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Back-to-back deaths of two top Russian designers major blow for fashion world, expert says

Alexander Vasilyev recalled that Yudashkin had started his career as a barber and hairdresser for Zaitsev’s fashion shows

MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. The passing of fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin is no less a great loss for the Russian fashion world as the death of his colleague, Vyacheslav "Slava" Zaitsev, at the age of 85 on April 30, fine art expert and art historian Alexander Vasilyev told TASS on Tuesday.

Channel One television earlier reported Yudashkin’s death, citing his spouse, information which was confirmed by Yudashkin’s fashion house.

"[The deaths of] Valentin Abramovich Yudashkin, just as Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Zaitsev, [represent] the greatest loss for the domestic fashion industry. They passed away one right after the other," the expert said. "His style [Yudashkin’s] was well-appreciated in the West. He had many shows in Paris, Milan and New York in the ‘90s. He made designs for stage productions, as well as for books. He had a divine spark about him. He was a very gifted designer," Vasilyev noted.

The expert recalled that Yudashkin had started his career as a barber and hairdresser for Zaitsev’s fashion shows. "He gradually evolved into a great master [in his own right]," Vasilyev said.

Galina Yudashkina, daughter of Valentin Yudashkin, may step in to manage her father’s fashion house, the expert said. "He has a talented daughter. She may seek to continue the brand," he added.

Yudashkin was born in 1963 in the village of Bakovka, Moscow Region. He founded the Valentin Yudashkin fashion house in 1991 and presented his first collection of 150 fashion designs that same year in Paris. The designer was diagnosed with cancer in 2016.

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