Vyacheslav Zaitsev fell out of the window. Vyacheslav Zaitsev: a normal person in my place would have died long ago

Due to financial difficulties, fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev has already delayed the salaries of his employees for three months.

Difficult times began in the life of the eminent couturier Vyacheslav Zaitsev. Because of the crisis, he may lose his production. And if Vyacheslav Mikhailovich himself still suffers financial difficulties, then his employees do not want to do this. Almost every month his employees leave Zaitsev.

Conversations about the difficult situation of Vyacheslav Zaitsev began several months ago. But Vyacheslav Mikhailovich tried not to talk about it. He hoped to the last that he would be able to cope with the difficulties that had piled on him. Now the fashion designer admitted: he sees no way out.

“Because of the crisis, there are fewer people who buy clothes,” the couturier admits. - We have problems with wages for employees. Everything is very serious. I, as a director, do not know how to resolve the situation. It became very difficult to live and work.

According to Zaitsev, the delay in wages at his fashion house is three months. When he will be able to pay off the workers, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich cannot say for sure, because he has no free money for a long time.

“I don’t know what to do,” Zaitsev complains. - I see no way out. People come up to me and ask: "Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, where is the money?" I answer all the same: "As soon as the outfits are sold or the rent is paid, the accountant will list everything." Unfortunately, I cannot provide payment of a stable salary now. Some suggest that I turn to sponsors for help. But I don't. I think it's useless.

Zaitsev has lost four people in the past few weeks, who did not tolerate delayed wages. But he considered them one of the best in his production.

“The technologist has quit, very good craftsmen from the experimental workshop,” the famous fashion designer continues. - I, of course, worry. These are the people I raised. They know my style perfectly. I am not looking for a replacement yet, because there is a danger that others will also leave. They are invited to work in prestigious places. Where the salary is stable. Therefore, I understand them. And we have very high taxes, for example, on land! You have to pay five million, can you imagine? This is a lot of money, we don't earn that much!

Zaitsev does not want to take out loans, as in this case he may end up in a debt trap. The couturier hopes for the help of the government, but for now he is trying to somehow provide his enterprise with income. For example, if earlier he presented mainly things for women of model appearance, now he plans to make several collections for young people and obese ladies. Zaitsev promises: new clothes will not be too expensive. The designer hopes that with the help of such measures he will be able to pay off debts. Also, in the very near future, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich wants to arrange a grand sale of existing clothes.

“In June, our fashion house will turn thirty-five years old,” says Zaitsev. - And we are planning to arrange a big show and sale for the anniversary. Inexpensive and very beautiful things can be bought at low prices. I hope that such measures will help us cope with the crisis.

Due to production problems, Vyacheslav Zaitsev will be left without a summer vacation. However, the couturier is not worried about this at all. He assures: he is not used to lying around on the beach.

“I’ll go to Paris very soon for three days,” says Zaitsev. - Every month I fly there. Many years ago I bought myself a small apartment in the capital of France. Now you have to go there and pay for the "communal". It turns out about four hundred euros a month - in my opinion, not much. And I am resting here in Russia. In the suburbs, I have a house in the village. He stands right in the forest. Seven acres of land, a beautiful garden, great air, near the river! That's enough for me. Sometimes I go abroad to contemplate the beauty of the world around me. Then I transfer it to canvases. It turns out interesting!

The famous fashion designer spoke about the main woman in his life

At the word "fashion" many of us have a clear association: Vyacheslav ZAITSEV. It seems that he has always been. Energetic, slightly shocking and invariably bright. In our country, dressing for Zaitsev was as cool as for CARDEN. Girls who wanted to get into fashion models lined up in long lines at the famous Fashion House in Moscow. The history of this forge of beautiful life began on June 19, 1982 - exactly 35 years ago. On the anniversary, it is customary to remember the past and make plans. We are talking about this with the designer in the legendary building on Prospekt Mira.

I was getting ready to see the mannequins on the walls - well, how else the office of the famous couturier should look, but I came across an exercise bike erected in the middle of the room. The maestro gives up pedaling, easily jumps off the seat, rushes towards us with the photographer and, pleased with the effect produced, laughs.

I feel great! - reports Vyacheslav Mikhailovich. - I do not walk, I run, I enjoy life as a child. The body at 79 is, of course, tired and worn out. A normal person in my place would not have survived. How many talented people around me broke down, many smoked, drank themselves, disappeared. But I thank God for his generosity and patience.

In order not to fall, you must constantly pedal, the maestro is sure

- So you're not going to retire?

Rest is an unaffordable luxury. I live 70 kilometers from Moscow. Every day I get up at 4.20. At 5.20 you have to leave, otherwise you can stand for two hours in a traffic jam. But to waste so much time is not permissible for me.

