Copper rum. Stylist Roman Copper. Your wishes to readers

08.03.2011

For the wonderful but controversial holiday of March 8, I prepared an unusual issue of the “Men Speak” column - an interview.

Today, stylist, makeup artist, shopping guide and just an interesting person, Roman Medny, will talk about women. And within the scope of my blog, he is also very valuable as the founder of the LiveJournal community about men's cosmetics all_tested. In a word, you have already realized that this is not the kind of person who doesn’t care how a woman dresses and makes up.

We talked to him about women's conservatism and bad taste, about blue nails and eyelashes and the fact that a woman is obliged to cook. Well, and much more, of course.

Roma, you are a stylist and makeup artist. Who is more interesting to dress - men or women? As a child, it seemed to me that you could come up with a bunch of outfits for a girl doll, and for boy dolls - well, just pants and a shirt. Now, of course, my idea of ​​a men's wardrobe a little bit has expanded, but I still think that women's clothing in general is more interesting and varied. Is this true or am I mistaken?

Yes, clothes for women are indeed more diverse. And not only in colors and styles, but also in prices. When I have to dress a married couple, I always spend less on women's looks than on men's ones, because... Women's clothing is always cheaper in the same brand. But this does not mean that it is more interesting to work with women - it is, in fact, much easier to work with women. And I love challenges, I’m Aquarius, so it’s more interesting for me to work with men

Why are women's clothing cheaper? This is quite unexpected.

Well, it's just really cheaper. If normal women's trousers can be bought for one and a half thousand rubles, then you won't find men's trousers for less than four thousand. The same goes for shirts, jackets, and outerwear. A man's fur coat costs much more than a woman's.

What does this have to do with? Does this have anything to do with cost or does the manufacturer just know that a woman will still buy about five of these trousers?

Sometimes it seems to me that now the price of clothes is in no way tied to its real value. It’s just that a man buys less clothes and at the same time he is morally ready to spend more on them than a woman. So it turns out that girls rush around the shops, trying to find something cheap and beautiful, and end up with a bunch of junk worth 20 thousand, and the guys come in and buy one suit for 20, which they will wear for several months. Women have a lot of clothes that are worn 2-3 times, but a man wears all his clothes to the fullest. Literally to the holes

It’s clear, that is, we get a kind of discount for wholesale and as a “regular customer.”

Yeah, something like that. There is more competition for women's brands. And women switch from brand to brand more easily. Therefore, every manufacturer is interested in creating a cute T-shirt for 300 rubles. Men, on the contrary, stick to the same thing for a long time. If a suit fits him once, then he will go to the same store until retirement

And, as I understand it, when choosing a bow, it’s easier for you to satisfy a woman because of her openness to change?

But this is a myth. It’s only a woman who thinks that she’s all “wanting to change.” In fact, women can simply fight to the death for some of their cockroaches from the “it doesn’t suit me” series. You can explain to men that this is good, but this is bad, and a woman listens to you, nods, and then says “this doesn’t suit me” / “I won’t wear this.” And all women’s passions for change usually do not go beyond the limits of the next bad haircut.Women are much more conservative, snobby and purist than men.

It’s just that for just you, they still have a dozen friends as stylist-advisers, and not always with ideal taste. And then, as they say, “I’m seeing this cat for the first time, but I’ve known you for ten years.”

Yes, every woman considers herself a style expert. Clients often ask how to get rid of bad taste from a friend - it’s impossible.

Wow, but this is already interesting. Are there such orders?

Orders for girlfriends to dress up? Not often, but they do. As a rule, I refuse if I see even the slightest resistance on the part of my friend. Because “it is impossible to prove to a fool that she is a fool.”

Do these statements about your friend’s bad taste always turn out to be justified?

A man sees much less than a woman thinks. And if a man talks about bad taste, then the case is usually egregious...

