Vladimir Teriokhin Is Designers’ Secret Knitwear Weapon

by MR Magazine Staff

Mr. Teriokhin — whose long neck and Allium-stalk comportment reflect his background as a ballet dancer in what was the Soviet Union — has built a business, Vlad Knit, on giving his ideas away: prototyping and producing sweaters for many of the major fashion houses showing this fashion week. For years, Oscar de la Renta hired him to prototype and produce his knitwear, and he has also collaborated with Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs, whom he’s helping to develop an intricate crochet. “Very much technically strong, maybe Francisco Costa competition,” he texted after a recent meeting with the latter. (Mr. Costa, at Calvin Klein, is known for his knitwear.) The new guard, including Proenza Schouler, the Row and Rosie Assoulin, have also sought Mr. Teriokhin’s expertise. “I don’t have knitting knowledge,” Ms. Assoulin wrote in an email, explaining that when she decided to add knitwear for fall 2014, “he was our go-to guy with his experience and talent.” Now he is emerging from behind the scenes. Last autumn, along with a creative partner, Allyson Spencer, he introduced a new line of sweaters, named Spencer Vladimir and retailing from $800 to $2,500 at Barneys New York, Moda Operandi and Just One Eye, a boutique housed in Howard Hughes’s old Hollywood headquarters. Read more at The New York Times.