Alena akhmadullina wedding. Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina: biography, career and personal life

She came into fashion in the 2000s. She entered, looked around, won several professional competitions, showed her collection in Paris and became famous. Now she has a two-story boutique in the center of Moscow, clothing and fur production in St. Petersburg, and shoes and accessories for her collections are made to order in Italy.

At one time it was fashionable to write about her. "Alena Akhmadullina is the most successful of the young Russian fashion designers and the youngest of the successful", "One of the few Russian couturiers known in the West" ... It was reported that her real name was Asfirova (although this is her middle name - Asfirovna). They called the daughter of the poetess Bella Akhmadulina (despite the different number of letters "l" in the surname). Her personal life was heatedly discussed: "She is the embodied image of a socialite, a hunter for oligarchs and a Rublev lady." Today Alena Akhmadullina refuses to talk about her personal life in an interview. We talked about the image of her that has developed in the press, about the correspondence of its reality and about today's generation of fashion designers.

- That's terrible.

— Can you explain what glamorous design is?

- This is probably when you live in Moscow, wear Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, go to all secular parties with perfect styling, painted eyelashes and nails, make friends with all the characters that make up this social life, and strive in every possible way to be in their society . I think it has more of a negative connotation. A real designer probably needs an ascetic, modest lifestyle. Among the designers of the world there are very successful recluses (for example, the Belgian designer Martin Margiela), next to which there are special people who take on PR functions and carry the image of the brand. But there are those who hang out, are friends with the stars and are a direct conductor of their creativity. When I lived in St. Petersburg, I worked from 9 am to 11 pm and was happy that I had no social life. But when I moved to Moscow, social life became part of the job - I have to be the face of the company. Secular life involves some artificiality: words that you do not want to say, actions that you do not want to do. For example, you don’t want to smile at the photographer, but you have to, because they write about you “Princess Nesmeyana”.

- Your life has changed. And how did your success change the life of your parents, what do they do?

— My parents are nuclear engineers. Dad is one of the leading engineers at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, mom works at a research institute that develops various technologies for nuclear power plants. The only thing that has been added to their lives is the feeling that the child has taken place in something. Like any parent, they enjoy it.

— You are from a family of Soviet technical intelligentsia. Opinions differ about what is Soviet in your work. Here are quotes from two articles. First: "On the example of Alena Akhmadullina, one can explore the phenomenon of Russian fashion: in her things one can feel emancipation and inner freedom, and the heavy legacy of the" Soviet fashion school "is not felt at all." And the second: "Alena's works are restrained in a European way, they have some touch of the fashion of the Soviet Union. Akhmadullina's models are the main characters of the film "Office Romance". So is there something from the Soviet Union in your work?

- Of course not. There is nothing Soviet in the product we produce and the image we create.

— But once at the Fashion Week in Paris you presented a collection of clothes, the theme of which was the posters of Soviet films of the 20s and 30s...

— Yes, but then we left it. Initially, the main source of inspiration was Russian culture, and on the world market, in France, I was always presented as a Russian designer. And from a Russian designer, of course, they are expected to rework quotes from Russian culture. At some point, we had to turn to a serious branding and marketing agency to figure out how to move on, and they helped us narrow down the source of inspiration: we chose the concept of Russian fairy tales, cutting off everything else. We fundamentally abandoned the Soviet theme. It has become very actively exploited by companies in the mass and middle segment of the market, which does not allow luxury brands to be based on the same platform - just so as not to be associated with mass brands. Although, for example, Denis Simachev is successfully inspired by this topic.

— Simachev is a representative of your generation of designers. Who else do you relate to your generation, and who to the previous one?

- In my generation, there is still Igor Chapurin, NINA DONIS (Nina Neretina and Donis Pupis. - "O")... And the previous one is Slava Zaitsev, Valentin Yudashkin.

- That is, there are no generations between Slava Zaitsev, who is over 70, and you?

- It turns out, yes. All of the current generation designers I listed started at about the same time as me - 10 years ago.

Alena Akhmadullina about her childhood

How will the next generation of fashion designers differ from yours?

