Project "Fashion Interview": Yanis Chamalidi. Ianis Chamalidy: I ​​dress women from all over the world Where to buy Ianis Chamalidy

A combination of harmonious style, color schemes and interesting models can be found in the collections of the Ianis Chamalidy fashion house. Many women have already appreciated the products of this brand. His products can be found in boutiques in the Russian Federation and European countries.

Brand history Ianis Chamalidy

The birthplace of the Ianis Chamalidy brand was the northern capital of Russia - St. Petersburg. The brand has the same name, consonant with the name of the designer - the founder of this model house. His career dates back to the early 90s of the twentieth century. It was during this period that Janis presented his first fashion collection. At that time, the designer was only 17 years old. Janis is a native resident of St. Petersburg, he presented his collections during significant dates for his hometown - the anniversary of the city’s creation, for example. Ianis Chamalidy items are preferred by representatives of various cultural layers of Russia - writers, poets, media figures. The designer was awarded the title of best designer of the year several times, and his collections were presented at fashion weeks in cities of the European Union.

Model range of the brand Ianis Chamalidy

The Ianis Chamalidy brand produces clothing lines for men and women. They combine conciseness and simplicity, and the designer adheres to one stylistic model that keeps pace with fashion. In the collections of Ianis Chamalidy you can find floor-length evening dresses, bold suits for men and women, and business-style clothes. Also, Ianis Chamalidy presents accessories - hats, caps, various scarves. The Ianis Chamalidy lines include seasonal clothing - raincoats, jackets and much more. The use of various materials, such as leather, cotton, knitted items, allows you to create unique models that attract the eye and allow you to emphasize your individuality. Ianis Chamalidy actively uses draping technology, which makes his clothes come alive during shows; they convey all the creative ideas of the master. The designer also creates clothing models based on historical heritage; he collaborates with museums, where he gets ideas for new products!

Where to buy Ianis Chamalidy

• Official website: www.ianischamalidy.com
• Address: 197101 St. Petersburg, Bolshoy pr. PS building 55/6
• Phone: 8 812 448 33 15
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Social networks: vk.com/ianischamalidy (personal page)

This year, the fashion house of Yanis Chamalidi turns 15 years old - the designer celebrates a significant date for Russian fashion with the opening of a flagship store on the Petrogradskaya side of St. Petersburg

During the existence of the Ianis Chamalidy fashion house, not only the world around has changed, but also the designer’s style has undergone significant changes. The main thing remains - emphasized femininity, deep meaningfulness of images and a verified, recognizable style.

To follow the evolution of the fashion designer’s creative activity is a unique and, at the same time, quite real opportunity: this can be done in the new St. Petersburg art space of Yanis Chamalidi on the Petrograd side. The house of the architect Gustavson, in which the two-story store is located, is a place with history: previously there was the famous trading house of the Skorokhod shoe partnership. Hence the interior, in which history and tradition are combined in pleasant harmony with the minimalism of the new era.

Among the mirrors and strict white, you can see all the lines of the house: from men's and women's pret-a-porte collections to wedding dresses, accessories and knitwear, as well as a retrospective of the haute couture fashion house from 1995 to 2011. And in addition to the ready-made dress store, Yanis Chamalidi plans to revive the ideas of the haute couture atelier, which will work right in the store, and the designer himself will accept orders.

We talked with Yanis about Russian fashion, the industry and the designer's task.

About Russian fashion

Why will Russian fashion never enter the European market? In my opinion, Russia will never be accepted, and the main problem is that it is feared and misunderstood. That’s why Russian designers don’t strive to play by generally accepted rules – they simply don’t need it: everyone occupies their own segment and exists in it. If we talk about seasonality, then this is done primarily for buyers - if buyers do not need the collection for six months in advance, then there is no point in presenting it.

We, in fact, live in the post-war era, when it is difficult to expect any steps towards the global one from the Russian fashion industry. When Christian Dior designed his collections in the 1950s, he was not guided by the principle of seasonality. He began making seasonal collections when conditions required it.