- Where do you get the strength from?

I find time for light physical activity. I walk in my estate, dig with flowers, in the garden. I eat modestly, without frills. I love cabbage soup, borscht, mushroom noodles, chicken soups, cereals, meat or vegetable cutlets, juices. I love fish. I cook myself or friends who come to visit me. This helps to maintain a frantic rhythm - the creative process never stops.

The famous couturier's morning begins with exercise

Quilted jackets collection

- Today you are a fashion guru, but this was not always the case. Let's remember how it all began.

I had to go through a lot. I was accused of not creating the correct image of a Soviet woman, because I painted model girls not with open faces looking into the future, but with sadly bowed heads. At the Moscow Textile Institute, there have always been problems with teachers - at the exams they gave me either an A or a two. Nevertheless, for three years I received a Lenin scholarship. But before defending his diploma, he quarreled with the dean, refusing to consult him. For which I was punished - they changed the topic of my work, and, instead of creating outfits for ballet on ice, I had to draw a business suit.

After my studies, I was assigned to the Experimental Technical Garment Factory of the Mosoblsovnarkhoz in the city of Babushkin - now this is a district of the capital. There I was instructed to create overalls for rural workers. I tried to add variety to everyday work, studied the traditions of Russian costume. Then, after all, there was nothing interesting at all: gray coats with a piece of fur on the shoulder and dull suits hung in the stores. I tried to fight these "sarcophagi" by personal example: I sewed myself a coat in the style of images Holbein- German artist of the Renaissance. It was a cropped model made of black overcoat fabric with wide arched shoulders and a collarless neckline. A very creative thing.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich built a house 70 km from Moscow according to his own project

At the factory, meanwhile, I was entrusted with developing a collection of quilted jackets. Seeing my colored sheepskin coats and quilted quilted jackets made of bright linen, skirts from Pavlovo Posad shawls, and even gouache-colored yellow and red felt boots, the members of the artistic council were horrified.

- Did the labor collective support you?

Where there! I was dismissed from the post of artistic director of the experimental group, and a comradely trial was arranged. Due to a nervous shock, I even temporarily lost my sight. But it was then that French journalists offered to do an interview with me. Paris Match published an article praising my suggestions for a range of workwear. After that, felt boots came into fashion abroad. It was April 1963. For the first time in the world, they started talking about a Russian fashion designer. By that time, I went to work at the Model House on Kuznetsky Most. But soon he became restricted to travel abroad and came under the supervision of the KGB. I used to wait for a foreign delegation, but suddenly I get stuck in the elevator, and the guests are told that I am sick. Such intrigues were built.

Organic tomatoes grow in the greenhouse on the plot

Three holes - two seams

- They say that you were not very fond of "government" wives and daughters. Why?

This is not my circle. Most of them were incredibly snobbish. But I cannot be a slave - I choose clients myself. Communication with Victoria Petrovna Brezhneva, daughter Kosygin, wife Shevardnadze, relations with Raisa Maksimovna Gorbacheva... Here Ekaterina Furtseva always said: “Slavochka, you know better than me. Why would I advise you? " A person must trust me.

- Have you tried to join the party?

Tried three times! For the first time I came to the district committee in a gray striped suit with a lilac bow-scarf instead of a tie and heard: "Young man, here you are not a circus or dancing." The second time he appeared in the black troika. "This is not a theater!" - They told me and sent me off again until I got an appointment with the secretary of the party committee. I was persistent. I wanted to influence the situation and not let dullness make decisions for me.

- You were over forty when you decided to change everything.

For 16 years of work in the light industry, I have never seen anyone wear the models I have developed. All of them, having entered production, were castrated to the standard "three holes - two seams". And then the thought came to go to a simple studio. I helped turn it into a Fashion House Evgeny Mikhailovich Tyazhelnikov... He headed the department of ideology in the Central Committee of the CPSU and introduced me to the then Minister of Consumer Services Ivan Dudenkov... He said: "Glory, if you finish building, the building will be yours." For three years he brought the premises on Prospect Mira to shape. Having opened it, he became the artistic director. When he realized that the Fashion House was shamelessly plundered, he organized the re-election of the director. The second is the same story. Then he took this position himself. This grueling work took up a lot of valuable time. But I myself was responsible for everything.

Brother served ten years

- It is customary to ask creative people about the muse. Who inspires you?