Fashion history is your specialty and your hobby. What are your favorite fashion looks from the past? Let me explain what I mean: for example, the fashion of the 50s, if I’m not mistaken, the 20th century, seems incredibly chic and elegant to me: a heavy bell skirt, a tight-fitting bodice and the obligatory short gloves. I really don’t understand how such a fashion could have happened. What are your favorite styles?

I really love the Soviet 70s. An abundance of tweed, smoky dragonfly glasses, a masculine silhouette for men and always fitted for women. And how carefully they knew how to introduce furs back then—neither before nor since have furs been so elegant in Russia.

Although I watched and, frankly, was very impressed by your videos about men’s makeup, in honor of the Eighth of March I’ll ask about women’s makeup. What are your least favorite street, everyday women's makeup "trends"? I'm talking about both common makeup mistakes and some generally annoying style.

I am amazed at the persistence with which women try to paint over their lower eyelashes. For daytime makeup, it’s better not to touch them at all, and girls try to mold them into spider legs. In general, the lower eyelashes are very soft and thin, so they are treated with mascara at most once and then combed with a clean brush so that they do not stick together. But here, many girls like to paint them in several layers, like the top ones, and mold them into 5-6 lashes. Few, but thick and crooked. In general, the main evil is sticky eyelashes.

Don't bright blue ones scare you? I have often encountered rejection of colored mascara from men.

From an art point of view, they are not scary. But if you want to please a man, you need to push art further away, the emphasis is on naturalness

What about black and blue nails? Are you, as a man (and not as a stylist), attracted to them?

Yes, there is something about it, unlike black lips. By the way, many girls believe that green or turquoise polishes are evil. And today I just watched in fascination my hands with a marsh-colored manicure - it combined so well with the image as a whole. Nails are like jewelry, like gemstones. There is no talk of naturalness here. Everyone is already tired of French. Besides, it always looks terrible on nails that are not perfect. Unlike dark varnish, if the nail is properly decorated and the shape is well chosen.

By the way, what nail shape do you prefer - oval, square, stiletto or something else?

Oval, of course.

Why "of course"? I myself love the oval, and this causes confusion among most of my friends who wear a square. And even manicurists are surprised by the order “not to make it square.”

Because with an oval, the fingers seem longer, neater and the bend of the plate is more harmonious. After all, not everyone can boast of parallel sides of the nail. As a rule, this is a trapezoid. The oval balances this trapezoid, and the nail looks complete and whole from any angle.

Everyone knows that girls are not above stealing cosmetics from their boyfriends (usually personal care cosmetics, of course). Occasionally, young people stretch out their raking hands to our treasures, although in 90% of cases they limit themselves to shower gels with delicious smells. You are the creator of a community about men's cosmetics, and you probably have at home an arsenal of creams, masks, shampoos, balms and other things that any girl would envy. I'd probably rob your lockers at night! How do you behave when you live with a girl? Are you picking at anything from her or is it the other way around?

The bullshit is that the lines of men's cosmetics that are produced are very incomplete. Just catastrophically incomplete. And we constantly have to borrow certain products from women’s lines. As for dragging me away, it happens all the time, sometimes to the point of irritation. Moreover, what irritates me is not the fact that she uses my cream, but the fact that when I kiss her, I smell myself. This just smacks of some kind of shiziness, because in erotica people rely on smell no less than on touch, and certainly more than on trusting their sight. Therefore, an attractive partner should smell different and, preferably, unfamiliar.

And who ends up expropriating someone else’s property more often—you or she?

More often she. Women are more curious creatures than men.

But I also wanted to talk about mops and rags. I remember that on your blog many copies were broken on the topic of whether a girl should cook. I agree that if a girl offers to eat only in restaurants, then it would be quite appropriate to offer her to spend the night in hotels. But if we face reality, now girls who are ready to wash, iron, cook, clean, sew and knit are left only in villages, and the average working lady has neither the time nor the desire for this entire package of services. For example, I love to cook and do it all the time, but I hate dusting. There are probably mirror opposite examples. So, the question is: which of the household responsibilities are fundamentally feminine for you? And which of them are you ready to divide between you, by agreement?