About the industry

Most of our industry's problems stem from a lack of support for small businesses. In Italy, the state provides and has always provided this support, so production is well developed there, which we do not have. Beautiful, albeit small, factories with a long history, where craftsmen and craftsmen work who know everything about their business. Traditions are passed on from generation to generation, and we get high-quality results as a result. Until the state in Russia begins to support young designers, we have no right to demand anything from them, because this is a complex and labor-intensive business.

This season I went to all the shows of young designers. Apparently, we have no school left at all. A fashion designer is, first of all, a deeply educated person who subtly feels and understands the world around him, so each of his dresses is filled with meaning. It is this depth, culture and understanding that, in my opinion, is what young designers lack. And, of course, professionalism, which should be present not only in the designer, but also in his entire team.

About the super task

If we talk about fashion as a business, then the idea is important here, and the meaning cannot be separated from the material component in any case. You cannot do business without this super task, without the desire to say something - otherwise you end up with an emptiness in which there is nothing. Emptiness that is not interesting and not in demand.

Every fashion designer, it seems to me, should have a super task, like every person - the task of creating, growing and developing every day. Of course, this requires enormous mental strength and many do not want to work on themselves. Therefore, now is a time of a certain lack of ideas in general, and therefore, when I look at the collections of young designers, I do not see depth in them, I cannot read them: who are they for and why.

The most important thing is not to copy world trends, but to be inspired by the beautiful things that exist around us. This is the only way trends are created – not by copying, but by inspiration. And if you copy an Alexander McQueen dress, it won't do any good. Because if he was inspired by the Botticelli spring ( painting "Spring" by Sandro Botticelli - approx. ed.), then you will no longer be inspired by the original source. But it seems to me that creating something new, looking back at the beautiful things already created around us, is the most important thing.

About stereotypes

As for people, buyers in particular, which is noticeable especially in Moscow, many of them are captive of certain stereotypes that are difficult to get rid of. When a buyer has a choice between a couture dress from a Russian and, say, an Italian designer at the same cost, the choice will definitely not be in our favor. But if you pay attention to the quality of the fabric, to the unique, complex structural cut, which involves the use of a huge amount of material (sometimes three dresses can be made from this fabric) - the answer will come by itself. It is difficult to talk about the future of the fashion industry in Russia until such negative perceptions change.

About a successful collection

Perhaps I don’t have a special recipe, a special formula, like Alena Akhmadullina. But, in my opinion, to make a successful collection, you need to be clear about what you want to say, what segment you want to work in and who you are creating your image for. It is necessary to clearly define the recipient, reveal his inner world and through this fill the collection with meaning.

I think this is the main thing. But only a professional team and competent directors can convey your idea. A fashion show is a kind of theater, a performance that most accurately reflects the style of the house. On the catwalk you should show something that fully corresponds to the idea of ​​the collection, the idea of ​​your brand as a whole.

As for the fashion house, of course, sometimes we make things to order and work like an atelier. We have a small workshop in St. Petersburg where we sew collections. And even if it’s expensive, I think that’s exactly how it should be.

Of course, the St. Petersburg style is always recognizable - fashion designers create collections in accordance with traditions and they are great masters of their craft. Evgenia Malygina (Pirosmani), Tatyana Parfenova, Tatyana Kotegova, Liliya Kiselenko pay great attention to our cultural heritage, which in my opinion is the most important thing. You can trace these moments even in the seemingly completely deconstructivist collections of Pirosmani. Or, for example, Alena Akhmadullina, showing her collections in London, nevertheless remains a completely St. Petersburg designer. As for Moscow fashion designers, it’s difficult for me to single out anyone. Chapurin and Loginov are certainly well-designed collections, but I can’t say that they admire me. So far I don’t see any future in them in a global sense.

I’ll try to explain with an example: the same Margiela ( Belgian designer Maison Martin Margiela - approx. ed.), having arrived in St. Petersburg, he captured the beauty of our city on a simple soap dish and, having printed it out, pasted it on the walls of his store. So, it seems to me very appropriate and important to adapt your creativity to the main moments of the surrounding reality, respect traditions and be proud of your heritage. Then everything you do is filled with new meaning.

Space Ianis Chamalidy. St. Petersburg, Bolshoy pr., P.S., 55, entrance from the street. Podkovyrova

The Yanis Chamalidy brand is purely local, St. Petersburg, and the founder of the brand agrees with this. Twenty years ago, Janis chose to stay in St. Petersburg, did not go to Moscow and did not regret it at all.

