(Im)possible to Try: Notes on Soviet Fashion Photography

Abstract

Nowadays the images from our recent Soviet past become more distant—not only in terms of time, but the context becomes less and less obvious as a consequence of time passing. The ability to understand the meanings of images and distinguish between Soviet and non-Soviet is determined not only by the content of a photograph, but also by the viewer’s experience. The fashion photographs from the late Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is a good example on that score. Specific soviet cultural experiences appearing through borrowed Western patterns can be recognized through the small details like a pose, a gaze and a backdrop, as well as through the materiality of the print itself. The attempt to fix one’s gaze and make one’s way through the many layers of the image, conditioned both by its content and its material characteristics, gives another opportunity to interact with the recent past.