As we reported back in May, sixteen-year-old Russian heiress turned designer Kira Plastinina was on the path of becoming one of fashion's most serious players. While she may be young, the lucky girl with the billionaire father had already opened a dozen stores within less than a year in America and was receiving much praise from critics.

Yes, everything was looking good for Kira. But then Lehman Brothers had to collapse and, well, you know where we're about to go with this.

It is with much regret that we report Kira will be closing all twelve of her boutiques in America before the year is out. Recently, the designer spoke to Bloomberg about the ordeal: "The number of shoppers in the U.S. fell significantly. It became much harder to find money for investment because of the financial crisis. We had enormous plans: New York, then India and China in 2009." Sad, indeed.

[via Chic & Untroubled]