I am a very strange man in the sense that I don’t want to share any household responsibilities at all. For cleaning, there is a housekeeper who can be called once a week and it is not as expensive as many people think. I love to cook and sometimes I do it with pleasure, so I don’t understand girls who refuse to cook on principle. I cannot consider this anything other than stupidity. It's so simple! And I am only happy with those girls who know how to cook. Those who refuse to do this on principle do not stay longer than one night, as a rule. Why keep a woman just for sex, if you can find a new one every day for this - and it will be much more interesting.

What if she agrees to cook, but the result is that... “it would be better to drink and smoke,” as Vasiliev sang?

I’ll stand next to you and teach you so that the result is good.

You're just a dream!

Yesterday I was told that I am the ideal man. Just when I was frying pancakes at the stove. Although there was a strange set of “positive qualities” - a DJ, handsome and a cook. Although who of them, women, will understand what they need?!

You've talked quite a bit about how to dress business men. But if we touch on the topic of business women... I recently took one look at the trailer for the new “Office Romance” and asked myself this question: who is the current business woman more like? On Mymra or on the image glorified by magazines: impeccable taste, stilettos, sleek hair, sternness in her gaze - in general, the Snow Queen, inaccessible, but magnificent?

It should be noted that modern business women have learned to look like the Snow Queen, and “myr” can be found extremely rarely among women under 35. Moreover, many manage to achieve this look even better than a seductive evening and affordable casual look. Inaccessibility - it suits everyone.

Well, okay, let's leave the business ladies alone and move on to the opposite aspect. A stylist is an artist, and since you also started producing your own clothes, you are even more of an artist. Are you inspired by images of motherhood and pregnancy, or are such concepts outside of your design interests? By the way, have you ever been a shopping guide for pregnant women?

First of all, a stylist must be a psychologist. The artist is the tenth thing. You need to think about the person - his character, his way of life. And only then realize your fantasies. About pregnant women - this is a very interesting topic, but I have not had to work with pregnant women, because... For some reason, in this state, a woman thinks about herself last. More precisely, about your appearance. There are even a number of signs: don’t dye your hair, don’t cut your hair, don’t wear new clothes, etc. and so on.

What about young mothers? After all, they choose clothes for the baby with inspiration, but doesn’t anyone really want to think about themselves?

But I had to carry out young mothers in buckets. Usually a year or two after giving birth, when you manage to return to more or less “your” size. It turns out that mom hasn’t bought normal stylish clothes for two years now and, of course, she has to improve the situation. These are some of the most grateful clients. As a rule, they require an integrated approach, because I need to make up for lost time in two years in hairstyles, makeup, and clothes. And, as a rule, skincare products change too.

What kind of look do they usually want? Something soft and gentle, or vice versa - to shake yourself up again and feel desired and chic?

They want to be feminine, status, elegant and at the same time flirty. At the same time, without aggressive sexuality, but with piquant details.

Surely you have some, if not idols, then icons of style/beauty/intelligence among female celebrities? And if so, why exactly do you love them?

If we talk about great women, then most often I am fascinated by their character and life path. Somehow it turns out that strong people, in any case, leave their imprint on aesthetics, regardless of how they dressed. Just remember Edith Piaf - an ugly, hunchbacked woman without a distinct style, but for some reason these epithets come to mind last when you start talking about her. And so with anyone. Bette Midler, Meryl Streep, etc. — everyone dresses, to put it mildly, not very well, but it’s the personalities that attract me. And stylish dummies like Victoria Beckham get boring very quickly. I don’t understand how you can admire only the ability to wear clothes - after all, they are just clothes.

Well, what about Audrey?