Mum. Kindness, decency, warmth, generosity, sacrifice, love for nature, people - I was looking for these qualities in women I met on my way. And I did not find it. Mom remained the main one in my life. As a child, I saw little of her. She worked from six in the morning until one in the morning, was a cleaner, a laundress. At the age of seven I did everything myself. We lived in a tiny room with a bed and a suitcase instead of a chair, and besides, we were robbed. When my mother went to the hospital, I almost starved to death. He began to sing to saleswomen in stores. For this they gave me pieces of cookies and sweets, which I sold in the market. With the proceeds he bought bread and carried it to mom.

Painting is a longtime hobby of the famous fashion designer

- Do you remember your father?

I was three years old when he went to the front. Mom did not love her father, she was going to marry another person, but it happened so. In the war, my father was taken prisoner, fled, and reached Berlin. But everyone who was in captivity was imprisoned as traitors to the Motherland. When the train with prisoners of war arrived in Kharkov before being sent to the North, we also arrived there. My father was sitting on the ground behind barbed wire among thousands of emaciated people. Mom shouted something to him, he answered, after which the guards drove us away. Then the prisoners were taken to the stage, and we returned to Ivanovo. I met my father only at the age of 20. We were Kokurin, they bore my mother's surname. The parents formalized the relationship when the father returned from the camps. I never got close to him. After the death of my mother, he quickly found another woman, but he asked me not to leave him. I took care of him to the end.

I had an older brother Volodya - a cheerful, lively guy. After the war, in the company of other guys, he stole a bicycle, for which he ended up in a colony. Came out and got caught again. Then the brother stood up for his friend and beat the policeman. In total, he served ten years. And when I got free, I couldn't find myself. I got a job at a factory. I tried to help him, but he drank everything.

Gave up drugs

- Tell us about your wife - Yegor's mother.

Mariska studied with me at the Textile Institute, but a year older. Beautiful, thin, with huge brown eyes and gorgeous curly hair. Besides, she is smart, erudite, with good taste. In 1959 we got married, a year later Yegor was born.

We lived with Marisha for nine years. But her mother - my mother-in-law - for some reason decided that I married Marina because of the apartment. I was her poor washerman's son - they considered themselves to be birds of a higher flight. Family relations were strained all the time until we were divorced and kicked out of the house.

- How was it kicked out?

I came from Hungary, where I made costumes for the film, and found out that they had found a replacement for me. Yegor was then nine years old. I was not allowed near him. My son thought that I left him, and for a long time could not forgive this. And then he had another dad - a circus director. True, he was expelled rather quickly.

- How long have you not communicated with Yegor?

Until he turned 14. Our first secret meeting took place in some side street. Communication resumed little by little. Fortunately, everything is in the past. Contact with Mariska has been restored, I attend her holidays, she - at my shows.

The famous couturiers Pierre CARDIN (left) and Marc BOAN (right) appreciated the work of the young Slava ZAITSEV and welcomed him into their circle (Moscow, Sofia restaurant, 1965)

- You had another marriage, right?

The second wife, Inna, is a knitwear artist. We worked together, it turned out that she had been waiting for me for many years and had no doubt that after the divorce I would marry her. Like a tsunami, it hit me with its love. We lived in a civil marriage for two years, but then we parted.

- But Inna was there when you got into a car accident.

When this happened, I had just turned 33. I was in intensive care for nine days, then I walked on crutches for six months. Inna looked after me. But I soon realized that this was not my person at all.

Before the accident, I considered myself extremely childish. And then he managed to give up painkillers, in fact - drugs. Because I saw: the man who was lying with me in the ward, under their influence, jumped out of the window. I deliberately checked myself then. And it turned out that I can be courageous. Although at first, when they told me that they would cut off my right leg, I even resigned myself, invented a new image for myself. I imagined how I would walk along the Kuznetsky Most in a black hat, white shirt, black glasses and with a stick. But I trained to hell in my head, because I knew: you need to live. The consequences of the accident are still felt. Underwent surgery on knee joints - now I run even faster!

- Can we talk about the Zaitsev dynasty in the fashion world?

My son Yegor is my first assistant, now he is the deputy general director of the Fashion House. Also obsessed with work. Granddaughter Marusa is 23 years old. Since childhood, she has been drawing beautifully, reading serious literature. She studied at the school of animation, was engaged in karate, knows French. She graduated from the Fashion Laboratory at the Fashion House, walked the catwalk as a model. Several times she participated with her collections in the Russian Fashion Week. And now she is carried away by film directing. But I hope she returns to the profession. Perhaps in some new capacity. The second granddaughter, Nastya, is also growing up. Drawing, sculpting is also a talent. These are my favorite people. So, I hope, "Vyacheslav Zaitsev Fashion House" will celebrate more than one anniversary.

Cuff notes

"A person should not litter the environment with his appearance, although often we absolutely do not take this into account and put on what is convenient for us."

