{"id":1968746,"date":"2026-06-02T21:06:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1968746"},"modified":"2026-06-02T21:06:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:06:30","slug":"blending-skateboarding-and-fashion-ten-years-of-rassvet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1968746","title":{"rendered":"BLENDING SKATEBOARDING AND FASHION: TEN YEARS OF RASSVET"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nRassvet Skateboards<\/a> is dificult to define. Launched in 2016, the company straddles skateboarding, streetwear, and high fashion while not looking out of place in any one. And ten years in, Rassvet feels at the precipice of something bigger. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Through working with Comme des Gar\u00e7ons<\/a> and Dover Street Market Paris<\/a>, the brand has become a fashion up-and-comer. Akin to St\u00fcssy and Palace, Rassvet is committed to creating tasteful, high quality clothing. <\/p>\n

At the same time, they\u2019ve beefed up their team with two new pros, Remy Taveira<\/a> and Austyn Gillette<\/a>, as well as young Amin Sharif<\/a>. With this much going on, you\u2019d think Rassvet would be stretched thin, but instead they are looking more confident than ever. <\/p>\n

To celebrate ten years, we reached out to Founder and Creative Director Tolya Titaev<\/a> to talk about how the brand has changed over the years, the intersection of fashion and skateboarding, and more.\n <\/p>\n

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Your latest collection was looking back, revisiting some staple graphics and pieces from over the years. How was the experience looking back?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s given me peace inside. We started working on this collection about a year and a half ago with the knowledge that when it dropped we\u2019d be celebrating ten years. It really helped me understand what I want from the brand moving forward. Almost like a goodbye, and with that we can present our new vision. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need approval from skateboarding to dictate what we\u2019re able to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do you see Rassvet today? I\u2019ve heard it called a skate company, an art project, a fashion label. What is this vision?<\/strong>
\nRassvet originated as a skateboarding brand, but we\u2019ve always been partnered with Dover Street Market Paris \u2013 Brand Development. They help fashion labels, so we exist somewhere between high fashion, streetwear, and skateboarding. It\u2019s definitely a place for artists and creatives and it has been heavily integrated into the identity of the brand.<\/p>\n

All the crossover makes Rassvet what it is, and I\u2019ve never considered it purely a skate company. Skateboarding is one of my passions so it makes sense that the brand reflects that, but if I needed to describe it in one way I\u2019d say Rassvet is my interpretation of street culture.<\/p>\n

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Has skateboarding ever been constraining to you as a creative director?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t know, it\u2019s cool to break the rules of skateboarding. I\u2019ve never purposefully pissed people off, I just want to look and do different. I\u2019m going in my own direction. What\u2019s the point of the brand if we\u2019re doing the same thing as everyone else? It would just be fast fashion, like \u201chere\u2019s another trend\u201d. I don\u2019t think any brand should operate like that. <\/p>\n

For me, if you make clothing, you\u2019re creating a personal vision according to what the world needs. I think it\u2019s good to be misunderstood and beneficial that we aren\u2019t stuck in a box. We don\u2019t need approval from skateboarding to dictate what we\u2019re able to make.<\/p>\n

Do you think skate brands take enough risk?<\/strong>
\nThere are so many companies that are just doing t-shirts, hoodies, and boards. That\u2019s great if it\u2019s the road they want to take. For me it\u2019s never been the case, I\u2019m not interested in just making t-shirts.<\/p>\n

Will skateboarding always be an integral part of Rassvet?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a pillar of the brand that can\u2019t be taken away. It will always be there and continues to introduce us to different things. Even now, one of the big events that skaters are going to is Paris Fashion Week. It\u2019s a really cool time for skateboarders to be skateboarders, and we\u2019re being mixed in with these other scenes.<\/p>\n

In any industry, what\u2019s valued most is multifaceted individuals. People that are directors can also be painters, musicians, designers, and skaters all at the same time. Everyone has multiple things they do and depend on, and it\u2019s totally fine to be interested in and pursuing many different outlets. At this point I think it\u2019s smart for brands to operate in a similar manner and occupy many spaces.<\/p>\n

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You mention Paris Fashion Week, which to me that\u2019s a new thing for skateboarding to be involved with. Once these crossovers started to happen, do you think people understood Rassvet better?<\/strong>
\nDefinitely. Rassvet isn\u2019t the brand doing catwalks, but if we want to showcase our clothing differently we\u2019re going to. It\u2019s the freedom of creating something, you can\u2019t be afraid of your own ideas. Don\u2019t be scared to make what you think is rad, even if it\u2019s a gamble. I think as lines blur and subcultures collide what we\u2019ve been doing has strangely become more digestible for people.<\/p>\n

\u201cFashion and skateboarding are very free art forms, they feed each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would you say to someone who thinks skateboarding has no business in high fashion?<\/strong>
\nThat we just don\u2019t share the same perspective on it. I can understand their point of view, but attempting to explain to someone that narrow-minded is useless. Everything serves a purpose, it\u2019s just deciding how you want to see it, and understanding what you want from it.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s something you\u2019ve learned from the fashion world that skateboarding can learn from?<\/strong>
\nThat\u2019s a difficult question. For me, fashion and skateboarding are very free art forms, they feed each other. I think if we can learn anything from either<\/em> of them it\u2019s simply not being afraid to take risks.<\/p>\n