We know Audrey from two dozen classic photographs. I once watched all her films and there are also enough horrors that will not fit anyone’s mind. For example, the earrings in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Therefore, there is no need to absolutize and erect idols on clothes.

An idol is not an idol, but in some ways she was perfect, like a figurine.

A matter of taste. To some, Dietrich seems such perfection, to others to Garbo, to others to Hayworth, and to others even Charlize Theron. You won’t believe it, but in 50 years, if humanity is still alive, Gaga’s most stylish images will be filtered out and someone will also consider her a statuette.

Giving women flowers on March 8th is vulgar and banal, although inevitable. But you hardly like banality, I guess. What options for creative “flower” gifts could you offer? So that until the amazed “ah!” from the mouth of the recipient?

I started giving flowers on the 4th and the “ah” was because I was the first one to do it this year. And it was nice. It is generally difficult to surprise with flowers. Both quality and quantity always turn out banal for some reason. Therefore, it is better to give original gifts, in my opinion. I once gave a girl wallpaper - she dreamed about it and still couldn’t buy it. She says she was happy then.

Another gift that has held the top spot for vulgarity for many years is perfume. We women know well that giving perfume without “trying it on” is a terrible mistake, but nevertheless we love to read about what scents will suit our color type/zodiac sign/name/foot size. My question is from the same opera. Imagine that a man runs up to you in a store with tears in his eyes and begs you to help him choose a perfume as a gift for his mother-in-law, wife, sister, lover, old school friend and daughter. What scents would you recommend?

In this case, I advise everyone to give sets of miniatures of one brand or another. At least something will do. Although I had a client who thought of disassembling this set and giving it to different women. And what about the smells - but now they are all within three or four bouquets with minor variations. If a young man tells you what his girlfriend has been using lately, finding a similar “new” scent is not difficult. For example, you can find dozens of variations of Nina Ritchie (I call it “fruit compote”), with minor improvements.

We must assume that you, unlike most men, would be sympathetic to a woman’s desire to set aside a couple of rooms for a dressing room or make a room for shoes, like Carrie from Sex and the City. What purely feminine everyday moments can you not come to terms with or do you find it difficult to come to terms with? Chatting with your girlfriends on the phone for hours? “Darling, you should start your morning with oatmeal, don’t walk around without a scarf, don’t read lying down” and other attempts to improve the health of the man living nearby and make it absolutely right? Invasion of your personal space - “who is the text from, who are you chatting with on ICQ, why can’t I read your mail,” etc.? Or something different?

Yes, I can understand what mechanisms work in a woman’s head when she wants a new dress or shoes, but invasion of personal space is evil. I never allow myself to pry into other people’s phones and I don’t let anyone into mine. It's the same with mail. But oatmeal is good. And for some reason I can’t stand it when someone helps me pack my suitcase for the trip.

By the way, have you ever had to act as a stylist or even a shopping guide for your girls? What about doing makeup?

Constantly.

And they always agreed with your vision of the image?

Of course not. We argue constantly.

Whose initiative is it - do you want to improve something, or does your other half ask for help with fresh ideas?

Yes, somehow everything crystallizes harmoniously on both sides - we just go shopping together or get together to a party

And you yourself paint a girl for a party?

Never completely. I like to make eyes

Well, I was already envious - you sit, relax, and no one runs around the room shouting: “How can you put on makeup for an hour and a half?!” By the way, how do you feel about the notorious long preparations for girls?

With restrained irritation. But this is all for show - you just have to go out without it at least once and the next time everything happens much faster.

Finally, as a gift to your readers, give us some interesting idea to use in the image. Makeup, hairstyle, clothes, shoes - it doesn’t matter.

Can I just have some practical advice?

Of course, it’s even necessary!

Bright shadows are in fashion this season, but those who have tried it know that it is almost impossible to achieve such a bright color in life as on the catwalk, and shading turns out to be garbage. My advice is to use a white eyeliner instead of an eyeshadow base. It will make it possible to achieve a bright color, like on the catwalk, and carefully shaded along the edges it will also make the shading of the shadows more accurate. On holiday, you can experiment with brightness, so go for it!

