WHAT DO THEY WEAR?

Meeting at the Olympic

Now at social events the public wanders around in sweatshirts with a serial number

I was sitting in a restaurant one day, waiting for an interview with two top managers, expecting to see two clerks at Zenya and Brioni, and then guys in sweatshirts came towards me. And most importantly, they look natural and don’t hurt the eye. Just a few years ago, such “Olympiads” in public places were impossible.

In the 90s , puffy Chicago Bulls jackets informed others about their occupation, and a tracksuit conveyed a criminal connotation to the human body.

Now at social events the public wanders around in evening sportswear: in sweatshirts with a serial number. The names of teams flash on T-shirts, the treasured monogram D and B (David Beckham) adorns someone's not very athletic chest. People in black wear baseball caps under their jackets when going to offices. Come on, receptions: normal people in sportswear are rushing to the subway - and they are not late for training.

The world is fascinated by sports, as in the 20s and 80s . And the love of sports always leads to a simplification of style and improvement of materials: the invention of styles and fibers begins in which it is better to move. This is how fashion moved from Chanel with her jersey knitwear to Azzedine Alaïa, the “king of stretch.”

“Sport has become an element of show business,” says designer Maxim Chernitsov. - And athletes dictate fashion by personal example. Secondly, fashion also influences a healthy lifestyle. Taking care of your health and feeling comfortable is the motto of megacities. Sportswear is valued as the most comfortable, it is created from breathable, permeable, elastic fabrics and at the same time becomes elegant. That is, there is an interpenetration with everyday clothing. The Olympic jersey is an iconic piece of clothing: it is as comfortable as possible. People are tired of stiff jackets, and a sweatshirt is even more comfortable than a sweater because it can be unbuttoned. Some designers make it voluminous, but I like elegant, fitted sweatshirts made of cotton and elastane that create a graceful silhouette. They go perfectly with knitwear and jeans. And if just sweatpants are associated with fitness, then their elements are widely cited in ready-to-wear collections: a knitted belt, breeches with knitted cuffs, and a drawstring.

In general, I sense that soon the original T-shirts tucked into shorts will be used. Fashionable people will resemble "Gentlemen of Fortune". And if someone on the street asks: “Is Dynamo running?” - you can safely answer: “Everyone is running!” The world is running, in short.

/SASA DENISOVA/

WHAT DO THEY OFFER?

Putt into the hole

Advertisers are looking for a successful person (someone needs to sell expensive cars and home theaters), but they find dandies and slackers

In general, foreign cars in Russia are selling better than ever, and the amount of automobile advertising is growing day by day. Following the most active Nissan, Lexus, and Hyundai, Mazda also joined the race for buyers.

Plot: an elegant Mazda 6, sparkling in the sun, rustles elegantly along the road. Behind the wheel is a kind of smiling James Bond. But he doesn't blow anything up, but instead drives into the parking lot of the golf club. He takes golf clubs out of the car and starts playing with other well-dressed and well-fed people. The hero hits the ball, which (oh horror!) flies straight into the parking lot. The ball hits the side window of the Mazda 6, then plops onto the hood, but lo and behold! - the ball not only does not deform the car, but successfully flies straight onto the field and, naturally, rolls right into the hole. Text on the screen: “Mazda 6 is a vibrant game.”

Yes, I have friends who are able to buy a Mazda 6. But none of them play golf. Moreover, they know nothing about this game and, if they had free time, they would not spend it on clubs and balls.

Question: why did the creators of the video about the Mazda 6 make its characters participants in a game about which the vast majority of the population in Russia, including successful people, have a vague idea? Answer: They were trying to create an image of a rich man. After all, in the West this character regularly goes to the golf club. And those who can’t afford it dream of getting there. In addition, they strive to drive prestigious cars of certain brands, live in certain types of cottages, and vacation at certain resorts. The image of a successful person in Western society is very specific. Which gives local advertisers very clear guidelines.

But who is a successful person in Russia? What are your hobbies? Where does he vacation, what cars does he drive? Unclear. It's not at all clear what he does. Looks like he's doing business. Which? Again the damned unknown. Parker once wrote that in Russia, doing business is equivalent to a mysterious act under the symbol “making love.” And what happens between the characters - whether they hit each other with frying pans or merge in a passionate kiss - is a secret. It's the same with business. A successful person today has many faces, and all because many roads lead to the temple of mammon. One roofs the tents, calling it an incomprehensible word “outsourcing”. He sees no other light when producing boards for computer systems. The third signs papers for gas connection in his native Moscow region. And it may, in essence, not be able to do anything other than write squiggles at the end of the document. The fourth is a child of Western offices, illuminated through and through with white halogen light and the falseness of formal goodwill.

