Liliya PUSTOVIT: “I sometimes see national elements where no one else sees them”

Lilia, first off, we would like to hear your impressions of Moscow Fashion Week and to compliment you on the success of your recent collection, which is no surprise, since you are a permanent fixture at Russian fashion shows.

“Moscow has three different fashion weeks, while Ukraine has only one, called Fashion Seasons. But it was our Seasons that paved the way for Moscow’s pret-a-porter weeks. The first Russian fashion week was launched by my colleague Lev Biriukov, who visited us and was so impressed that he immediately decided to organize something similar in Moscow.

“This time I participated in Moscow Fashion Week. When we conceived this particular week four years ago, we decided that only pret-a-porter designers should be able to take part in it because the other Moscow fashion shows are open to all those who can afford membership fees, that is, any self-styled designer who wants to be called one only because he can sew two pieces of fabric together. Moscow Fashion Week is a chamber event that lasts three or four days and involves up to twenty participants. Its guiding principle is to show collections that can be mass- produced. Essentially, this is what pret-a-porter [French for ready to wear — Ed.] is all about, and this is what we are working toward. Moscow Fashion Week featured several designers from France, Belarus, and, of course, Russia. Our trademark alone represented Ukraine. The main event for all fashion week participants is a showroom attended by buyers from Moscow boutiques. Whereas earlier it lasted one day, now it is a three-day event.”

This means that the designer-fashion show — buyer chain, which is the ultimate goal of any pret-a-porter week, works. Why?

“Practically all the designers who display their collections during Moscow Fashion Week have their own boutiques or sell their clothes in a number of shops in St. Petersburg or Moscow through buyers. For example, our brand-name clothes have been on sale in Moscow since 2000, and the first store to sell them was Depot, a multi-brand boutique offering Pustovit and Biriukov clothing alongside such famous Western brands as Alessandro Dell’Aqua, Helmut Lang, etc. When clothing is competitive, it is up to buyers to decide whether clothes by a certain designer can share the same rack with another designer’s clothing. The fact is, stores have a certain policy and clientele that doesn’t care whether the blouses and skirts they buy are by the same designer or different ones. Likewise, it doesn’t matter whether the brand is local or foreign, as long as clothing of different designers matches and combines well. Many boutiques that were initially focused on one brand tend to reject the practice of selling exclusively local or foreign brands; they mix clothing by designers who work along the same lines but come from different countries, such as the Baltic republics, Belgium, Holland, etc. Kyiv has virtually no big or smaller boutiques, unlike Moscow ones, which have their own clientele. We have two or three stores selling various expensive brands. We have Spazio, which sells the so-called second lines. I’ll explain: Western factories or companies manufacture several brands at a time. They can fill orders both for Dolce & Gabbana and John Richmond, etc. The brands on sale at Spazio are manufactured by the ITTIERE group that owns a chain of factories manufacturing clothing by numerous designers. It’s a practice I’ve been trying to bring to Ukraine since 1996.

“I think sooner or later the same thing will happen here. I think it’s stupid for a factory to order certain clothing from a designer and decide what it should look like. After all, there is a tried and tested system. For example, I take my designs to Moscow buyers, who order a certain quantity of one pattern and a different quantity of another, etc. Now that I have their orders and prepayment at least for the fabrics, I go to the factory, which makes the clothing according to the terms of my contract with the buyer in question. Granted, even in Moscow orders are not that big, but the important thing is that this is already being done there. And everyone is happy. I design a collection that I like; buyers buy whatever meets their taste; and in turn, the factories are satisfied because they have something to do, as well as a guarantee that I will come back to them again, if they fill my order to my satisfaction.”

That sounds as simple as it gets. The whole world is following this scheme, which benefits everybody, primarily the consumer. Why has this practice not taken root in Ukraine?

“Obviously, we still lack managers who are on the ball. In principle, customers are now willing to buy Ukrainian designer clothing. Moreover, they are buying it. But it seems we should be addressing the question of mass-production instead of ordering five items of a certain pattern from the factory, since such limited quantity affects price. I would gladly make some cheaper second or third clothing lines. But the initiative should come from fashion stores. Oleksandr Sokolovsky has come up with a great idea: a major trade center is slated to open this September in Kyiv’s Obolon district. It will house the Fashion Lab to sell clothing by Ukrainian designers.

“As for people who are willing to buy unique clothing from fashion collections, I must emphasize that they have already become picky in the good sense of the word. They don’t want to wear Chanel or Dolce & Gabbana clothing anymore to parties. Fashionable people and those in the know can instantly tell whose clothes they are wearing. To put it simply, they are experiencing what has been long happening elsewhere in the world, where people are constantly searching for new names that have yet to be hyped.”