“A classic suit forms the basis of a fashionable wardrobe. Any mood can be strung on it, playing with the texture of fabric, cut, accessories. "

"A woman's wardrobe must have a skirt, straight and tight, because jeans devalue and discolor a woman."

“However, jeans by themselves are a brilliant idea. Black and blue. But with laces, rags and holes - this I cannot accept. "

Photo from the personal archive of Vyacheslav ZAITSEV

The fact that 79-year-old fashion designer Slava Zaitsev has health problems has been talked about for a long time. It was reported, in particular, that the designer moves with a stick, speaks with difficulty. There were persistent rumors that the couturier also suffered from Parkinson's disease.

ON THIS TOPIC

However, the fashion designer himself is trying to keep up cheerfulness. “I’m not complaining about my health - why complain about him. My legs were recently repaired, and now I’m standing normally, my knees are like new. I did some serious surgery. At the age of 33, I had an accident: they cut me out of the car with a blowtorch and touched my knee. Everything was broken there. , I suffered for a long time, and then I fell from the second floor of my studio and finished off my knee completely. So I had to do surgery, the second one took place in January of this year, "Woman`s Day quotes Vyacheslav Zaitsev.

The designer is optimistic about the future. Zaitsev will turn 80 next year. In honor of the round date, he intends to release a new collection of clothes.

However, Vyacheslav devotes a lot of time not only to work, but also to leisure. the eminent couturier quite calmly delves into the ground on his own estate. "Mom taught me to use the garden. I grow cucumbers and tomatoes. I have two greenhouses by five meters: one only for tomatoes, one only for cucumbers. And onions and other greens grow on the street like that. There is a rich harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers: pickles from the past. I still have years. I also make juice from cherries and blackthorns. And I am fond of flowers. I have a lot of hydrangeas, lilies, I love the orchid family very much. I water the field and water it myself, "Vyacheslav Zaitsev boasted.

Every now and then he is credited with a serious illness or a quick emigration to Paris. To dispel all the rumors, the maestro himself invited Antenna to the Fashion House and assured him: he is alive and well, he flies to France only for fabrics to a new collection, which he is now drawing and sewing for his 80th birthday. He also declassified his grandson, whom he had never talked about before.

- For the first time, getting ready for an interview, I thought more not about questions, but about how to dress.

- The black and white classic you have chosen is the best. Women know how much I love her, so they usually come in a classic blazer, straight or flared skirt. Things are good. In form I am a conservative, but in colors - vice versa. Initially, the Fashion House was lined with such a gray-white porous stone. As soon as I saw him, I said that they were crazy. And when he earned money, he designed everything brightly, in Russian: green-blue, yellow sun, red joy. Created a festive atmosphere for people who come here to order a thing - a feeling of childhood.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- Do you take orders yourself?

- Measurements are taken by my designer, and I do fittings, draw sketches. I have just returned from Paris, where I was buying fabrics for the anniversary collection. First of all, it will be a Russian theme ...

Vyacheslav Zaitsev in Paris, December 2015

- The theme is Russian, but do you buy fabrics in France? But what about your native Ivanovo and its chintz?

- Chintz has not been in Ivanovo for a long time. There, too, there are shopping centers all around, where they sell goods from everywhere. The exception is coat fabrics, which are made at the Bryansk factory. Nobody produces decent silk in Russia anymore. Once a month I fly to Paris for two or three days, that's why I have a small studio there.

- Probably because of this studio, there was talk that you are moving to France for good.

- They don't know what nasty thing to say. If I wanted to, I left a long time ago. Moreover, since 1996 I have had an apartment there, in the very center, on Rue Kleber, from which you can see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. When I come to France on business, I spend the night in this apartment, but it’s empty.

- Is there anything of value stored there?

- No, everything of value is kept in the estate in the village of Kablukovo, 70 km from the Fashion House. Every day I go there and suffer terribly from terrible traffic jams.

- Why don't you spend the night right here when work is in full swing?

- For relaxation, I need visual images. There is a wonderful forest, real pines, wonderful air, complete silence. Once I spent the night here, and it was awful: constant eerie hum, very stuffy in summer, very cold in winter. So I get up at 4 in the morning. I leave at 6 in the morning. From 8 am I start to work. Now I select fabrics for linen, umbrellas, shawls, scarves and other things.

What to talk to a model about

Shooting a collection of clothes in the atelier of the Fashion House, 2016

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- You have worked with fashion models in different eras. Are the girls of the 1960s, when you first started out, different from those of today?

- In the 1960s and 1970s, we had the same girls. There was something completely different in them than in the models now. They were intelligent, you could talk with them on any topic. For example, we talked a lot about literature.