— Each designer has his own goal. My goal was to develop as an artist, learn the basics of marketing, and properly build a dialogue between me and the client.

— How many people work on the brand?

— The main core is more than 50 people. Not every fashion designer can boast of their own production: we have a factory in the center of St. Petersburg, this is a prerequisite if you want to control quality. We consistently produce premium-level products. If we talk about clothing, then in a season it is about 3 thousand units, with shoes, accessories, bags - many times more.

— For many, their acquaintance with the brand began with wedding clothes.

“For me, the bride is a tender, reverent creature. This is Flora, a creature from another world, she gives life, is born like Botticelli’s Venus from foam. This is femininity in its pristine, sacred understanding.

— And if you come down to earth, what percentage of sales comes from the wedding collection?

— 50% of the fashion house’s turnover is wedding dresses. Ours are very simple, simple, but at the same time elegant. This is not pudding or meringue, not even always made of tulle and lace: some women come for a laconic white dress. There are products from 45 thousand to several million rubles, the coverage is very wide.

— What is fashion for you: art or craft?

— When I created the flagship store, I chose the aesthetics of white space. My beloved Yohji Yamamoto says that for him fashion is an applied craft. For me, it is art, and living in fashion means living in art. Therefore - pure white space, like a canvas. Each new collection, be it chinoiserie, baroque or Russian style, looks different in this “frame”.

— You started at the same time as a theater designer, right?

“And I’m proud that the Jacobson Theater’s “Romeo and Juliet” with my costumes has had 250 performances around the world. In general, all the creative people of St. Petersburg dress here - ballerinas, actresses. I don’t even know many of the celebrities (although I should have), despite the fact that they are long-time fans of the brand.

- Everything is with you, and only Vishneva is with Parfenova.

— I don’t take in units, I take in volume. We are now talking about people who, perhaps, did not become Cherry, but there are thousands of them. Yanis Chamalidy is perhaps the only designer brand in St. Petersburg that has gone beyond art workshops: we stand in the “Gallery” on an area of ​​250 sq. m. m, there is an online store, we have gigantic collections, they change several times a year. It's not good or bad - it's different.

— Are there any favorite celebrities with whom you most often work?

“I’m not looking for a meeting with them, I’m not promoting myself like a locomotive.” My goal is to create a product and develop as an artist. Who said I'm educated enough? I'm always learning. The task of going beyond the possibilities and becoming truly recognizable concerns me first and foremost. And this takes a huge amount of time. While working on the Gothic collection, I went to France, to Toledo - the first capital of Spain, which was built by the Visigoths, then to Yuryev-Polsky and Vladimir to see what the Middle Ages were like in Rus'.

Very often celebrities find you themselves. We dressed Patricia Kaas on the world tour: it was a simple, minimalist design, devoid of swagger. She is elegant, charming, she has beautiful body lines - and that's enough! I'm glad I have such clients. The brand is chosen by creative people; they don’t need rivets, rhinestones, or feathers. They liked my zen design: you have to be a person to wear this, you have to represent something. When you hide behind feathers and rhinestones, you can be empty.

— How did your recent collaboration with the Hermitage and Konstantin Khabensky turn out?

— This is a historical reconstruction, Konstantin plays a guide, a kind of guide through the halls and eras. At the very beginning of my creativity, I worked in the archives of the Hermitage, my costumes are kept in the museum, and this is wonderful. Apparently, the ideologists of the project decided that I would be the one to create a modern costume, which at the same time would look logical next to Catherine II and other historical characters. I am constantly looking for ideas in the archives, creating clothes of the 21st century, but hinting at the lines of the past.

— When designing a dress, do you still tear the fabric with your hands, as you did in your youth?

- Still. Creative processes are incomprehensible, sometimes it is an emotion.

- You buried the fabric in the ground, boiled it, deliberately aged it - what now?

— We wash it in sand and treat it in a special way. These are unique fabrics from the Prato region, Florence. Do you see on this blouse - two layers and all threaded? I have a very close understanding of texture.

— When you create a collection, what comes first: texture, silhouette, something else?

