The Russian writer, Anton Chekhov, once wrote a play called "Three Sisters" about three young women desperately trying to escape from their provincial boredom to the capital. Clearly inspired by the play's name, the production company Wolf Group along withMetelitsa Productions threw a party called "Three Irinas."

Three three Irinas turned out to be State Duma Deputy Chairman and leader of the Union of Right Forces Irina Khakamada, singer Irina Ponarovskaya and "Hero Without a Tie" TV program host Irina Zaitseva. The purpose of the get-together was to model fashion for the forthcoming season in clothes of their own preference.

Khakamada, who was the first to appear on the Metelitsa entertainment complex's catwalk, received most of the audience's admiration and applause. For a politician to turn model in front of a drinking-and-eating audience is not easy, but having earlier this fall showed off a white mink coat by fur designer Yelena Yermak, she is already practised in the art of parading on a catwalk. It was, therefore, not surprising that in presenting the "Shirpotreb" (Mass Consumption) collection, the work of her favorite designer Yelena Makashova, Irina Khakamada came out onto the catwalk adopting a challenging pose — with her hands on her hips.

"The first time I was offered work as a model was when I was 20," Khakamada said after the show. "It was probably due to my Asian appearance. I refused because of my fat legs." Despite her two modeling assignments, she said she has no intention of "abandoning fulltime politics to become a professional politician-cum-model. Politics has been and remains my main job," she said. "My catwalk experiments are only my way of supporting Russian designers and Russian manufacturers. They don't have as much money and as much support from their sponsors as their Western colleagues have."

What motivates Khakamada into choosing Yelena Makashova

and her unusual "Shirpotreb" collection — loose clothes resembling military overcoats? "I met Yelena three years ago and immediately fell in love with her collections," Khakamada said. "Her simplicity, practicability and conceptualism fascinates me. They're modest working clothes that look a bit French. Yelena doesn't just toy with European fashion; she thinks in the European way. Her clothes are no different than those in expensive fashion houses, but they're much cheaper."