How would you describe your designing style?<\/strong><\/p>\nIt is strongly influenced by my childhood, with all its memories\u2026 also, old Soviet cartoons, small towns in Kazakhstan and Russia, family traditions. And then there are movies; it can be anything from Visconti and Fellini to Nikita Mikhalkov and Wong Kar-Wai. I love old Soviet films. Also, I was mesmerised by the way my grandmother looked; I guess she was the one who has influenced my style the most: she wore printed cotton dresses worn with hand-knitted sweaters or cardigans and heels. <\/p>\n
Are your designs influenced by life in Moscow, too? <\/strong><\/p>\nIn my work, there are a lot of references to Russian culture, especially Russian cinematography. I find inspiration for my collections in works by Mikhalkov, Kalatozov, Khuziev, Gerasimov. And I like traditional Russian crafts \u2013 all those embroideries, bead-works, hand-made laces and knits. They combine naivety with intricacy of technique. <\/p>\n
What were your inspirations for the forthcoming SS12 collection? <\/strong><\/p>\nWe imagined Brigitte Bardot coming to the Soviet Union. So we have swimsuits, puffy skirts, shirts with few buttons open\u2026and then on the other hand we reinterpreted traditional Russian themes. So the spring\/summer collection is based on a mix of modesty \u2013 the essential quality of every Soviet girl \u2013 and the sensuality inherent in Brigitte. <\/p>\n
Your looks outside shows have gained you a lot of popularity with street style photographers. What do you think of the street style phenomenon? <\/strong><\/p>\nOf course it\u2019s useful \u2013 street style photography is often viewed by huge numbers of people. The thing I don\u2019t really like is that often it\u2019s all about the clothes. Notice the popularity of detail shots \u2013 you see nothing but accessories, and I find it to be quite boring. There is nothing special or intriguing in the ability to buy a trendy bag or a runway hit. As Diana Vreeland said, \u201cI don\u2019t go to the theatre to see a great play. I want to see an interpretation.\u201d It\u2019s the same with street style \u2013 I don\u2019t want to see clothes, I want to see interesting, unique people. <\/p>\n
How do you feel Russian women differ in their approach to fashion compared to women in London or New York, for example?
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\nIn Russia we had no fashion for almost 80 years, then there was the 90s with all that fake glamour. There are still a lot of clich\u00e9s about luxury in Russia, but it is not about wearing logos anymore, today people have become more sophisticated. There are quite a few women with a great sense of style here. Globalisation has influenced women around the world and for me it\u2019s sad, because they all started to look the same\u2026 I like people who are a bit crazy, who dare to provoke and surprise. <\/p>\nWhat are your plans for this year? <\/strong><\/p>\n2012 is a very important year for us as we are planning our first show outside of Russia. Since there is no fashion industry in terms of production in Russia, it makes the working process very complicated. We create, produce, photograph, style, and do PR all in-house.
\nAnd I\u2019m very happy, as my team is what makes the Ulyana Sergeenko brand so unique. It\u2019s not another clothing line, but a small world we invented here in Moscow. <\/p>\n
Words: Olivia Gagan<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ulyana Sergeenko is a Russian designer, photographer and serial socialite, who launched her first collection last year. Living in Moscow, she is a cult figure at fashion weeks, appearing in her own, unique designs. She talks to Wonderland about street style, Soviet cartoons and the unusual Russian-and-1950s influenced silhouettes of her self-made empire\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9418],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Wonderkind: Ulyana Sergeenko | Wonderland<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n