Are there any significant differences in the trends that dominate the collections of Ukrainian and Russian designers?

“I normally don’t attend all the fashion shows that are hosted by our Seasons, only those that I find interesting, but not as a specialist — only because they are produced by my friends. After all, not many designers who participate in the Ukrainian Seasons dictate trends that could be considered a nationwide trend. As for what I’ve seen in Moscow, I would stress the following: Russian designers are different from Ukrainian ones in that they don’t try as hard to make sumptuous clothes. We Ukrainians are more decorative by nature, which I attribute to our national character. Russians have always preferred more subdued colors. But even though there are many designers, there will always be common, unifying trends.”

David Fowlie, a well-known designer, who teaches the Fashion Diploma course at the Oxford Media and Business School, attended the last Seasons. He gave a high rating to some of our designers’ collections. When he was asked to share his impressions of how the Seasons were organized and how they compare with those same pret-a-porter weeks held elsewhere, he noted tactfully that this is more of a show than a practical display of future fashion. Do you agree?

“Completely. Just consider the fashion show situation in Ukraine. This is a major event for the entire city of Kyiv, which is attended by more than 1,000 people. The auditorium can seat 600 or 700 people and half as many watch standing. Only heavyweight designers like Valentino or Armani stage shows on such a grand scale. But I think even their halls can’t seat more than 500. Meanwhile, young designers are showing their collections to audiences that are even smaller. The shows are primarily targeted at the press, buyers, and customers of the fashion house in question. Meanwhile, the Kyiv public attends the Seasons as if it were some social event or theater premiere. It is a show. On the one hand, the media cover this event extensively, but the purpose of all this is unclear. Out of these 1,000 people, only 100 or 150 are going to buy these clothes. The others come just for the fun of it. This is what David Fowlie meant by calling the Seasons a show. A fashion display should be the ultimate form of advertising. I, for one, do not understand the offers that I get to have my collections photographed separately, that is, with models posing in my clothes off the catwalk. This is nonsense, since I have a certain concept to bring into life and so I choose the model I need, who has to have a certain makeup and hairdo. The resulting image should embody the concept as fully as possible, which I then want to offer people for the next six months.

“At the same time I would like to emphasize that the Seasons serve their purpose simply because they exist, which is important all on its own.”

Do you mean that the criticism that has been directed at the organizers of Fashion Seasons is aimed at the wrong people?

“The point is that the only difference between Moscow and Kyiv is that the former has buyers, while the latter doesn’t. Every time we open the Seasons we look forward to them. But the very fact that David Fowlie visited Ukraine means something. This will no doubt help to highlight certain points. His opinion holds sway in the fashion industry; he’s been in this business for many years, and his advice is worth taking to heart. He is a man who can say definitively whether something is worthy of attention or not, especially since we don’t always understand what’s going on. I should add for the sake of impartiality that this is often difficult to do for objective reasons: sometimes you need an outsider’s view of the situation.

“I should mention another obvious point: we have fashion, we have commendable designers whose ideas earn recognition abroad. One more thing: obviously, there is no way a designer can be called one without producing collections. It’s nice to have private customers and a certain clientele that comes directly to you. Communication between the designer and the customer is a special event. After all, there are few clients in this world that can approach a designer just like that; most simply buy things they like at stores. But in Ukraine everything is slightly distorted. There is a large personal clientele, and these customers find it simpler to call the designer directly, since the things they need are not available in stores.”

This is a very important consideration, since today we are enjoying all the worldly benefits and prosperity for which we were striving for centuries. These are the huge expanses of Ukraine and its amazing monuments. It’s high time we understood the significance of these assets, as well as the fact that the current availability of personal couturier services is a luxury that only billionaires can afford. Perhaps someone should make people realize that there is no need to straggle behind what the rest of the world has already achieved. After all, we have direct access to things that are valued in the West, namely, exclusive “heads and hands.” Do the Seasons shape the tastes of Ukrainians?

“I hope so. Aside from creative self-expression, the enlightening aspect of designing matters to every designer. You have to design clothing that will not only be in vogue in the nearest future, but also will reveal the concept and convey the atmosphere of everything I have lived and breathed in the last while and which other people might also like to experience.

