MOSCOW (Reuters Life!) - It is not yet two decades since Communism ended and Russian fashion has finally thrown off its drab monotones to reveal a truly luxurious face, one of Russia’s most celebrated designers told Reuters in an interview.Igor Chapurin, famous for his bubble sleeves and sheered mink dresses, was the first Russian designer to feature pret-a-porter on the coveted Paris catwalk three years ago.

He now has showhouses in Paris and Milan, and his flowing mini-dresses and brightly-coloured leather suits are sold in Tokyo and Hong Kong for thousands of dollars.”We can already say that the Russian fashion industry has been born, and it’s only just happened,” Chapurin said at the back of his Moscow boutique and design centre, which sits on the city’s riverbank in a converted 19th century warehouse.

Russia opened its doors to the unknown when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, creating a taste for western clothes, though over recent years Russians have craved homegrown designers.”My most important task was to dissuade Russians from not loving Russian things. This was so complicated. Being a Russian designer or having Russian taste was considered negative,” he said.Today, Russians are keen buyers of designer goods, consuming four percent of the global luxury market. China buys more, at seven percent, but has a population 10 times larger than Russia.

“People started to look at their Western clothes against their Russian, and realised that Russian designers were not worse,” said Chapurin, who insists all his clothes are made in Russia, not in Italy or other fashion footholds.Shaking off its oppressive Soviet past was crucial for Russia’s fashion transition.”One of the chief factors in the Soviet mentality was to be anti-individual. So for my generation, it became our task to revive society,” said 39-year old Chapurin, who was born in northwest Russia near the border with Estonia.

“Russians have taught other Russians how to be proud. Russians have learned to wear Russian, listen to Russian music, watch Russian ballet. It’s a pretty significant change in society.”Moscow is home to several designers who have gained international recognition in recent years, including Valentin Yudashkin, who has boutiques across Europe, and Daria Zhukova, the girlfriend of Chelsea football club owner Roman Abromovich, whose clothes have recently been spotted on Hollywood stars.

“Time played the main role here. A new generation of buyers and clients have sprung up,” Chapurin said.Having experienced its longest economic boom for more than a generation, fuelled by record oil prices, Russian self-pride seems set to stay, at least for a while.”Of course, society cannot be normal without a big middle class. And so far we don’t have it. Although the difference between fortunate and less fortunate people is shrinking so the middle class is developing. I hope the future will be good.”