*photos from the personal archive of Roman Medny are used in the article

The future stylist was born on January 25, 1986 in Kyiv. He received a diploma of higher education from Donetsk National University, where he studied at the Faculty of Philology.

As a 19-year-old guy, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he worked as editor of the Hotel and Restaurant Business magazine. Then he began collaborating with other magazines and websites. A year later, Roman Medny decides to move to the capital - Moscow. There he also works with several magazines.

The author's active training and practice begins:

• Since 2008, he begins consulting people on issues of fashion and style, and tries out shopping support.
• By 2009 he attended the Marangoni “Fashion Styling” training.
• Two years later, he completed the Make-Up Atelier course and interned at the Make Up For Ever Parisian center.

By that time, Roman had already learned all aspects of such a new phenomenon for the CIS countries as the “fashion industry.” Then he starts coaching. Stylist master classes are held in many large cities in Russia and Ukraine. The entrepreneur is famous for his comprehensive approach to each client.

The author believes that common style tips: basic wardrobe, hairstyle, makeup cannot fully reflect a person’s personality. Character, behavior, interests, body language and much more play a role.. In general, the stylist tries to create for the client all the conditions that would make him work in his own way. We are talking about changing a person’s entire lifestyle, not just their appearance.

In the middle of 2011, he and his students visited Venice, where he taught a course on Contemporary Art and Fashion. The demand for training is growing, so the program will soon begin to be repeated. Russian Forbes ranks Roman among the best shopping support experts. Soon he begins to appear on Ukrainian television.

Immediately after 2012, he participated in the preparation of training for fashion houses from Italy. 2013 becomes the year of the beginning of cooperation with Ukrainian Forbes. Later he releases a capsule collection of accessories together with AGE.

Women's and men's style

Today Roman is an extremely sought-after specialist, working, among other things, for premium clients. This demand for his services is explained by the fact that now it is kind of “fashionable”. If the population of European countries is not very keen on public opinion, then in Russia or Ukraine the question of “how to become stylish” worries the majority of girls and women.

The stronger sex is not far behind in such experiences. Men's clothing style is also a popular topic of discussion.

stylist, style coach

Today, using the example of Christina Hendricks, I would like to show how to dress at 40 years old if you have a body and at the same time you are far from a model in appearance. The first thing to do is to forget everything that you saw in the TV series and that Alexander Vasiliev advised you. Cardigans, blouses and other knitwear in pastel colors do not decorate a woman’s body, do not add elegance to her, do not bring aristocratic sophistication, but simply “babit”...

Among our compatriots there are also many negative examples of the abuse of knitwear. Alla Verber alone is worth something!

Popular

You need to learn once and for all: soft and shapeless = thick, graphic and contrasting = fit. Therefore, by the way, not every black person is slimming.

It is necessary to say a few words separately about jackets. They are present in almost all recommendations for women's bodies, but finding a properly fitting jacket if you have breasts and a stomach (or maybe even both) is almost impossible. But here, paradoxically, you need to go not from the basic side, but choose a more extravagant option - with a peplum. This is exactly the case when black simply transforms the silhouette.
A complex cut with a lot of folds can turn a slender girl into an indistinct mess, but on the contrary, it works wonders with fuller figures.

Among my clients over the age of 40, there are many fans of Vivienne Westwood, although it would seem that this is an extravagant avant-garde brand. But it is the complex cut that adorns the shapes.

Women with large breasts are accustomed to wide straps on bras and dresses, but it is they who most often spoil the picture, creating the effect of a small head. They look harmonious only on a beige dress.

For all other dresses and tops, it is better to have either thin straps, if your arm size allows, or open shoulders.

Notice how a wrap dress visually tightens your breasts. This is an excellent solution not only for the evening, but also for a casual look. Especially if the dress or top has a print.