— The idea is based on an image. I don’t create theatrical things, the clothes are absolutely clear, be it shirts, bombers, parkas, coats. The spirit of the time is in the details: ties, transparency, so characteristic of the Renaissance, velvet, so intuitively close to the Spanish Middle Ages, a combination of black velvet and white underwear.

— Are there any countries where you come and your eyes rest?

“I love my country, I love its people, but my eyes don’t rest here.” In Europe, I look at the elderly and rejoice: this is a beautiful old age. In Russia, old age is unsightly. As a designer, I live in the ugliest of times. Even in Soviet times, women wore dresses, men wore suits, they wore shoes to the theater, and looked very elegant. Do you know where I especially noted this? In the clinic. There were two camps there. One is grown men, aging unattractively: nothing in common with European ones, but at the same time - in two-piece suits. The second is youth: sweatpants, elongated knees, down jackets - a style free from everything. Young people don’t know how to dress at all, they’re just learning, although there are stylish boys and girls here too. We will need several generations for the process to begin.

— What must be in a woman’s wardrobe?

— Everything that corresponds to her inner world and social markers.

- And to be more specific? Many people complain that dresses and skirts are worn less often than trousers.

— In terms of sales, we see absolutely the opposite: over the last three years, trousers have given way to them, skirts and dresses are bestsellers, numbers are a stubborn thing.

Women want to be women. Dresses are worn by ladies in their comfort zone. Have you ever wondered why even in the 19th century, when men dressed in all black, strict, comfortable and began to work a lot, they still dressed their companions like moths? They were simply allowed to remain women. After World War II, men wanted women to plow. By the way, it was Yves Saint Laurent - and I worked as a representative of Yves Saint-Laurent in the North-West region for eight years - who dressed women in suits.

(Janis takes out a small box. - R) This is IQOS, a special tobacco heating system: innovation, very convenient, practical and fashionable. This is important for me because my hands don't smell. I gave up cigarettes while working as a YSL representative: I had to be in close contact with clients, touch women’s skin, and the smell on my hands is not luxury. IQOS gives you the opportunity to relax without these disadvantages.

— Do you work fast or not?

“I work very quickly because I understand very well who I am creating clothes for. This dress is the quintessence of Yanis Chamalidy's style; it can be transformed in many ways. Change the neckline - either boat or V-shaped. It can be with a sad bow on the side in the style of the 30s, and the next moment it can be aggressively sexy. It is well characterized by the word “metamorphoses”: I am Greek, and for us this is very close. A dress from Yanis Chamalidi reflects the mood of the woman who wears it, without subjugating her.

Natalya Chernyaeva

Yanis Chamalidi is a truly St. Petersburg designer who has been sewing exquisite wedding, evening, cocktail and business dresses for 17 years. His hand-sewn items are kept in the State Hermitage and by private collectors. Falovers met with Yanis Chamalidi in his temple of art on the Petrograd side and, to the sounds of soothing music, talked about the calling from above to be a couturier, about Russian fashion workers, about working at Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, about Paris in the 90s. The designer shared his unexpected view of our secular and fashionable society.

I know that you chose the profession of fashion designer almost by accident, is that really true?

This is my calling and it was destined to happen. I was sitting at a lecture, drawing a sketch of a wedding dress for my friend and thinking about what I will do next? To enter the Shipbuilding Institute, what kind of ships will I build? I looked at the sketch and nervously traced it. It wasn't even a sketch, just a sketch. And the questions in my head were: “What can I do, what can I do, what do I like?” There was a sketch in front of me, and I realized that this is exactly what I wanted to devote myself to.
How old were you then?

I studied in the tenth grade at a college at the Shipbuilding Institute.
How did you feel about fashion and participate in it in your childhood and youth?

As a child, I had a favorite doll that I used to sew dresses. I came up with simple geometric styles, dresses with ties. And all my sisters’ dolls were dressed by me. Since my grandmother and great-grandmother sewed, my childhood was spent making patches and trying on things. In our country, this profession is passed on from generation to generation.
What profession do you see yourself in if you had not become a designer?

