmer” will undoubtedly do just that.