There was quite the celeb crowd at the first night of Crazy Horse cabaret last night and those girls can put on a show. The very clever lighting raised the bar for pole dancing & stripping for a while.
Up at 6am to get to Heathrow where it’s on to Moscow. The C gates have just opened at T5 so of course nothing works but it smells nice and new.
The first time I landed in Moscow 16 years ago I was met off the plane by a man with a gun and a fragrant woman holding a bunch of flowers. They don’t bother with the flowers any longer, just two thick set men. Something was different about Moscow on the approach, it was the blue sky! I realised that after 16 years I’ve never been here when it’s warm and boy it’s warm. I then discovered I didn’t know the Russian word for hot, only cold. This of course is usually more useful.
We’re staying at the Hyatt which was the first real luxury hotel when it opened 9 years or so ago. Also, incidentally, the location of the first Stephen Webster boutique in Russia 8 years ago.
Tonight marks the official launch of the Stephen Webster concession in TSUM department store, the Moscow equivalent of Selfridges. We’ll be hosting a party to which hoards of the glamorous Moscow elite will attend. I say that as they always do.
Apparently they’ve created a tattoo parlour as part of the party, inspired by the seven deadly sins party we held in the Old Vic Tunnels in London last year. One of the side shows was a real tattoo artist at work sponsored by Absinthe. That particular event got very messy so let’s see if we can keep this one a little more wholesome!
The boutique opening was everything we wanted it to be, lots of glamorous women, photographers and vodka called Veda, which means “To Know” in antique Russian. After several shots with clients to be polite, I was starting “To know” in modern English. The night was rounded out in a private room in the new Moscow Nobu with 10 of our best clients and friends including Russia’s most famous fashion designer, Chapurin who dresses my wife. Russians are very extravagant people and no matter what is done it’s never done by half. Even with the eye watering prices concocted by Nobu, the dishes and the Sake (spelt Cake in Cyrillic) just kept on coming. On another note; no matter what the drink it has to be shot. No sipping allowed here!
Today is a train travelling day. I love the train and there is a brand new high speed link between Moscow and St Petersburg, my wife’s home town. It’s all very DR Zhivago, even to the point that we are going to spend the whole journey in the Bistro carriage. There’s a note saying “no games or falling asleep at the tables” which is a shame as I was thinking of a round of golf and forty winks.
Despite Russia’s meteoric rise from the dark ages to the dynamic country it is today some things are still embedded in the past. Within 10 minutes of the start of the 4 hour trip we were told “all soup is finished” and the sandwich was of a particular combination that was hard to put my finger on.
In St Petersburg we are to be VIP guests at Aurora fashion week and at some point there will be work shown by students from art schools across the country entitled 7 Deadly Sins all inspired by the SW collection of the same name launched last year. There is a substantial cash prize.
May 27th is the birthday of the City of St Petersburg. It celebrates the laying of the first stone in 1703, realising the dream of Peter the Great to create a city so beautiful that it would compete with all the great cities of Europe. Walking around today in the glorious sunshine I have to say, he really did build the Venice/Paris of the north on what was basically a swamp.
Today there are lots of folk in 18th century costume and the police have nice white shirts. Tonight Sting is performing free at Hermitage square as a gift to the city. I don’t want to spoil the party but that could set back Anglo-Russian relations by decades.
Last night’s event was one of those where I get told I have to attend with a very little brief, just whisked along, stood in front of a branded board, photographed next to some dodgy looking men and some beautiful girls, ushered to a stage with a microphone in front of the press and asked what I think about Aurora fashion week. I tell you, it’s only because I find myself in such potentially compromised positions so often, that like a politician put on the spot, the words just spew from my mouth. If I had anyone by my side people would swear it’s ventriloquism.
After that it was the front row of a fashion show which was fine until one model hit the runway in what can only be described as a Chewbacca hat. Admittedly this was an Autumn/Winter collection by a Russian designer but really…. I mentioned this to my wife who sat next to me and she managed to turn what should have been a giggle into a side splitting tear jerking spectacle. This is obviously unacceptable behaviour in the front row of any fashion show and the cameras on the opposite didn’t miss the gift. At the first opportunity we tried to make our exit only to be stopped and told it was time to inspect the finalists in the Stephen Webster inspired 7 Deadly Sins competition and award the winning student the 50K Ruble prize (about a £1,000).
Finally made it out the door and on to my next commitment as guest DJ at a cool small night club; Dom Byta. It was free and my gift to St Pete on its birthday.
