Russian fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin dies at age 59

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin has died at age 59. Russian news outlets on Tuesday cited Yudashkin’s wife, Marina, as confirming his death but didn’t state a cause. Yudashkin was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2016 and reportedly was hospitalized last week. Yudashkin attracted attention with highly dramatic fashions and began showing collections at international shows in Paris and elsewhere. His intricate, embellished designs were a sharp departure from the dull, Soviet monoliths of the city on the outskirts of Moscow where he was born. News of his death came two days after Russian media reported that Yudashkin’s mentor and the Soviet Union’s most renowned fashion designer, Vyacheslav Zaitsev, had died.