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The price point of Rassvet puts you in a different place than most other brands in skateboarding. Has that changed the way people look at Rassvet?<\/strong>
\nOur cut and sew is definitely more expensive than most skate brands, but our basics, accessories, and boards are still pretty accessible. All things considered, we make a majority of our garments in Europe. With these elevated production and quality standards comes a higher price.<\/p>\n

As you moved to this higher price point, were you worried about losing the skate fanbase you had created?<\/strong>
\nPeople can think what they want, of course I would love to be able to offer the most accessible prices but we just can\u2019t afford that. Even now, we\u2019re on the edge with the way we operate wholesale pricing. We\u2019re providing what is sustainable for us right now, and actively taking approaches to make things more affordable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re constantly weighing what the world actually wants, and how we can feel creatively fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are your personal changes in style reflected in what Rassvet produces?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t always think people should wear what I wear, and it often times doesn\u2019t make for an interesting collection. I\u2019m never designing anything that I wouldn\u2019t wear myself, but it\u2019s gotten far more intentional over the last few years. We\u2019re constantly weighing what the world actually wants, and how we can feel creatively fulfilled.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we spend three weeks working on a mood board before we even figure out what direction we\u2019re going. Today I went to a bunch of second hand stores just looking for inspiration and references for the new line.<\/p>\n

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At its core, Rassvet is a Russian skateboard brand. Do you still feel like it\u2019s important to represent Russian skateboarding?<\/strong>
\nThe company\u2019s name is in Russian, and I can\u2019t change where I\u2019m from. We\u2019ve never operated from Russia, we\u2019ve always been based in France, though people still associate us with the war happening. There are only a few people from Russia working for the company, and we all live by very different ideologies than the Russian government. A majority of Russian citizens stand for something very different than the government in Russia. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tricky topic, I hope I\u2019m clear on the fact that I do not support the Russian regime, because I\u2019m quite the opposite. But I don\u2019t want to be scared and feel like I need to change the brand\u2019s identity, or the name. It\u2019s beautiful. The meaning of the word is dawn or sunrise, and represents positivity through change, a hope for a better future. For me that was always important, it still is important, it wouldn\u2019t be Rassvet without it.<\/p>\n

Do you feel like you had to distance yourself from your background?<\/strong>
\nIt was really difficult. The first few months when I arrived in Europe, I was scared to even speak Russian in public. I felt categorized, I didn\u2019t want to be treated differently based solely on the country I was from, the country I was actively fleeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t work there are two-hundred other things that I\u2019m interested in trying.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been around for ten years, not a lot of brands can say the same. Did you expect this project to last for so long?<\/strong>
\nNot really [laughs]. When you talk about ten years it doesn\u2019t even translate to me, it just feels like my life. When I start something I don\u2019t think about how long it\u2019s going to last, I just do what I want to do, and if it doesn\u2019t work there are two-hundred other things that I\u2019m interested in trying. <\/p>\n

Not running a skateboard company later on is going to be fine with me, but there is still so much to say and create with Rassvet right now, I feel like it\u2019s necessary to keep going. There will be a day when we have to decide the next steps, but I\u2019m not dwelling on that, I\u2019m thinking about the next six months.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What do you see as one of the biggest mistakes other brands make that leads to their demise?<\/strong>
\nNot engaging with their audience correctly. You shouldn\u2019t start a brand just to start one, you need a clear understanding of why you\u2019re creating. Rassvet has always been a tool for me to communicate ideas with people, through a visual language. Whether what you\u2019re doing resonates with people or not, that\u2019s kind of like natural selection.<\/p>\n

Of all the things you\u2019ve created, do you see any one specific piece as being timeless?<\/strong>
\nThat doesn\u2019t exist. I think if you ask that question to anyone they\u2019ll tell you nothing is absolutely perfect, we end up seeing the flaws later on. But I\u2019m proud of everything. One of the t-shirts that we brought back for the ten-year collection is an image of a boy looking out through our logo, which is one of the first graphics I created for the brand, when I wanted to get out and explore the world.<\/p>\n

In celebration of ten years of Rassvet, can you give me ten tips for running a successful brand?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t think I need to give any advice at all. I\u2018d just say to do what you love and follow it through to the end. Find the strength within yourself to keep going. If you really love something, just keep doing it. A lot of the work along the way won\u2019t be pleasant, so get ready for it [laughs].<\/p>\n


\nInterview and intro by: Ben Komins<\/a>
\nPhotos courtesy of: Rassvet<\/a>
\nDM us a meme on Instagram<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>
\nAh geez, follow us on TikTok<\/a> too<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rassvet Skateboards is dificult to define. Launched in 2016, the company straddles skateboarding, streetwear, and high fashion while not looking out of place in any one. And ten years in, Rassvet feels at the precipice of something bigger. Through working with Comme des Gar\u00e7ons and Dover Street Market Paris, the brand has become a fashion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,282],"class_list":["post-1968746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-jenkemmag-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1968746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1968746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1968746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1968746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}