- Then the models became stupid?

- They have become different. In the former there was more life, fullness - both spiritual and physical. Now is the era of skinny girls: I somehow tried to attract full models, but it doesn't work out yet, we are not ready for this yet. Which is strange, because most of our women are overweight, and they need to be dressed first.

- Could you talk about literature with the current models representing your collection?

- No, you don't have to. We don't talk about anything at all.

- Who was your most reckless dummy in your entire career?

- I remember there was one incident with Mila Romanovskaya. On the set in Tashkent, she climbed over the balcony in the hotel to another room and went for a walk. For this she should have been fired. On the eve of my dismissal, I took her to the shooting, and she opened the car door and said that she could not live without me, and almost fell out - I grabbed her. It was such a sad case.

- What is the most important thing in the model?

- Posture is very important. The average height of a model today is 180 cm, and the proportions should be appropriate.

- What should girls of unfashionable appearance do?

- Because of this, you should not destroy yourself, because there are no problems with clothes at all. My ex-wife Marina is 156 cm tall - and she walked elegant all her life. My mom was fat, at the end she had a 56th size, but she thought she was buying a 48th, and I did not dissuade her.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev with his wife Marina, 1965

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- Maybe you married Marina because you were tired of tall women who look alike?

- Certainly. I liked her intelligence, she was a groovy girl. Erudite and talented. That is how she remained. In June she turned 80 years old, I went to her birthday. We are friends.

- Didn't want to get back together?

- No, we are too different. She is a talented person, I am talented in my own way and I don't want to beat her down. When two people are talented, it is difficult for them to coexist. Son Yegor also married a fashion model, who became his wonderful assistant. Katya Romashkina is now doing her show, a wonderful girl and a wonderful director.

- And you? Really, after marriage with Marina, you have not met a single woman whom you would love?

- Yes, she was the only love of my life.

Young Slava Zaitsev

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- And how long do you live like that alone?

- Since 1969. This is God's grace. He gave me loneliness so that I could concentrate on my destiny. The creator must be alone. The family jams very much, although I have a son and have granddaughters. Egor is already 57 years old, he is the Deputy General Director of the Fashion House. But he arrives at work at half past one, however, and works in network resources until 3-4 o'clock in the morning (laughs). Granddaughter Marusa is 23 years old, she successfully worked in fashion, created collections, but then decided to leave and is now studying at the directing department, because someone wrote to her online after her show that she would make an excellent director. Granddaughter Nastya will soon be nine. She graduated from the second grade, feels good in fashion. She was dragged here in childhood, cherished, looked after, so Nastya is a child of fashion. Marusia is more closed, and Nastya is very sociable, she has already worked as a model. I hope to live up to the status of great-grandfather. And I will also tell you one family secret: I have another grandson from Yegor ...

- How?

- Yes, before I did not tell anyone about him, and he himself did not want this: modest. His name is Anton. He is 27 years old. He also works for the Fashion House: he shoots us videos from the shows, he himself is always behind the scenes. He is also a great travel lover, as well as a collector of all kinds of medicinal herbs. Recently he brought us different flavored teas.

The designer's parents: father Mikhail Yakovlevich and mother Maria Ivanovna

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, everyone is now writing about your health ...

- I'm not complaining about my health - why complain about it (smiles). My legs were recently repaired, and now I'm already standing normally, my knees are like new. I did some serious surgery. At the age of 33, I had an accident: they cut me out of the car with a blowtorch and touched my knee. Everything there was broken, I suffered for a long time, and then I also fell from the second floor of my studio and finished off my knee completely. Therefore, I had to do operations, the second took place in January this year.

- The only consolation is that you are not a model and you do not need to walk on the catwalk.

- That's the whole point. I used to walk, taught the girls to walk, but now I can't.

The perfect wardrobe starts with three dresses

- What will surprise you in the anniversary collection?

- She is entirely from what was before. I will show the entire assortment from ordinary dresses to evening cocktail dresses, short and long, as well as coats. Our costume has always differed from the western one in that it is multi-layered. It is a joy to the eyes, very decorative. When I was in America three years ago, where I was presented with an award for contribution to world fashion, I put on a black jacket with red flowers and a vest like that - and so I walked around New York. And it was incredibly interesting to those around him - to see such things.

- Your clothes are really gorgeous, but can you walk in these on our streets? Can they be worn not only on the podium? It is customary for us to wear warm and non-marking.