I feel so great as a designer. It’s hard for me to imagine another profession. But when reading Bram Stoker's book The Sorrows of Satan, I liked the image of the writer who lives in a quiet garden. Maybe I could be a gardener, a person connected to nature.
I'm not going to change my profession as a designer. When I came to enter the Mukhinsky School, they asked me if I was afraid of fabric? I was absolutely not afraid to work with fabric, maybe that’s where my draperies come from, the desire to design, to start from the material, and not from the sketch.
Please tell us about the stage of your life when you worked at Yves Saint Laurent in France.

I was hired to work at an early age for this company in the Beauty direction. I worked as a stylist and promoted the brand in the North-West region. Beauty, perfume, decorative cosmetics, YSL looks... I visited Paris twice a year, receiving the collection, studying. Of course, I saw the whole world of luxury: the world of YSL, Chanel, Dior and many others. It was the 90s, and I saw the development of modern fashion: before my eyes, the Japanese and Belgians arrived. I worked for the brand for eight years, brought new products to us, and taught us about them.
What was it like to be in Europe in the 90s? Paris must have made a strong impression on you?

At first, Paris did not impress me as a fashion capital, it even disappointed me... Until, thanks to my friends, the directors of the YSL company, I found myself in the world of the Parisian elite. In the evening, the creative intelligentsia gathers in restaurants or at each other's homes - this is a special, closed Paris. And, seeing such a city, I said: “Paris, I adore you!”
Did you have a chance to meet interesting and famous people there?

Yes, and with very many. But the most striking personality who impressed me was the director of my department, Michel Shazar, who showed me Paris the way I saw and remembered it. He also attended Haute Couture Weeks, talked with Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, the President of the Paris Fashion Chamber, Didier Grunbach, and Isabella Blow. It was she who gave me the green light - introduced me to Russian Vogue, Sunday times, wrote about me and opened me to the world of fashion. You can list these people endlessly, and they are all outstanding, creating the world of fashion.
Have you shown your collections in France?

Yes, in Parisian showrooms, and even sold his collections in the golden triangle on Avenue George V in the Jay boutique, where the best designers from all over the world were represented.

In your opinion, does our government help designers?

What is a state? I believe that now is the time when a designer can realize his maximum potential. The market is just ready, women want to dress, they accept Russian designers, there are fabrics, and there is everything, but before this was not the case. Therefore, Russia as a country and its general mood contribute to the development of talent. Isn't that enough?
Perhaps, in addition to the designer’s desire to realize himself, he also needs support from the state?

Let's remember Diaghilev's seasons, who helped them? Nobody, they made the revolution themselves. That someone owes someone is an illusion. I believe that if there is an opportunity to develop, then create and be.
Then why do only a few designers become famous in Russia?

Could this be due to laziness? And only a few work. I can highlight the hard worker Zhenya Malygina - a brand, Tatyana Kotegova. I know what wonderful things they do. And these are people who really work hard.
What further development of fashion awaits us, in your opinion?

In Russia there will be individuals who want to develop internally, and a profession for them will be a way to achieve their goal.
When people ask me, what is my success? It is very simple - I did not make money from this, but simply created beauty. The result is dresses that I hand-sewn, from which I have created an archive. For the 15th anniversary of the House, we showed a huge number of haute couture outfits. Six items from this collection were chosen for storage in the State Hermitage. We want people of the 22nd century to see that in the 21st century something was created by hand. Also, three of my collections are with private collectors. And I am proud that I initially chose this path - the path of resistance.
Your creativity is associated with lightness and femininity, but this spring at AURORA FASHION WEEK RussiaYou showed a different collection (view collection: falovers.ru/post/afwr-fw13-ianis-chamalidy)- ascetic in dark colors, what is this connected with?

This is connected with the theme of the collection that I am setting - gothic turning into renaissance. This was the time of Leonardo Da Vinci, Giordano Bruno, the time of artists who erased snobbery in society, the black plague helped them in this. And people who survived from this disease realized that art is an important matter.

Why did you decide to show this particular time period?

In my opinion, we live in the era of the mental Middle Ages, people do not want to think with their brains, to open their consciousness. Of course, I’m not talking about everyone, but this is the general mood. I try to listen and feel time, this is how my collections are born. Art reflects the economic, political, spiritual state of society. For example, the artist Malevich with “Black Square” is art, in it he reflected and painted what was happening then - the “black hole”.
I love the Renaissance, when the world is flat, and suddenly it is round, there are no printing presses, and then books, long journeys and discoveries instantly appear. The emergence of megacities with a mixture of cultures, some say that this is bad, but nature does not do anything for nothing, and beautiful children are born from this.
Who do you think can be called a style model now?