— I think it will be a generation of industrial designers who will start to integrate into huge companies, work shoulder to shoulder with 30-60 designers and create commercial fashion. Not only is it the future, it is also a much more difficult professional task for Russian designers - we do not have this culture, we do not have education in the field of industrial design. If you look at Russian designers who have appeared in recent years and participate in fashion weeks, you will see that their activities are mainly based on individual tailoring, on the creation of single items, when technology is not thought out, the task of mass industrial production is not set. There is an experimental, almost "haute couture" work. There are not enough designers in Russia now who could work in other market segments and create real pret-a-porter collections, such as those created by Inditex, which owns the brands Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti... It seems to me that The next generation of designers, who will be born in Russia, should create their own light industry together with already born managers, administrators, businessmen - with production located here, with technologies developed in Russia, and maybe even with fabrics produced in Russia, although I have a hard time believing the latter.

Why can't your generation do this?

- The main investments in our country are still going not into light industry, but into other areas, which, perhaps, are more intelligible from the point of view of business organization, give faster profits. Almost no one invests in light industry. You will not name almost a single brand in the mass or medium segment that can compete with the world's. In the suite where we work, the business is built around the personality of the designer, who does not adapt to the needs of clients, but attracts those who are interested in his world. Mass design has completely different laws: demand creates supply, and not vice versa. Therefore, there are a huge number of designers who are able to disconnect from themselves and create a universal, high-tech design.

Let's talk about your brand. Previously, it was written together and with small letters - alenaakhmadullina. Now separately and from the big ones: Alena Akhmadullina. Made for the convenience of European customers?

- Yes, the branding and marketing agency we contacted considered this a problem: it is very difficult for people from different countries who buy our clothes to pronounce my first and last name, and to read them in one line, not knowing that Alena is a name, unbearable. Therefore, those who sold our products to the world market simply called us "Alena" with an emphasis on the last syllable. And we separated the name and surname, and the name was written larger. For Western people, a name is enough, but for Russia there is also a surname.

- Your Muslim surname attracted Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, and a year ago they wrote that at his request you would develop a new image of a Chechen woman. How did the story end?

- I was really invited, we discussed the opening of a boutique in Grozny and the creation of a collection of dresses that meet the cultural traditions of Chechnya - very feminine closed dresses (breasts and arms are closed). But we did not agree on finances.

How do you feel about people who don't care what they wear?

— This is also a concept and also a style. I have great respect for people who manage to dress in a neutral way: just trousers and a shirt. You immediately understand that a person is very whole, full, self-confident and he does not need additional means for self-expression. When a person does not care what he is wearing, and he does not try to portray it, but he really does not care, then you see the person himself, and not the clothes on him. But the fashion industry makes me play by different rules. We work for women aged 25-45 who, reacting to what is happening in the world, express it not only in words and deeds, but also in their appearance. I am good with both.

Fashion designers also react to what is happening in the world. For example, you said in one of your interviews that September 11 had a strong impact on fashion: “Some fashion designers hit the 70s and started making kind, sweet, flowery, soothing clothes. Others, on the contrary, began to explore the oriental theme more .. ." Has the economic crisis changed trends?

Yes, clothes have become more simple and ascetic. There are designers who still do conceptual things, but the general trend is clothes from the streets. What we see on the catwalks is like a girl walking down the street. And our company reacted the same way. If earlier the main thing was to present the concept of the collection on the catwalk (because the show still has an important image task), then in recent seasons we have abandoned the desire to promote ourselves in favor of the desire to sell more.

Is the emerging trend good or bad?

- Good, I think. Today, in order to create something new, you need to "pervert" very strongly. And designers sin this, being afraid to make a simple white shirt or a simple dress. But people do not change, they, like decades ago, wear absolutely simple things. Creating a simple thing is a step towards both technology and commerce.

Interviewed by Yulia Larina

Alena Akhmadullina does not like secular parties. It cannot be said that the secular party loves Alena Akhmadullina, however, undoubtedly, she is not indifferent to the young Russian designer. Someone respects Alena for her talent and dedication, someone notes her charm and openness in communication, while others believe that, due to arrogance and scandalousness, she will give odds to the famous Ksyusha Sobchak.

