Russian fashion designer Vyacheslav “Slava” Zaitsev, known as the “Soviet Christian Dior”, has died aged 85, his fashion house told AFP on Sunday.
Confirming Russian media reports, a spokesman said that when Zaitsev celebrated his birthday with friends in March, “we could already see that he was very, very, weak”.
Couturier Viacheslav Zaitsev has died, Russian state channel First Kanal reported, paying tribute to a man who “directed Soviet and Russian fashion for decades, an innovator who was not afraid of bold experiments”.
“It is a great loss for the world of international fashion,” Russian stylist Sergei Zverev was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.