“Even if they don’t wear clothing designed by Liliya Pustovit, the most important thing is for them to see this clothing and form a certain impression. Maybe later they will bring to life any ideas that the show may inspire. Of course, I don’t consider myself a messiah, but I would like you to realize how important this aspect is. After all, I think I can rightfully consider myself a professional in my chosen trade. At a time when there are so many vulgar, provincial, aggressive, and sexualized things, in a word — the low culture that is everywhere around us — I consider it my duty to disseminate my knowledge. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues are following these kinds of trends. Sometimes I also want to do things differently. When this happens, I begin to work doggedly, keeping within certain limits but formulating a certain idea. Unfortunately, I don’t always manage to recreate my original concept in my clothing. Sometimes I lack the time and assistants to accomplish this. But I give my very best each time. I think this should be every designer’s credo.”

I have two questions in this connection. As the celebrated couturier Viacheslav Zaitsev once famously said, “I’m a slave of my own style.” Apparently, any talented designer can say this because only a talented person can create his or her own professional “ABCs.” That Liliya Pustovit has her own creative “alphabet” is beyond doubt. What is more difficult: to follow or reject these ABCs? How would you describe the main concepts that can always be recognized in Pustovit’s style?

“Perhaps I shouldn’t exaggerate my contributions too much, but I have something to do with the fact that Ukrainian motifs are popular today. We were the first to stage fashion shows to the accompaniment of Ukrainian music, and every collection now contains national elements. One way or another, this is happening: I am doing this consciously and will continue to do so. It is not simply a part of our image, the elements of Liliya Pustovit’s style. I sometimes see national things where no one else can see them. In this respect I am not in the least worried about being criticized for repeating myself and repeatedly showing Ukrainian elements. Naturally, the bounds of certain trends should not be overstepped: today, for example, there is nostalgia for the 1950s, tomorrow it will be for the 1930s and 1940s, yesterday was for the 1970s and 1980s. Yet every designer preserves his own distinctive features. Likewise, you can modify the world — famous little black dress from Chanel with certain accessories: you can turn it into an ethnic garment or create a sports garment. The same happens to a designer’s collection: there is one unchanging concept that is brought to life by adding details, accessories, and subtleties.”

Let’s talk about your fall-winter 2003 collection, which may be called a fantasy based on street fashion. At the time The Day wrote about the successful realization of your concept: while models on the catwalk sported clothes that young people are wearing on a day-to-day basis, we couldn’t help noticing that all these clothes were a designer’s creation. Is it possible for designers to find new and unusual ideas on the street? Do you see any new trends, good or bad, in today’s young fashions?

“Of course, the process of mutual influence is ongoing, with designers shaping street fashion and street fashion shaping designers’ views. As for young people, I often socialize with them and I must say I admire the youth of today. For example, I happened to attend a concert featuring punk bands near Moscow Bridge. I saw absolutely normal young people with bright eyes, a generation that does not seek the meaning of life in stimulants. Take the renowned devotee of the extreme Serhiy Chervinsky, for example. I was impressed that this young man of twenty-something years has formed his own world outlook. Meanwhile, others live their entire lives without one. I know young people who don’t smoke, drink alcohol, or take drugs because they simply don’t need them. They get their kicks out of other things, such as hiking, mountain boarding, skiing, snowboarding; they are brimming with energy and life. This is an absolutely free generation that looks at the world with an open mind. Each one of them feels like a full-fledged actor in this theater of life, and each one of them is also the stage director. These people are dressed accordingly: there is complete freedom in everything. Baggy hip-hop jeans, checked shirts, spotted ties, gym shoes with wide laces. At first glance, these things are absolutely incompatible. Yet the fact that they manage to combine these elements is also a sign of the times. These people look optimistic, unlike the depressed rock musicians of the past. Such observations can’t help but affect me as a designer. What wonderful people they can grow up to become, now that they have this supply of vivacity. Of course, other people have different values. I attribute their depressed state largely to the lingering effects of our past lack of freedom. But, in my view, the former will influence both fashion and the life of society to shape a new Ukraine.”

I often hear that it is no longer possible to come up with any original clothing designs, since all types of clothing and patterns have been created throughout human history. Today there is room for innovation only in terms of creating fabrics. Do you agree with this opinion? Are there “eternal” fabrics? Which ones do you prefer?

“For me, fabric is a material that is indispensable in creating a certain image. Although the feel of the fabric is important (of lining, drapery, etc.), what matters more to me is the vision. Of course, you are molding it with the help of that same fabric, music, or the pattern that’s been chosen. Yet all of these are secondary components. I must also confess to being an utter pragmatist: I cannot design clothes as artworks that can be only admired. I make clothes for people for living. And life means movement. This is a manifesto!”