The Russian language of fashion: a linguistic portrait of borrowed words

INTRODUCTION. The aim of the study is to analyze and systematize the features of borrowed vocabulary in the thematic area of “Fashion Industry” in the Russian language. It is established that borrowed vocabulary within the fashion industry represents a dynamically developing heterogeneous subsystem of the modern Russian language. Its study is relevant due to the constant updates and the significant proportion of borrowings, driven by the secondary nature of Russian fashion discourse in relation to Western European and American contexts. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The methodological basis of the research is an integrated approach that combines methods of collecting empirical material (a complete sample of factual material from articles in online publications “Mary Claire”, “Symbol”, “Vev”, “Grazia”, “Voice”, “The Blueprint”, “Buro”, “The Girl” from 2013 to 2025) and methods of its linguistic analysis (descriptive-comparative, semantic, etymological and elements of statistical analysis). The sample size was 780 words. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The primary source languages (English, French, Spanish, and Asian languages) and the dominance of internationalisms, which is linked to the global nature of fashion, are identified. Productive methods of borrowing and adaptation are defined: direct borrowings (transcription and transliteration) predominate over calques and foreign-language inclusions. From a nominative perspective, borrowings either denote concepts new to Russian linguistic culture or serve as a substitute for single-word nominations or descriptive constructions. Semantically, most lexemes are unambiguous; however, instances of initial polysemy have been recorded. Structurally, single-word names predominate over phrases and abbreviations. CONCLUSION. The demand for borrowed words is explained by their prestige, the law of economy of speech effort, and their international character, which contributes to the formation of a universal language for the global fashion industry.