Unflattering statements, in my opinion, are another plus in favor of Alena and her bright talent - gray mediocrity would hardly have caused rumors and gossip among the secular pride.

It is difficult to say what is actually the defining character trait of a fashion designer. In my opinion, both malicious statements and positive opinions are fair - the combination of the modest name of the heroine of Russian fairy tales with Tatar roots speaks for itself. And in order to reach the heights that Alena Akhmadullina climbed, she would hardly have needed modesty and a complaisant character.

Biography

was born Alena Akhmadulina (Asfirova) in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, June 5, 1978 in the most ordinary family. The future designer developed her creative talent from a young age, studying at an art school. Then she entered the St. Petersburg University of Technology and Design, which she successfully graduated from. Already in the process of learning, Alena creates her first collections of fashionable clothes, which she demonstrates in the framework of professional competitions. In 2000, she received a number of awards - the winner of the international competition for young designers "Admiralty Needle" (in the nomination "Art - Parallel Worlds"), winner of the international competition Smirnoff Fashion Award, winner of the "Dress of the Year" contest, and some others.

Career start

At the age of 17, Alena Akhmadullina entered the St. Petersburg University of Technology and Design, having listened to a lot of criticism and gloomy predictions that they would not teach fashion there. At the initial stage, the girl did not need such a narrow specialization; first of all, she wanted to learn how to draw. Science went for the future, and in 2000, at the competition of young designers, the girl took the Grand Prix and the Dress of the Year 2000 prize. Then there were competitions in Italy and Switzerland. They started talking about the young designer. A year later, the debut collection of the prêt-à-porter brand was released. In 2005, at the Paris Fashion Week, Alena Akhmadullina showed her fabulous nature with fur coats under the fly-sokotukha, tight trousers and flying maxi dresses. Since then, she has been a regular participant in Paris Fashion Weeks.

Work

In 2007, Alena Akhmadullina began to develop models of fashionable sportswear. Soon she got the right to invent and create a uniform for athletes from Russia participating in the Olympics.

At the end of 2007, the fashion designer released a limited collection of bags for Yoga magazine. Alena transferred the profit received from the sale of this collection to the Wildlife Fund.

A year later, together with other famous fashion designers (Marc Jacobs, Paul Smith, Ralph Laurent), Alena Akhmadullina developed the design of the matryoshka. This was done for the 10th anniversary of the popular glossy magazine Voque.

In 2008, a fashion boutique of the trademark Alena Akhmadullina was opened in the capital. Soon, the CUP&CAKE cafe began to function at this boutique. The entire interior of this cafe was designed by Alena Akhmadullina herself.

In early 2011, attackers set fire to a fashion designer's fashion boutique located on Nikolskaya Street. The damage from the fire amounted to more than 1.5 billion rubles.

In 2010, the fashion designer was involved in another unpleasant incident. For a long time, all her fashion collections were sponsored by Oksana Lavrentyeva, an actress, and also the owner of the Rusmoda company.

O. Lavrentyeva agreed to sponsor the new project of Alena Akhmadullina, allocating 17 million rubles for it. But the assets of the Alena Akhmadullina trademark at that time were only $60,000. Having come to a mutually beneficial agreement, the friends decided to establish a joint venture, after which O. Lavrentyeva bought out ½ of his assets for $2,000,000. After these simple manipulations, the actress became a shareholder of a joint venture, the authorized capital of which was 30,000 rubles.

A year later, the lawyers of the owner of Rusmoda made a statement that Alena Akhmadullina's expenses were 5 times higher than her income, so further financing of her company is pointless. As it turned out, the lion's share of the funds was directed to the personal needs of A. Akhmadullina, and not at all to the development of her business.

Alena Akhmadullina presented a new collection

In 2010, A. Akhmadullina performed a video installation at the Fashion Week in Moscow, as O. Lavrentyeva confiscated the fashion designer's winter collection on account of her outstanding debt.