We have a lot of interesting and stylish people. At all times these were actors, ballerinas, our creative intelligentsia. I recently looked at a magazine and saw a beautiful, educated couple there, I would even single them out - Konstantin and Alina Kryukov.

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I dress women from all over the world with a creative side, who like the simplicity of the lines and the complexity of the cut from Chamalidi, the opportunity to independently transform their image.
Patricia Kass wore our dress at the Medvedev-Sarkazy reception. We dress Nastasya Kinski, Anastasia Vertinskaya, Anastasia Volochkova, Ulyana Lopatkina, Maria Safarians - the face of Stradivarius in Russia. We also dress ballerinas, which I am proud of, such as Yulia Makhalina, Nina Zmeevets, Maria Abashova, musician Andrei Samsonov, politicians and others.

Janis, tell us how it all started? Who influenced your creative choice of profession?

For me, choosing a profession is a certain impulse from the outside, which was already determined by fate.

When did you create your first collection?

I was 17 years old, these were the first private shows of fashion designers after the collapse of the Fashion House on the street of Tukhachevsky and Petrograd Fashion House. The collection was dedicated to the image of a business woman. There you could see clear shapes, cut, shoulder line, silhouette, unlike my second collection...

Very interesting to know about her!

The second collection was called “Africa”, all products were created on the basis of drapery. It was a real fantasy! As my idol, Yves Saint Laurent, said, “there is always fabric, drapery and the female body. This union gives birth to a work: be it a dress or a blouse.” These were the collections.

During your development, you probably encountered difficulties. Who was your support and encouragement?

Of course, this is my team, because the fashion business is always a collective creativity.

Who are you creating for? Which woman is the heroine of your collections?

I always call her “anima”. For me, this is a creative person who, through clothes and the outside world, gets to know herself and is in constant search.

The haute couture line, in your case, is pure art, but pret-a-porter is still aimed at the commercial component?

Haute couture is always a creative search, pret-a-porter is already “polishing and grounding” of an idea.

Do your clients buy haute couture clothes?

Certainly. Channel One purchased the latest dresses for its program, TV presenter Alla Sigalova. For me, haute couture is not some kind of super idea that cannot be worn. This is handmade work and unique fabrics. Of course, times are changing, and from haute couture today it has become a little closer to pret-a-porter. One dress can be made in different colors, but it looks unique on each client. The most important thing is that the product is created for a specific person, it is an individual approach.

Janis, I know that you created costumes for ballet performances for the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater? Are you continuing to work in this direction?

Yes, I worked with the Jacobson Theater and the Mariinsky Theater, and, of course, I continue to develop in this direction.

In what productions can your costumes be seen?

In the ballet number "Leda and the Swan". I also created costumes for the famous artist of the Mariinsky Theater Igor Kolb for the production of “Two on a Swing”.

You worked as a stylist at Yves Saint Laurent Beauty. What were your functions within the legendary brand?

For eight years I represented the brand in the North-West region, in fact, I discovered the name Yves Saint Laurent for Russia.

Are Yanis Chamalidi ten years ago and today different people? What has the Russian design market taught you?

The Russian design market ten years ago could be compared to an “open field” operation: there was no culture, understanding, style, production, factories - absolutely nothing. So I learned a lot here. Of course, my experience working at Yves Saint Laurent helped me, because there I understood what good taste, quality fabrics, and types of clients are. Paris played an important role in my development. There I learned the techniques of creating and presenting a product: from a creative idea to a commercial component. I successfully applied all this knowledge on Russian soil.

In which countries is your brand currently represented, and how is it received by customers there?

We are represented in Paris and Italian showrooms, as well as in Japan and Tokyo. I believe that the Yanis Chamalidi brand has a unique style, and this is what does not leave foreign buyers indifferent.

Do you have a favorite or special item from your collection?