- You have to be a brave person. I also have warm and non-staining. Our people have lost the habit of beauty - we are very tight. We adapt to gloomy weather, we are afraid of bright colors, we are afraid that it looks ridiculous, we are afraid of being judged by others. During the period of socialism, society was impersonal. Everyone had to be the same. It was difficult to look original. Now how many options are offered for one shoe: boots without heels ... Recently I ordered myself ugg boots from China on the Internet.

- You?!

- So what?! They also have cool sports shoes - white, black and gold.

- So you also have sneakers from a Chinese online store?

- Yes. They cost about 1800-2000 rubles. It's cheaper there. Today everything has changed: beautiful clothes do not have to be expensive. Sometimes a dress for 50 thousand rubles from a boutique cannot be distinguished from a dress bought on the market for a thousand. And to evaluate a thing at its cost is completely indecent. For a long time we sold kitsch, which not everyone could afford and which was therefore very popular. Today a woman can afford to buy not only works of authorship, but also ready-to-wear.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev's collection show

- What must be of high quality in any woman's wardrobe? Skirt or Pants?

- I, of course, prefer dresses. It is advisable to have three dresses. Necessarily a little black. There should also be red just below the knee. The third dress can be dark blue, green, emerald. It is wonderful if it is complemented by oriental ornaments. I do a lot of prints myself.

- Which dress is better to choose - with a neckline, a cutout on the back, a slit to the thigh?

- It is better, instead of the classic neckline, get one with a collar and a strap with buttons that unfasten and slightly open the neckline. This shirt-type dress will be very popular this summer. If made of luxurious fabric, then you can go out in it, as in the evening, especially if you add embroidery and appliques. And to the dresses, like Angelina Jolie's at the Oscars, in which one leg is asymmetrically exposed, I am terrible. Yes, and in it you can see everything, down to the cowards. It also happens that one hand is bare, and the other is in the sleeve. These people no longer know what else to come up with.

- What other basic things should be in the wardrobe of a real fashionista?

- Three options for white blouses: one certainly in a men's style with a stand-up collar - don't bother, just buy a small men's shirt. The second is a classic romantic blouse in Russian style. And also colored knitted vests - green, pink, red ... Prepare all the skirts - both a pencil and the sun, but the most wonderful one is straight black.

- What would you advise our women to throw out of their wardrobe forever?

- Completely shapeless knitted dresses in cyclamen color, sweaters in a nasty lingonberry pink and chicken yellow. To wear knitwear, a woman must have a very good figure. If the figure is bad, then it is better not to risk it, because it turns out such an ugly loose shape. Sneakers for women should not be worn with a dress.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev's collection show

- How? This has already been allowed for several years.

- This is American fashion, I am against it.

- That's why she is a fashion, to sometimes mix incompatible.

- Yes, and in some cases it turns out well, but in America I saw women in dresses and sneakers, and it was terrible

- What should a real man not wear?

- Sports blue leggings. It is outrageous when a man walks in a suit and sandals on his bare feet - he must wear a sock.

I got only 10 rubles for a dress for my daughter Kosygin

- Which of our celebrities is the most stylish for you?

- We have number one in fashion - Renata Litvinova. She always has an amazing image - very delicate, sophisticated. Her best friend Zemfira is also great: she is changing, and she doesn't care what people think and say about her. After them two comes Irina Ponarovskaya. At one time, she was the standard.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev with Renata Litvinova and Nikita Mikhalkov

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- You are an honorary resident of Ivanov and Paris. Where do girls dress better - in Ivanovo or in Paris?

- The Russian woman has a rare and amazing ability to adapt to circumstances. In the Soviet Union, there was no opportunity to express your personality, but now there is such an opportunity. Our girls began to dress very beautifully. And in Paris, mostly all visitors. In Europe you won't understand what city you are in. Even in traditional Japan, you rarely see a kimono - instead jeans, T-shirts, sneakers - an American style that has greatly influenced both the East and the West.

- An artist needs to be absolutely free or is it better for the authorities to support him? At one time, did you develop the so-called state fashion?

- Nonsense and gossip. It wasn't me. I only made dresses for Kosygin's daughter. It was a very unpleasant incident: I received only 10 rubles and after that I stopped approaching such women with a special attitude. But for Melania Trump is ready to intercede: it is wrong that some fashion designers refused to dress her because of the political views of her husband. Fashion should be outside of politics. They shouldn't have offended her. She is an interesting girl, she is dressed well now.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev with Alla Pugacheva, 2015

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

Vyacheslav Zaitsev is a Soviet and Russian fashion designer who rightfully belongs to the primacy in Soviet and Russian fashion. Vyacheslav Zaitsev, not having an appropriate industry, managed in the Soviet Union to create the very concepts of "haute couture" and "fashion design". Today Zaitsev is perceived as a great master of world significance. But it is surprisingly different - Western designers and couturiers saw a unique talent in Slava Zaitsev 30 years before compatriots considered it.

