Exclusive: Alexandre Plokhov Debuts a New Endeavor Called Nomenklatura Studio

Exclusive: Alexandre Plokhov Debuts A New Endeavor Called Nomenklatura Studio

Designer Alexandre Plokhov, who launched the cultishly successful independent label Cloak in New York, in 2000 (he was an early pioneer on Greene Street), and, more recently, the eponymous brand Alexandre Plokhov, has a new project: Nomenklatura Studio. Just don’t call it a fully-fledged line. Plokhov noted that he is adapting a “release method,” loosely based around seasonal drops, but only if he is fully convinced by the idea in play. To do an entire program these days, he said, is “pointless, unless you are so big that you have to feed the appetite.” (He has had that kind of experience, too, having put in his time at Versace’s men’s label in Milan and at Helmut Lang.)

Nomenklatura—an “inside joke” name, Plokhov pointed out, because in “Soviet slang the word refers to people of the ruling elite, and I am so far removed from that”—features a tight edit that mixes easy, militaristic elements with tees and sweats. As for the latter: Those are screen-printed with images inspired by the designer’s travels, mainly of statues, located in such disparate locales as Vicenza, Italy; Jersey City, New Jersey, in the U.S. (where he is now based); and the Louvre in Paris. Some have the coordinates of the location of the statue printed beneath them.

On the combative: These pieces are much “harder” but well executed, and were apparently influenced in ways by sci-fi writer William Gibson. A harness, a poncho, a dynamic leather jacket, and a lo-fi black camouflage anorak comprised this portion—along with combat boots that read, on the toes and in Latin, If You Want Peace, Prepare for War, a discomfitingly timely warning. Each of these garments will be numbered in editions.

Of Plokhov’s decision to get back into the fashion game? “It was between this and opening a record store—I decided to stick with what I know.”