The Avrora Fashion Week will run through April 14.

Running almost concurrently with AFW is St. Petersburg’s veteran fashion event, Defile on the Neva. Running from April 5 through April 8, Defile on the Neva will open with a gala fashion show offering a retrospective look at the event’s history. This spring’s program showcases pieces by a number of the country’s fashion icons such as Polina Raudson, Irina Tantsurina, Katya Anderzhanova, Tatyana Gordienko, Stas Lopatkin and Natalya Soldatova. Most of the shows will take place at the Weavers Exhibition Space (Tkachi) located at 60 Obvodny canal embankment.

Defile’s long-time ally, Tatyana Kotegova, one of the grande dames of Russian fashion, will also present her collection as part of the event.

Since its foundation in 2000, Defile on the Neva has been an invitation-only affair. The easiest way to get a ticket used to be by shopping at the Defile boutique, where one could shop for any item seen on the event’s catwalk. The boutique has since closed down, and now, regular customers of the leading local designers that typically present shows at the event have the best chance of getting a ticket through their local stores.