The lawyers made a statement that they were going to file an application with law enforcement agencies regarding the initiation of a criminal case in the near future, but so far this story has not been continued in any way, and Oksana Lavrentyeva today is a sponsor of designer A. Terekhov.

In 2011, A. Akhmadullina became the face of the Kraftway cosmetology clinic. Before her, TV presenters Anfisa Chekhova and Tatyana Arno took part in the advertising campaigns of this clinic.

In 2011, fashion designer Akhmadullina opened the Cup & Cace cafe in the Concert Store boutique on Nikolskaya;

The world-famous Ginza Project firm becomes a partner and assistant to the designer.

The cooperation of the ALENA AKHMADULLINA brand with the famous textile brand Mona Liza leads to great success. The jointly developed home textile collection "Home" goes global.

The fashion designer devoted her autumn-winter collection 2012-2013 to the fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". Here you will find architecturally cut clothes with rounded lines, personifying the wooden Nutcracker, as well as dresses with puffy skirts, reminiscent of doll ball gowns.

Scandal

In the spring of 2010, Alena Akhmadullina got into an unpleasant story. Would you like to know the details? Now we will tell about everything. For several years, the actress Lavrentyeva Oksana acted as a sponsor of clothing collections produced under the Alena Akhmadullina brand. She is also the owner of the Rusmoda company. Lavrentyeva allocated 17 million rubles for the implementation of the next design project. In the spring of 2009, the assets of the brand owned by Alena amounted to $60,000. As a result, Oksana invited her to create a joint venture. Akhmadullina went to meet her friend. The actress became a shareholder of the company with an authorized capital of only 30,000 rubles.

A year later, Lavrentieva's lawyers contacted Alena. They stated that the designer spent much more money than her brand brought in. Allegedly, our heroine spent funds for her own needs, and not for the development of the enterprise. An ex-girlfriend confiscated her winter collection for debt.

Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina became the wife of Sergey Makarov, former vice president of Transneft and OAO Stroytransgaz. It is known that now the man is the chairman of the board of directors of Stankoprom. In addition to the official part, the couple decided to hold a wedding in the Church of St. Antipas. On this occasion, the bride abandoned the traditional white dress, and chose a luxurious outfit of a golden hue.

“The most beautiful bride!”, “Beautiful Alena!” - briefly wrote under the pictures of a friend of the designer.

Among the star guests at the event were Svetlana Bondarchuk and Inna Malikova. Netizens who have already seen pictures from the ceremony left enthusiastic comments. “Awesome! Congratulations, guys”, “How beautiful, how regal! Half a millennium ago, Ivan the Terrible married his beloved at this place”, “Finally! How cool,” said the followers of Alena's friends.

By the way, Akhmadullina and Makarov have been together for a long time, but did not advertise the details of their relationship. At some point, information appeared in the media that the couple was already equipping a country house.

Apparently, the newlyweds invited all close relatives and friends to the wedding. For many fans of Alena's work, this news will come as a real surprise. After all, while the woman has not indicated a new status in social networks.

Note that for a long time Akhmadullina could not find the very person who would fully meet her needs. A few years ago, the fashion designer was married to businessman Arkady Volk, then met with financier Alexander Mamut. At some point, she was credited with an affair with tennis player Marat Safin, but this information was not confirmed. Apparently, now the celebrity has finally found her happiness.

Designer Alena Akhmadulina is an iconic figure in the world of domestic and foreign fashion. The creator of the brand of the same name, Alena Akhmadulina, is considered a fashion designer who managed to instill good taste in most of the secular beauties of Moscow, at the same time dressing them in feminine and daring, frank and elegant outfits. Apparently, for this, Akhmadulina is loved and appreciated, and not only in the Russian, but also in the world capital of fashion - Paris, every now and then, recognizing her talent and creativity.

On the way to success

Looking into the biography of Alena Akhmadulina, you can get lost in the huge number of her awards and successful projects. This girl has come a long way from a talented student of the St. Petersburg State University of Technology and Design to a recognized fashion master. Already during her studies, Alena proved to many that her abilities by no means could be called ordinary. She won the title of winner in such prestigious competitions for young designers as the Admiralteyskaya Igla, the Smirnoff International Design Award and the Russian Silhouette. And a couple of years later she created her own fashion world, becoming an indispensable participant in the Paris Pret-a-Porter Fashion Week for many years to come.