This is exactly the dress that Diane Von Furstenberg sells season after season. Fits perfectly on any figure and slims you by five kilograms at once. But even here you need to be careful with the print. Even if you're an autumn type, avoid vintage colors - they look cute on girls, but on women they just look like a dressing gown. Choose beautiful, rich colors and colorful prints.

If the print makes your eyes slightly dazzled, then you are on the right track!

And finally, a few words about outerwear. Despite all the articles about basic wardrobe, a beige trench coat or coat is not the best option for a woman with curves.

A coat that fits too tightly can also add a few pounds.

needs no introduction. At least that's what she thinks.

She calls herself a secular reporter and considers herself a social and political figure, but she has already gone down in history as a mouthpiece for everyday prostitution. Finding herself in front of the closed doors of Moscow for the first time, she did not pretend to be hard to touch, cherish her ambitions, or take things with force, but immediately headed for the back door. She chose a buffet table profession and made friends with, as she herself calls them, nymphs. Lips, a fur coat, fishnet stockings - the uniform of aspiring conquerors of the capital.

One can argue endlessly about which woman is a prostitute and which one simply lives for her own pleasure. For me, the line here is more or less clear: a prostitute is a woman who has had tens of times more ugly men than handsome ones. Ulyana Tseytlina, Bozena Rynska, etc. can talk for years about how wonderful they are, how they have achieved everything themselves and get the best from life, but once you look at who you sleep with, it becomes clear that they are clearly not getting the best.

We will not analyze Bozhena’s personal life. Now she is seriously getting ready to get married, although her husband, according to rumors, has not yet divorced her previous one, but Bozhena is already cohabiting with all her might and posting reports on her blog. The situation had been familiar to her for a long time; she was no stranger to sailors. But that's none of our business. Our business is style!

At the very beginning of her career, Bozena had a chic image.

Such a Jewish fanatical revolutionary. If I were her, I would still stick to it. I would go to social events in a red scarf, ask the bourgeoisie if lobster fits into their mouths when the masses are oppressed, and then write smart columns on the topic “There is no limit to the vegetation of the upper classes.”

Humor is more ennobling than a Chanel 2.55 bag. But, most importantly, within humor there is always the opportunity to develop and change. How did Sobchak go from a glitter-sprinkled shack to one of the smartest women of our time? All thanks to humor and irony. Bozena is not capable of this - as soon as Birkin became a reality, everything else lost its meaning for her.

And the race for expensive dresses began. At the same time, Bozhena has a rare talent - to choose everything that is as ill-fitting, wrinkled and sticking out as possible.

The tenacity with which she flattens her already not rich breasts is amazing... Okay, a long dress, there’s no need to make a bow here. But when it comes to combinations, our revolutionary’s taste is revealed in full force!

In a nightmare, I could not imagine this combination, but Bozhena embodied it and wears it with her chin raised high. Or here are a couple more randomizers.

It seems as if a light bulb in the wardrobe has simply burned out and a socialite is getting dressed in complete darkness. Although when she showed her wardrobe to other journalists, there seemed to be light there.

If you read Bozhena’s LJ, you’ll be amazed at how persistently she takes care of her closet. She constantly talks about what she altered and how, where to restore cashmere, and to which second-hand store you can then sell it all for weight. It's amazing that persistence doesn't affect the results.

She loves to talk about her hair care in her LJ, but at the same time she always looks as if her bald head was smeared with glue and hair cut from different heads was thrown on it.

Speaking of furs. Another feature of Bozhena is the complete absence of the “appropriate-inappropriate” division. I have a distant relative, as a result of a birth trauma, his development went along an alternative branch and he cannot determine whether his behavior is appropriate or not. For example, he can quite calmly talk about masturbation at the table. In general, he could raise this topic in another context and there this conversation would be acceptable, but not at a family dinner. Bozhena shows signs of the same deviation. For example, in a restaurant she considers it appropriate to poke another visitor with a stun gun, or, for example, no, no, and she will ask on LiveJournal where you can go in fur in the summer. And in this photo she is on a plane wearing a necklace over a turtleneck.