Childhood and youth

Vyacheslav was born in Ivanovo. It is not known whether the atmosphere of the city of brides influenced the future star's decision to create fashionable clothes for women, but the young man quickly decided on the direction of his future professional activity. The profession of a designer imposed a romantic flair on the life of Vyacheslav Zaitsev, but it is impossible to name a simple biography of the fashion designer.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev was born into a poor family. The boy knew that his parents were forced to marry, "by flight," and that his mother was unhappy in marriage. The boy's childhood fell on the war years, and the life of the future designer became even worse. My father went to the front, was captured, fled and reached Berlin, and after the war ended up in a camp as a former prisoner of war.

There was no food in the family, mother and son were gathering berries in the forest. When Vyacheslav and his mother visited their father, the family was robbed, the woman took to the hospital, and the boy began begging and singing at the store to get food.

Young designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev

Nevertheless, Vyacheslav went to school, traveled to collective farms with the school collective and sang, helped teachers draw posters. After graduating from a seven-year school, he enters the Ivanovo Chemical-Technological College, where he studies to be a textile artist.

Then - moving to Moscow and student years at the famous Moscow Textile Institute. According to the distribution, Vyacheslav Zaitsev was sent to the town of Babushkin near Moscow, where the experimental and technical garment factory of the Mosoblsovnarkhoz was located. There, the young man created the first collection - overalls for rural workers, which were practical and comfortable, but at the same time feminine. Of course, the collection did not pass the test of the Soviet methodological department.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev and sketches of his collections

This line of workwear attracted the attention of the Western press to the aspiring couturier. The collection was published by the French magazine "Pari Match", and the representatives and, after talking with a colleague from Moscow, unanimously recognized Vyacheslav Zaitsev as their equal. And although until the end of the 80s the Soviet designer was deprived of the opportunity to leave the country, in Europe Zaitsev has long been considered one of the world's leading designers.

Fashion and design

At the factory in Babushkin, Vyacheslav Zaitsev managed to prove himself more than convincing, regularly proposing new solutions in clothing design. As a result, he was invited to the Kuznetsky Most, where the famous All-Union House of Models was located. There Vyacheslav Zaitsev worked for 13 years and collaborated with the best fashion models, including Leka Mironova and Mila Romanovskaya.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev and his son Yegor The first result of Vyacheslav Zaitsev's work in the House of Models was the collection "Russian Series", created based on folk motives. It also included the dress "Russia", shown by Zbarskaya at the World Fashion Festival and won the Grand Prix. After this dress, the Western press calls Zaitsev nothing more than "Red Dior".

There were many other successful developments, but by the mid-70s, Vyacheslav Zaitsev was extremely dissatisfied with the work. He is depressed that, due to the principles of the Soviet system, sketches arrive at the factory too late, and when a consumer sees a product in a store, it is already hopelessly outdated. Vyacheslav comes to the conclusion that the work of a fashion designer in the USSR is not effective and meaningless, and as a result he quits.

After the House of Models, the designer works at an individual tailoring factory for the House of Fashion, and later moves to this very House, where he becomes the artistic director. It is there, since 1982, that Vyacheslav Zaitsev creates his world-famous author's collections. The designer is distinguished by a constant search for style and giving forms and lines of clothing their own unique touch.

In 1992, Vyacheslav Zaitsev created his own "Fashion Laboratory", a design academy at the Vyacheslav Zaitsev House of Fashion, and five years later an official website appeared at the forge of personnel.

Among the last, especially remembered by the public, the images created by Zaitsev are a luxurious evening dress made of cream lace and a snow-white dress, as if descended from the painting "The Swan Princess". Both outfits at Moscow Fashion Week were demonstrated by Mrs. Russia Alisa Krylova.

Along with fashion, painting and drawing are of great importance in the work of Vyacheslav Zaitsev. His paintings have nothing to do with clothing design. They convey the emotions and feelings of the author, even his philosophical perception of life. Vyacheslav's works are decorative and always bright and original.

Personal exhibitions of artworks by Vyacheslav Zaitsev have been repeatedly held in cities of the United States, Belgium, France, Estonia. Five of his paintings, both pictorial and graphic, are constantly exhibited in the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery, and several canvases from the series "How Young We Will Be" can be seen in the Museum of the History of Moscow.

Another side of the renowned fashion designer's work is a stage costume for theater and stage. Vyacheslav Zaitsev designed clothes for the Satire Theater, the Moscow Art Theater, the Mossovet Theater, Sovremennik and many others. More often than not, he was invited to add originality and uniqueness to the standard styles of classical pieces.