Among other significant events in her career life are the creation of a uniform for the Russian Olympic team 2008, the development of T-shirt sketches for the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, cooperation with such global giants as Volvo Raiffeisen Bank, appearance on the pages of Telegraph, Vogue and Le Figaro. As for the personal life of Alena Akhmadullina, then she is tightly hung with trains of dresses created by her.

elegant style

Alena Akhmadullina's style is a constant fashion metamorphosis: today she offers light, feminine images, and tomorrow - strict and extravagant. But in any case, the designer remains true to high-quality natural materials such as wool, silk, cashmere, cotton, clear lines and original details. In addition, Alena Akhmadullina's clothes always correspond to world fashion trends and trends.

Alena herself prefers comfortable and interesting clothes. Her own wardrobe consists of things that can create various options, thereby emphasizing all the advantages of the external appearance and internal state. These include: a white shirt, black slacks, a masculine-style business suit, and a knitted sweater. But what the designer is skeptical about is jeans, so you can rarely see her in them.

What's new?

Designer Akhmadulina is a person who can draw inspiration from everywhere. Alena Akhmadulina's spring-summer 2013 collection, presented at Volvo Fashion Week, is a vivid confirmation of this. Dedicated to the fairy tale "Princess Frog", the new collection was simply breathtaking with its fabulousness and nationality. The main colors were: swamp - a symbol of the hard life of a frog and red, symbolizing her transformation into a princess. In addition, Alena Akhmadullina's dresses were presented in green, blue and orange shades.

A real sensation was made by outfits made using the patchwork technique, as well as with interesting prints and appliqués. All models were made of light silk, cotton and leather. As for the styles, Alena recommended to meet the fashionable spring-summer season in dresses with puffy sleeves, elongated pleated skirts with a high waistline. Wide belts, high-heeled shoes, as well as Alena Akhmadulina's famous bags with fabulous prints can serve as accessories for such outfits. And Alena Akhmadulina's luxurious jewelry in the form of large knitted earrings and mitts, ideally complementing the image of a beautiful princess, will help complete such a fabulous look.

Alena Akhmadulina (real name - Asfirova) was born on June 5, 1978 in the city of Sosnovy Bor, Russia. She received her professional education at the St. Petersburg State University of Technology and Design at the Faculty of Fashion Design and Technology. Already from the first course, she begins to create seasonal collections.

In 2000, the fashion designer became the winner of the Admiralty Needle competition in the nomination "Art - Parallel Worlds", as well as the winner of the "Smirnoff Fashion Award". In the same year, for a dress from the “Evolution of a Woman” collection, she received the “Golden Hanger” prize as part of the “Dress of the Year” competition.

In 2001, the designer presented her first Prêt-a-Porter collection, entitled “And so it will be with everyone”. In the fall of 2005, Alena Akhmadulina presented her collection for the first time as part of Paris Fashion Week.

Akhmadulina's autumn-winter 2007-2008 collection was made using elements of sportswear. Already in June 2007, she became the winner of the competition of the company "Bosco di Ciliegi" for

the work of the Olympic uniform of the Russian team. In December 2007, the designer presented a limited collection of handbags that she designed for Yoga magazine. All profits from sales were donated to the Wildlife Fund.

In the spring of 2008, the fashion designer presented her collection as part of Paris Fashion Week. The collection was created under inspiration from the work of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. In the same year, Akhmadulina designed a series of costumes for Zemfira's "Thank you" tour.

In 2008, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Voque magazine, Alena Ahmadullina, along with such fashion designers as Ralph Lauren, Antonio Marras, Paul Smith, Oscar de La Renta (Oscar de la Renta), Marc Jacobs (Marc Jacobs) and others created the design of nesting dolls. In addition, in the same year, the “Concept Store Alena Akhmadullina” was opened in Moscow.

Alena Akhmadulina's models are constantly published in such magazines as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazar, I-D, Elle and L "Officiel"