So the question is: who do producers of domestic commercials advertising expensive goods turn to?

Firstly, “one of these” lies on the deck of the yacht in the arms of two beauties. Another is drinking beer on the roof of a skyscraper. Distinctive features are a white shirt (a hint of involvement in office life) and meditation balls in hand. The third character in a good suit, surrounded by bodyguards, takes a walk, waiting until an unknown girl throws him life-saving stomach pills from the crowd. The fourth travels in a car with an escort of motorcyclists. For some reason in a circle. The fifth type bought a TV and sarcastically reports that “she (friend, therefore - “ O ”) thinks that I bought it for her.” Stupid woman. He is not the right person to pamper her with a plasma panel. He will watch it himself. All the characters are young, dapper and slightly unshaven. And, apparently, they have a lot of free time.

In search of a hero of our time, advertisers tried to put Semyon Ivanovich's lips on Ivan Petrovich's nose. We got a playmaker.

/GEORGY ALEXEEV/

WHAT DO THEY EAT

Death to cutting!

Over the past 10 years, our restaurants and their visitors have passed through several culinary milestones.

Stages of a long journey - from Olivier salad to duck terrine with shiitake mushrooms and flan with a hint of foie gras. A Parisian friend of mine even wrote down the name on a piece of paper. “We just love good food,” he said. “And for you it’s a whole performance, even if the place is not the most expensive.” “Yes,” I answered, “we are creative people.” - “No, you just haven’t seen anything good for a long time. And now you’re catching up. But still delicious..."

The menu is a document of the era. It will not hide anything: neither wage growth, nor changes in tastes, nor even the general struggle with excess weight.

Igor Bukharov, president of the federation of restaurateurs and hoteliers, says that over the past 10-15 years the very basis of the menu has changed. “Restaurateurs began to use higher quality products. And most importantly - environmentally friendly. Secondly, the kitchen has become easier. Restaurants have stopped using large quantities of cream and animal fats. But olive oil is in use. Why are Italian and Mediterranean cuisine popular now? She is understandable. It is of high quality. There are only natural products and a minimum of preparation. This means that people began to take care of their health. This can be seen even by the fact that the consumption of vodka has decreased, but they began to drink more wine.”

It's not just the menu that has changed. Nowadays people go to restaurants differently than they did 15 years ago. And not then. Previously, we walked and celebrated. Now they are eating.

Somehow, unnoticed, we passed the demise of the cut: there is no such restaurant dish anymore. Sausage and ham are eaten at home. If there is nothing else. The stage of assortment expansion is a thing of the past. Five years ago, the salad on the menu, if it was not “Teatro” in the “Metropol” or “Nostalgie”, was represented by two or three types. And who could have known that salads can be hot or cold and not at all with mayonnaise! And now at Le Gato you discover that you can put hot duck breast on lettuce leaves, and it doesn't make it any worse. It also turns out that foie gras - goose liver, which was previously prepared in our country exclusively with sour cream - is a delicacy that goes well with pineapples and sweet sauce. After the expansion of the assortment, first due to the simple, then due to the complex, the fashion for Italian and French restaurants came. And we’ve already gotten used to it.

Today, restaurateurs are hiring chefs and turning our desire to eat well into a show. On a culinary adventure. In pursuit of new taste sensations. New dishes, like fashion collections, are advertised on banners throughout the city, and the menu changes depending on the season, time of year and customer desires. Russian cuisine doesn't suit you? And now the Seven Fridays restaurant, presenting itself as an establishment of traditional Russian cuisine, introduces a terrine of scallops and shrimp with a layer of nori seaweed to its menu. They married our venison with Italian tagliatelle, seasoning this with their rosemary and our boletus mushrooms. We realized in time that the time of “pure” national cuisines in Moscow had passed and the client wanted something exclusive, no matter how much it corresponded to the classic recipe.

/IRINA BUILOVA/

style – Ogonyok No. 41 (4915) dated 10/16/2005