RUSSIAN INFLUENCE

Leo Tolstoys Novel, Anna Karenina (1873-77), may date back 135 years but its popularity has survived the centuries. There have been many film, television and theatrical adaptations, translations, and the story is alluded to in countless pieces of literature. But what we want to know, is what Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky were wearing when they first met. Luckily for the costume designers responsible for the various adaptations of Anna Karenina, Tolstoy wrote in detail about what his characters were wearing; the lavish materials, the velvet, fur and lace, and through this painted a clear picture of what his 19th century characters were sporting.

Vivien Leigh as Anna Karenina
 in a 1948 production

Now, we can't talk about Anna Karenina and Russian style without acknowledging Jaqueline Durran's collaboration with Joe Wright in the 2012 film production of the novel. They worked together to turn Keira Knightley into the ultimate 1870's Russian socialite, fashion icon, and tragic character, Anna Karenina. The three, Knightley, Durran and Wright have worked on period-pieces together before so they already had a basis of chemistry when approaching the task of styling this film. ''We decided we liked the silhouette of the period but not the detailing. So we looked particularly to Christian Dior of the 1950's, which has a similar silhouette but a much simpler, more striking detailing'' says Joe Wright of his vision, in an article on Fashionista.

This film and the grand statement that these costumes make have moved beyond the confines of the screen and trickled into the fashion world to even claim commercial success with Banana Republic's Anna Karenina capsule collection. Needless to say, get out your bustle.

Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina
 in the 2012 production

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1950's Dior Couture

Harrods Magazine 

Jaqueline Durran / Interview

Banana Republic / Capsule Collection