Presently more than ever Zero Waste production is in the spotlight with people waking up to the scale of waste being produced. However, according to Elena Cheurina, a model and the founder and designer of the fashion brand Ozero (@ozeroswimwear), she steers away from the “fast fashion” towards more sustainable clothing. She was photographing black models and plus sized models well before the tolerance and body positivity movements came into fruition. Ozero swimsuits, according to Elena, do not need to be updated every season because they are no longer in fashion. The Classics are never out of fashion.
I have been working as a model for more than ten years now, mainly in Asian countries but also direct bookings to Europe. I lived in Singapore for a long time. Then I moved to Malaysia where I live now. One day I realised that it was necessary for me to develop further because modelling is a short-lived occupation. There were a lot of business ideas I thought of. I thought about tourism as I travel a lot. However, I still wanted something related to fashion. I have not studied fashion anywhere specifically. My education specialty is in “PR” of the Perm University (Russia).
The idea of swimwear was nurtured out of my own need. In Asia it is quite difficult to find mix and match sets of swimwear. The Asian swimwear is not of good quality and the shades and design are minimalistic. Asian brands are very fond of ruffles and rhinestones and the price policy is not the level of LaPerla or that of H&M.
I started to study the quality of fabrics on the Internet. I was fortunate as I quickly found an Italian company working with the material Econyl. This material is created from the processing of plastic waste from the ocean. Then everything snowballed. I found the right people who were dedicated to the refinements of production and they already had their own ideas in terms of marketing. All that remained was to choose the manufacturer.
Today everything is mostly sewn in China but they have one primary condition – the orders need to be in very large volumes. This premise did not suit me. When my mother came to visit we went together to the factory in Bali and looked at everything. We became acquainted with the working conditions which is important and we talked. Not all the employees in Asia speak English.
All that remained was to develop a design and a name. After living for a long time away from home you begin to feel nostalgic and to actively follow Russian fashion. I wanted to promote Russia somehow. Hence the Russian word “Ozero” meaning “Lake” It is easily pronounced in any language. All the models of my swimsuits are named after lakes: Baikal, Seliger, and Ladoga. I also like the interpretation of the brand name as “0”, “zero” with “zero” meaning in English Zero Waste = no waste.
I started the production in 2018. The pattern approval process took a long time. There is a little bit of contempt on this subject as when you receive the first sample you want to cry and maybe even over the second and third samples too! I often had to fly to the factory personally to discuss the nuances.
The first look-book I shot in Russia. I wanted each collection to have its own idea. Vladimir Lebedev’s illustrations for the book “Circus” by Samuel Marshak served as great inspiration. I had been thinking about where I should shoot for a long time and I’m glad that everything turned out successfully in the studio. Ironically, there was something innovative about this as the shoot was not on the beach or among the palm trees where they usually shoot swimsuit advertisements.
The second collection was dedicated to the Russian Summer. It was also shot in Russia, a four-hour drive from Moscow. I wanted to implement the idea associated with a real Russian dacha with an apple and cherry garden, a samovar, a dacha lake and a beautiful carved house. However, because the brand is International, we realised that the word “dacha” will not be understood correctly by everyone and therefore we changed the name to “Russian Summer”
I have no attachment to the seasons. The collections come out once a year. This year’s collection is called “Suprematism and Malevich”. Suprematism from the Latin supremus meaning “the highest” is a trend in avant-garde art founded by Kazimir Malevich. It is expressed in combinations of multi-coloured planes of the simplest geometric outlines. The emphasis in this collection was not on the print (drawing), but on the colour.
Today, production is growing. Although it is difficult to predict anything given the situation. Swimsuits are sold in many countries around the world. My dream is to create a resort collection for the beach. We will see what happens next… but I’m already grateful that I have learned such a lot and that my brand has grown. The foremost objective for me is that my work is pleasurable and that I love what I produce and by doing so I try not to harm nature.
Text by K. Mironova
Photo provided by E. Cheurina
