Mrs.Pomeranz: welcoming back the 50s

If you haven’t heard of Mrs.Pomeranz and you love the classic 50s A-line as much as we do, let’s introduce you to Dasha Pomeranz’s stunning line of feminine dresses. With ateliers in both Moscow and London, Dasha, 28, is beginning to make her mark. Her custom-made frocks inspired by timeless Russian prints, vintage cuts and old movies are turning heads, and with good reason. Since 2006 they have made 1000 dresses for customers, spreading a revival of that celebration of a womanly shape. Their first official collection was launched in May 2009 and has been followed by a steady escalation into the fashion world with plans to take their work to London Fashion Week in the future.

Despite being influenced by her grandmother’s beautiful wardrobe from an early age, self-confessed dreamer Dasha went on to study Journalism at the Moscow State University. “My journey started when I first came to London with my husband and he showed me the vintage shops on Brick Lane. I fell in love with the vintage dresses.” Following this re-discovery of classic cuts from the 50s and 60s, Dasha began to accumulate vintage dresses, collecting over 300 stunning pieces, which she then sold in her Moscow-based vintage dress shop, aptly named Goodbye London. “Most of the collection was sold out within a few months. I realised that I love the 50s cut and wanted to make dresses by myself.”

The current collection, Winter Flowers, had been made out of a unique yarn from the small town of Pavlovo-Posad since 1795 in a factory where they still use 19^th century prints. “I discovered Russian shawls when I was five. My grandmother had a beautiful shawl from Pavlovo-Posad, but I attempted to make my first dress with it; she wasn’t happy.” Despite concern from friends, Dasha went on to create a dress from the shawl material and it proceeded to be shown at the Pure London Show and to be featured in Time Out Russia and Cosmopolitan.

“I always had a passion for good fabric. That’s why I am experimenting with colours and fabrics, but repeating the feminine 50s and 60s silhouettes.” Dasha makes a point of mentioning on her Etsy site that they use Italian and English Liberty fabrics, as she loves all garments that make women more feminine and sexy. Her designs are so historically refreshing and they give us relief from some of the more miniature attire women selected in this era. Mrs Pomeranz and her team of dedicated models, seamstresses, pattern cutters and web genii help her find the crucial balance between vintage designs and modern fashion. “First you need to find the inspiration and you dream a lot. Then you chose the best ideas, then you draw a print or chose the fabric or hunt for the fabric. And at the end, you make a dress and make a photo shoot on the model. And at the end you may sometimes receive a photo of a girl who will wear this dress somewhere at the other side of our planet.” 

The team has begun making their own prints for their S/S 13 collection in collaboration with Genevieve Godbout, an artist from within the Disney Company who illustrates children’s books too. Her prints are sophisticated yet joyful and will hopefully create yet another charming collection.

To find out more about the Mrs.Pomeranz label and to check out more of their enchanting dresses click here.

Elizabeth Finney