Babushkas are having a moment. Springing from someplace between the wardrobes of soviet grandmothers and the catwalks of Gucci and Vetements, the headscarves are spreading across style genres from streetwear to the red carpet. While innately modest, conjuring images of Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, they are also glamorously mysterious, referencing 60’s starlets like Grace Kelly and Brigitte Bardot. Still, they are being seen more and more lately, with recent ambassadors of the trend including everyone from A$AP Rocky to Chloë Sevigny.
photography by Antonio Eugenio
For the fashion series Comme Des Babushkas, London-based photographer Antonio Eugenio and stylist Irina Lakicevic took the traditional Eastern-European accessory to East London and explored its journey into youth culture. “We wanted to contrast the origins of headscarves from Russia and Eastern countries to the British scene,“ Eugenio says. “East London is such an hub for creatives but also such a cosmopolitan area where all origins mix together. People are coming from different horizons and share and mix their roots with the influence of someone else’s roots.”
Like many aspects of young fashion movements, the new incarnation of the babushka is disinterested in gender. “Equally a part of the regional tradition as it is a practical cover-up, the subliminal iconography of traditional Russian headscarf transcends the geographical boundaries as well the age of the wearer,” Lakicevic says.
Check out the shots from “Comme Des Babushkas” below:
Credits
Photography: Antonio Eugenio
Styling: Irina Lakicevic
Hair: Liam Russell
Make-up: Riona O’Sullivan
Photographer’s assistant : Carlos Saavedra Parra
Styling assistant : Mehran Pakgohar hairstylist assistant : Erika Newman
Models: Daniel – SUPA Nadine – Elite London Ollie – Models1 Valentyna – PRM