What if the plane crashes, how will they know that she is a VIP? Or, for example, appear on the red carpet in country peignure. What if there are terrorists - who will believe her that she has a dacha near London if she doesn’t have a dacha peignoir?!

At the same time, as you can see, Bozhena has the gift of posing. Here in this photo she noticed someone and looks at him like he’s shit.

Oh no! She's the one looking at us like that!

But hopefully all this is in the past. Now Bozena is posing with all her might in the pose of an ass-headed mollusk against the backdrop of the family estate. I would like to believe that she will have the strength and perseverance to cleanse herself of all the dirt that she spread around herself and on which, as it seemed to her, she could make a career.

I stole some of the photos from Gossip Magazine, some from the heroine’s LJ, for which I thank her.

Updated 18/09/15 15:37:

Bozena is a beauty

From my last post)

Straightforward and honest - these are the words that come to mind first when you study the blog of the famous stylist and columnist Roman Medny. Roman dresses famous women of Russia and Ukraine, and also runs a daring blog, medny.ru, where he examines the sociology of fashion in a manner unique to him.

Today Roman Medny talks to styled.asia about women's fashion, the work of a stylist and what mistakes should be avoided in creating an image.

Roman, why do you think your blog, among a wide variety of blogs, has become so popular? Did the so-called provocative materials, in which you evaluate the wardrobe of celebrities from young to old, play a role?

On the one hand, yes, it attracted and continues to attract attention, but on the other hand, not only I do this, but for some reason it is my blog that attracts thousands of readers every day. In addition to laughing, people also want to learn something useful, and here I am probably the most humane of fashion bloggers, because I try to write about what is applicable to real life, and not just about fashionable must-haves for the soft European climate. In fact, this combination of humor and practical use is the secret of my popularity. I now use this approach, tested on the blog, on television and in my video courses.

- How do you cultivate taste? Do you often experiment with style?

Taste is the experience of aesthetic experiences. Moreover, these experiences should concern not only clothes - this is a special way of thinking. Aesthetics is in everything - in the art you perceive, in the books you read, even in what you eat. I hone my taste in art - it is the most striking illustration of the spirit of the times. Fashion follows art, and everything here is quite predictable. Art teaches you not to think in stereotypes: “a pencil skirt goes with both jackets and cardigans,” but to see shape, color, and boldly handle them, without being attached to clichés.

Regarding experiments with my own style, I have periods here. Sometimes I’m a fan of clothes and just buy everything I see, and sometimes I’m just imbued with a slight antipathy towards the object and can go for several months in the same sneakers. I never suck anything out of my fingers, I don’t force myself to look for it - somehow it’s all there on its own. There are just things and people that inspire, and again you can’t help yourself - you open the closet and think about combining the incongruous.

How do you assess the development of fashion in the territory of the former USSR? Why do we continue to cultivate all kinds of clichés, while in 90% of cases you can always recognize our citizens in a crowd abroad?

We started dressing quite recently and haven’t “gone full” yet. At the same time, we do not have an aesthetic tradition - all of us had parents who dressed moderately poorly, even if it seemed good at the time. And now we must go through certain stages. To eliminate total illiteracy - to show men that a suit can be worn not only for weddings and funerals, but because it is beautiful and comfortable, for women to learn that a down jacket is clothing for very extreme conditions and the cold is not a reason to look bad. Then we will gradually begin to look more adequately at ourselves, at our strengths and weaknesses, and emphasize one while hiding the other. Now they don’t emphasize it, but stick it out all at once. Over time, we will become saturated with brands and realize that if it doesn’t suit you, no matter how branded it is, it will not add beauty. All this takes time and effort, because nothing happens on its own. But the effort that women are willing to put into looking good suggests that it won't take us that long.

