I have known designer Natalya Valevskaya (@nataliavalevskaya) for a long time – I have participated in her fashion shows more than once. I always admired how feminine and sophisticated the collections were, and how easy and interesting it was to work with the team. Today Natalia lives in Monaco, but at the same time she does not forget about Russia and actively promotes Russian art and continues to be engaged in fashion and plans to create a capsule collection of clothes.
– Many people know you as a designer, but you have many more interesting projects – in the field of art, for example. Are you currently modeling clothes?
—I have always been known more as a designer in Russia. Even now I was inspired to create a capsule collection and return to the fashion business after visiting Seasons Fashion Week in Moscow. However, I have been curating exhibitions and receptions in Europe for 12 years as well. I have lived and worked for a long time in France, Italy, Switzerland, and Monte Carlo. The most visited exhibitions abroad are the Russian icon and the Russian avant-garde. My goal in the field of art is also patriotic – to show the great culture of Russia through the prism of ancient Russian art to modern icons and photography. My art history education does not allow me to live in peace and engage only in design.
— You now live both in Russia and in Monaco. How is fashion different in these places?
— Moscow is a metropolis with a frantic pace, energy and a harsh climate. Naturally, this is reflected in the main fashion trends of the city: trouser suits, sports shoes, layering, voluminous scarves. In Monte Carlo, there is always sunshine and accordingly, bright colours, light cashmere. You can see girls in sportswear only in the mornings – all activities and workouts are outdoors. However, there is an abundance of evening dresses, sequins and feathers in the evening. Balls and receptions, opera premieres and charity dinners are an integral part of life in Monaco.
— What emotions does fashion evoke in you after the pandemic? How much has it changed?
— In my opinion fashion and design have changed for the better since the pandemic. Incredible shows, bright colours and sophisticated design at the fashion weeks of Paris and Milan. Clothing in everyday life has become more comfortable and functional in its total mass and a trend has taken shape for ultra femininity.
– What cheers you up?
– Beauty is all around in the broadest sense of the word. I am visual and can experience delight and euphoria from walking around Zamoskvorechye or from a pink sunset. But there is a trigger that starts the process of good mood – the smell of coffee beans. Music and voice are also important to me, in any incomprehensible situation I turn on Maria Callas or Luciano Pavarotti.
– When preparing for shows and filming, what do you pay attention to first of all with models? What should be a professional model, in your opinion?
– At castings, I pay attention to natural faces, to natural beauty, which often lies precisely in imperfection. Personality and intelligence are important to me. My favourite is the French type of model and woman: a rebel and an intellectual who carelessly gives herself beauty treats. She is free and independent, and does not make deals with her conscience. She studies at the Faculty of Philosophy or Philology of the Sorbonne, lives on the left bank of the Seine and works as a model. Here is an image of the ideal model for me.
Text by K. Mironova
Photo provided by N. Valevskaya
