agnès b. 5 jours à Moscou en 1987
29 October – 13 November 2026,
at Maison agnès b, 17 rue Dieu · Paris 10e
opening 2 November at 6pm

In 1987, agnès b. traveled to Moscow – the then capital of the Soviet Union – for five days, accompanied by Philippe Trétiack, a journalist and writer for ELLE magazine. Her mission: to explore new fashions, styles, and tastes in a country and among a people she knew almost nothing about at the time.

Upon arrival, she found herself immersed in a world far removed from her Western frame of reference: silent crowds, vast spaces, a difficult daily life, and often dark, unadorned clothing. But over the course of those five days, her focus shifted. Armed with her analog Nikon camera, agnès b. began photographing for herself what she discovered as she moved through Moscow.

Children clinging to their parents, merchants in surprising outfits, passersby, faces, attitudes, and clothing – all these details caught her attention and fueled her joy of discovery. In black and white as well as in color, these photographs emerged almost spontaneously, alongside the reportage she produced for ELLE. They reflect less a desire to document the Soviet Union than the curious and attentive eye agnès b. casts on people and her surroundings.

Through these candid images, Moscow in 1987 comes to life – just a few years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The city and the era are captured through a multitude of ordinary scenes, encounters, and details that surprised, amused, or moved agnès b. during her five-day stay.

En 1987, agnès b. part pour cinq jours à Moscou, alors capitale de l’Union soviétique, accompagnée de Philippe Trétiack, journaliste et écrivain pour le magazine ELLE. Sa mission : partir à la découverte de nouvelles modes, de nouveaux styles et de nouveaux goûts, dans un pays et auprès d’une population dont elle ne connaît alors presque rien.