Moreover, not only domestic directors wanted to cooperate with the famous fashion designer. He also performed commissions for several Broadway theaters. The most famous production, where actors come out in outfits from Zaitsev, is the musical "Sophisticated Leads".

Vyacheslav Zaitsev is working on the costume of the world figure skating champion Natalia Bestemyanova

He also made couturier costumes for cinematography, for pop stars, and for athletes. It was Zaitsev who "dressed" the Soviet sports delegation at the Moscow Olympics-80. He is also responsible for the development of the appearance of the Na-Na show group and the Integral rock group.

But Zaitsev did not limit himself to clothing alone. For example, for the play "The Cherry Orchard", which was staged on the German and Hungarian stages, Vyacheslav, in addition to costumes, developed stage posters and other decorations.

Personal life

At the age of 24, a novice and little-known couturier married a girl from a wealthy and high-ranking family. The chosen one was named Marina. Familiar girls were shocked that Marina preferred Vyacheslav Zaitsev, and not the famous diplomat or pilot who constantly looked after the wealthy heiress. The Zaitsev couple lived together for three years and gave birth to their son Yegor, who, by the way, would later follow in his father's footsteps.

The designer found out that his wife was leaving when he returned from Hungary, where he created costumes for the film. The divorce from his wife made a strong impression on Vyacheslav, since the designer sincerely treated Marina and loved his ex-wife for a long time after the breakup. Also, the fashion designer sought the right to see his son. At first, the child did not know that his mother did not give Vyacheslav the opportunity to meet with him, and believed that dad had abandoned him and was worried about this.

Family problems knocked down the designer. Vyacheslav even began to get depressed on this basis. One of the employees of the House of Models named Inna, who had long been in love with the fashion designer, helped to get out of this state.

The lovers lived for some time in a civil marriage, after which they parted. But when Zaitsev got into a serious car accident and was in the hospital for a long time, Inna looked after him and helped in every way. Vyacheslav Zaitsev spent nine days in intensive care, then spent six months on rehabilitation.

The designer was badly injured in a car accident, the right leg was the worst, the doctors have already begun to mentally prepare Vyacheslav and talk with the patient about the amputation of the leg.

According to the designer, during this terrible period, Vyacheslav Zaitsev even managed to come to terms with the thought of losing his leg. The designer came up with a new fashionable image that would fit the new state: Vyacheslav Zaitsev imagined how he would walk along the Kuznetsky Most in a black hat, black glasses, a white shirt and with a cane. But at the same time, Zaitsev did not stop training and rehabilitation, he forbade himself to give up. As a result, doctors still saved the designer's leg.

Later, Vyacheslav and Inna tried to renew the relationship, but the new alliance lasted only a year, and this time the separation was final. Vyacheslav Zaitsev did not try to create a family anymore.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev now

On March 2, 2016, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich celebrated his 78th birthday. After the party, the couturier admitted to reporters that he has been suffering from a serious illness for several years - Parkinson's disease.

Due to illness, the designer developed joint problems. The doctors even insisted on a titanium prosthesis. On the eve of the holiday, the designer underwent knee surgery and underwent a rehabilitation course in Karlovy Vary.

Health problems do not interfere with the creativity of the designer. In 2017, Vyacheslav Zaitsev traditionally opened the spring-summer 2018 show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. The collection of Slava Zaitsev was published in scarlet colors and in the style of retro shocks. The designer has reinterpreted the classic silhouettes of Dior, diluting the French trends with kitsch a la russe: kokoshniks, Pavlovo Posad shawls, folk ornaments.

Achievements

• 1980 - Chevalier of the Order of the Badge of Honor
• 1983 - Winner of the Veteran of Labor medal
• 1991 - Honored Artist of the RSFSR
• 1992-1996 - Professor of the Department of Fashion Modeling, Faculty of Applied Arts, Moscow State University of Service
• 1993 - founder and head of the jury of the annual competition "Textile Salon"
• 1994 - founder and head of the jury of the annual competition of professional fashion designers named after Nadezhda Lamanova
• 1994 - founder and head of the jury of the annual competition of children's fashion theaters "Golden Needle"
• 1994 - founder and head of the jury of the permanent competition for young fashion designers and costume designers "Exercise"
• 1995 - creator, artistic director and chairman of the jury of the annual competition "Velvet Seasons in Sochi"
• 1996 - Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation
• 1998 - Commander of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree
• 2003 - laureate of the prize of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art
• 2006 - People's Artist of the Russian Federation
• 2007 - Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts
• 2009, 2010 - twice winner of the Russian Government Prize