Yes, this is a Greek style dress that resembles a tunic. It is cut from several squares of fabric and has eight ways to wear it. This is a unique product! In general, I continue the traditions of the famous Madeleine Vione. This is a fashion designer from the 20s of the 20th century. She articulated the aesthetic of the sophisticated bias cut.

What fabrics and colors are mainly used in your collections?

I love silk very much, but I am interested in complex fabric compositions. In all cases, texture and quality are fundamentally important to me. The priority tones for me are calm, restrained, they always inspire me. I like the colors of architecture: antique, marble, also shades of sand on the coast, water, ranging from azure to dark blue, like a whirlpool.

So you are inspired by natural elements?

Yes, and in my collections this is always visible: the wind blows, you can hear the breath of the ocean, the beating of the heart, the voices of angels... I like this aesthetics - the feeling of the world in which we live.

Tell us about the size line presented in your Fashion House?

We sew clothes from sizes 40 to 56, so no one can accuse me of dressing only thin women.

What is your brand's pricing policy?

This is Premium Plus, that is, the dress can cost from 10,000 thousand rubles to 15,000 rubles. Evening and cocktail dresses to the floor - from 40,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles.

Tell us about your latest collection, who is it for?

The latest collection is called “Bird in a Cage”. It is about personality and limits, but not those that people often mean, but about the limits of permissiveness. This collection is about our soul, about the cage with our complexes and passions. Of course, it contains the theme of antiquity, the deification of the body. I note that even philosophers of that time argued that the body is a “cage” for the soul, which wants to break out, it always strives to fly. In general, this is a very deep collection in an emotional sense, let it be a personal discovery for everyone.

Now is the hot wedding time... I know that you have a special vision of this direction. What does the bride look like in a dress from Yanis Chamalidi?

The bride from Yanis Chamalidi is absolutely light, weightless and airy. For my wedding dresses I use silk and chiffon. These fabrics drape beautifully. I am Greek, so I strive to “stitch” my outfits with antiquity. For me, a dress, including a wedding dress, is a shell that reveals and emphasizes feminine beauty.

Tell us what is included in the line of accessories from Yanis Chamaladi?

Our boutique presents jewelry made of complex metals, alloys, silver with diamonds, and unusual belts.

Why, in your opinion, do our consumers not know much about Russian designers and think that buying such clothes is expensive?

I don’t understand why people, having the opportunity to buy designer clothes, dress in mass markets. Even if such a thing is initially expensive, all designers offer special promotions. For example, you can buy dresses from us for 3,000 – 5,000 rubles. Designer clothing is a different level of self-awareness, high quality, and an individual approach. When you put on such a thing, you won’t think that you have problems with your figure, because everything fits perfectly. And it is also important to understand that when purchasing designer clothes, a person buys his intellect, development, and emotion. This is an investment in your own style.

Which designers do you admire in Russia and abroad?

Madeleine Vione, Yves Saint Laurent, which I have already mentioned, from the Russians - Nadezhda Lamanova. In general, I like a certain line, handwriting, sense of style, and the scale of their personality in designers.

Do men and women in Russia have a sense of style?

I think that here we should talk about the tragedy of 1917, when the aristocrats, the bearers of style, left Russia. It was they who contributed to the development of European fashion. Remember such fashion houses as “Kitmir”, “Irfe”, Diaghilev’s seasons... This is a colossal influence on the development of art. It was our people who enriched the European world. Everyone learned what Russian beauty is, a culture that combines Europe and Asia. Of course, such a historical past influences the present, both in matters of style and in a global sense.

What comes first for you – fashion or style?

For me, style is primary, of course; I have nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is made by the crowd. Fashion designers create a sense of style.

Your wishes to the readers of the interview.

Don't just buy things, think about how to start a dialogue with society through clothes. This is a unique game. Find your own, unique and unique image.

BLITZ SURVEY:

Your ideal is...

Good taste in everything.

What character traits in people are important to you?

The most important qualities in a person are honesty and sincerity. I believe that if a person has such qualities, then he is an absolute person.

Your purpose in life is...

To teach people good taste, to show beauty that will inspire good deeds, to encourage people to create.

Thank you for the pleasant communication!

Thank you!

Interviewed by Alexandra Ageeva, image stylist of the studio " Supreme power ".