More on Moscow: Luxury Village

Moscow hasn't changed that much from when I was last here in April 2005. There are still construction sites everywhere, a fine red dirt covering the cars (which are almost always standing still in the horrible traffic) and packs of wild dogs in the streets (no kidding, just off Red Square). Most of the drivers seem unsure of where Tretyakovsky Passage is, although it was the only street in Moscow I'd heard of before visiting. A subtle but telling sign that the vast divide between the really rich and the working classes is alive and well.

Some things have changed of course. The turnaround at TSUM, the formerly state-run department store that was bought by the Mercury group and renovated with the help of Vittorio Radice, is more-or-less complete and now Muscovites can buy everything from quirky suits by Viktor & Rolf to cloven-toe shoes by Martin Margiela. What they make of those avant-garde designers, I'm not sure.

What has changed dramatically is the Barvikha Luxury Village about 40 minutes from Moscow's center. Luxury Village is also owned by Mercury Group. When I went last, it was a field of mud above a lovely underground parking garage. "The finest concrete available," the owners told me. (Some in-progress photos here.) Today it's pretty much complete -- at least the shopping bit, I think there's a cinema to come -- and it is stunning. Nestled amongst pine trees, the uniform wooden fronts have a fantastically elegant feel. Most of the major fashion brands from Prada to Gucci to Dolce & Gabbana to Bottega Veneta and many more are already operating. As are Ferrari and Lamborghini car outlets. And Ralph was wrong, he's not the first American brand in Moscow, Harley Davidson is also in Luxury Village.

But what surprised me most was that no one was there. No one, except some architects working on to-be-opened interiors (Balenciaga is slated to open soon), shop staff and the ever-present Russian security guards. Some of the Ralph Lauren team who have been working on their new store for almost a month say it's pretty much always that way. And then, one day, someone will walk in and drop $50,000 in one go, making up for days of no sales.

The Mercury guys say that 70 percent of their customers live in Barvikha (an interesting article on the changes in the area from The Guardian here), so it makes me wonder why it's not packed. If I had a choice I'd certainly rather shop among the pine trees than on the dusty, dog-ridden streets of Moscow.

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