Some people believe that going to a stylist means you have no personal taste - how can you comment on this? Why, by the way, can’t your beloved friend cope with this role?

In our country people go to the dentist with acute pain, they go to the surgeon when they can no longer bear it, to the hairdresser when they are completely overgrown. And for some reason it is believed that you need to go to a stylist if everything is really bad. But that's not true. A stylist is a person who can impartially look at you from the outside and give objective advice. He is not afraid to offend you, and does not think about how you will look together, he does not feel hidden envy towards you, which often guides a friend’s advice, because, as we all remember, a woman’s happiness is a bald friend. A stylist's advice is needed not only for those who realized that they haven't dressed for 30 years and just hung some rags on themselves. Women with good taste and an established style regularly come to me to get a boost of new ideas, some fashionable solutions that can make this style more interesting. Some people are willing to spend several hours every day collecting and analyzing this information, while for others it’s easier to set aside a couple of hours every six months to meet with a stylist who has already collected and analyzed everything. This means going to the dentist every six months to check the condition of your teeth, and, if necessary, carry out gentle procedures in order to please everyone with your smile for six months.

There is an opinion that several very recognizable and trendy things in one set make a look boring, do you agree? Do you think it’s worth getting rid of the habit of “I’ll wear all the best at once” or is it still a special style?

There are three main methods of working as a stylist - harmonic, iconic and silhouette. A trendy item is definitely iconic. This method involves creating a neutral background for a bright accent. Moreover, this emphasis is not placed at the last moment, when the image seems grayish, but the entire image should “grow” out of this emphasis. If you think with this logic, then there is no way to insert a second celine bag, because there must be one center. Trying to cover up a lack of taste with fashionable mastekhevs is like pouring mayonnaise on a failed dish.

- What to do with obvious logos?

There is no more effective way to sign the lack of personal taste than to dress in a branded total look. I consider any attempt by a brand to promote itself at the expense of the buyer as unacceptable impudence. And I will never understand who buys Chanel terry slippers with a logo for 500 bucks. Even if you cover them all with logos, they still look like free hotel slippers!

Have you, as a stylist, ever reconsidered your view of this or that thing that was previously considered unacceptable?

I generally have very few things that I consider unacceptable. You can find a context for almost everything, even rhinestone boots. The exception is the outright trash described above.

Recently, the topic of eliminating the use of fur in clothing has been especially actively discussed, what is your position? Do you accept fur in accessories - on bags (like Fendi this winter, for example)?

I am extremely calm about this topic. I understand the position of vegetarians on this matter, but when meat-eaters begin to speak on the same topic, it smacks of hypocrisy. So, you can’t gas hamsters, but you can gas cows? It only hurts when I see the mediocre use of fur and realize that 300 chipmunks died in vain. The cemetery must be worn with dignity.

Is it worth looking for decent options from local designers or is it preferable to have more global “names” in your wardrobe?

The main problem of domestic designers is inadequacy of pricing. Yes, we do not have a developed infrastructure, but designers are not trying to develop it in any way, quite calmly setting a price tag comparable to the price tag of European fashion houses with a history. At the same time, without offering fundamentally excellent quality. And then these same designers cry about how they are not understood. Our designers lack technological thinking - it is simply impossible to collaborate with them. They either offer you an item that has been worn out from shows and filming, or it is stupidly custom made. Attempts to order something from a lookbook end with the item being performed in a completely different material and everyone pretending that this is how it should be. I don’t collaborate with domestic designers; it’s easier for me to go to Europe for a couple of days than to waste my nerves trying to achieve the desired result.

- Your wishes to the readers.

If you're reading this, it means you're already concerned about your appearance. But don’t forget that style is not just clothes, it’s a way of life. Therefore, I wish you more pleasant travels, interesting books and delicious food.