To Anna Wintour: Tell Andrei Mordovin, founder of the MARDO brand, about the new sexuality, which is the main task of the designer and the money of LVMH

Recently, local brands have been rapidly gaining momentum, weight and importance. Almost every week, new players with great ambitions and brilliant talents appear in the fashion arena. We always follow such projects closely, bring you the most promising ones, and boldly convey the names worth knowing to Anna Wintour.

The name of our today’s heroine is known to almost all representatives of Moscow’s creative community, and singers, girls and stars of the new generation wear things from her brand. We are talking about the founder of the MARDO brand. Andrei Mordovin, who in just a few years managed to win the love and recognition (without exaggeration) of the entire metropolitan fashion community. So it’s no surprise that her tops and dresses with extreme cutouts and matching asymmetry (yes, that happens) are on every second wish list.

Meanwhile, a new chapter in the brand’s history has now begun (read: new femininity). Just a few days ago Andrey presented a collection that whispers, not screams, about sexuality. And this is much more valuable. The inspiration for the MARDO._ drop was a plumeria flower that the designer drew on a napkin while traveling. Metal pieces are found in swimsuits, solid mono earrings, and cutouts on dresses, t-shirts, and bodysuits. Today we invite you to meet a talented and ambitious designer and learn a little more about the brand, its history and plans for the future.

MARDO._

My surname Mordovin changed from school to Mord and then to Mardo. I’ve always liked his voice. It is not very modern to call the brand Andrey Mordovin, but MARDO._ something cool, incomprehensible, but at the same time harmonious.

This is how the dot and underline appeared. The name MARDO._ was occupied by some kind of ice cream brand on a banned social network. (laughing.) I just started selecting characters: first I added a period, then an underscore. Nick was free and I let him go. By the way, it was about three years ago that this brand appeared, I “wrote down” its name just in case. And when I started creating a brand, I tried for a long time to find my own monogram, but then I realized that I already had everything.

In 2018. At that time, I was doing my master’s degree at the School of Design at the Higher School of Economics. I prepared the first MARDO._ collection as a thesis. And she got pregnant so cool! I was immediately invited to the showroom in Paris, and then they wrote “Tsvetnoy” and Aizel. I remember how I came to my mother with all this information and said: “Oh, imagine they are offering me this, how strange!” He says: “You mean weird? Need to do”. I answer: “Okay, let’s do it.” And he started to do it. That’s when I realized that I didn’t want to do anything else, I couldn’t and I wasn’t ready.

We are changing a lot and we have not yet reached the format in which we will see ourselves in the future. But now MARDO._ is about sexuality but in a completely different way. We started making more minimalist, more closed items. I think I’ve matured a lot, and I think my clients have matured too. They no longer want to shout how beautiful they are, they want to whisper, but it is better to remain silent so that everyone can see with their own eyes and understand. This is exactly what the brand is about.

It was an oversized Raf Simons-style V-neck sweater. I really liked him. All my friends had to buy this as birthday gifts for six months. (laughing.)

Actually, when I started doing the brand it was completely different; It was a model that emphasized masculinity and large size. MARDO._’s first success came entirely from me making slim-fitting short dresses. Then I realized that I was interested in sexuality, femininity and beauty.

For self-made girls working in creative industries who are not afraid to be beautiful and sexy. I notice that most of the time they are not active on social networks and choose images primarily for themselves and not for likes. That makes me happy.

My fashion journey started quite late, when I was 20 years old. Then I started drawing, learned the entire Illustrator suite in Photoshop, and started working as a graphic designer. A little later, a clothing brand called me and invited me to draw a pattern. After working there for a year, I realized that fashion was what I wanted to do. At that time, I was about to finish my undergraduate education and my family was insisting on a master’s degree. Then I decided: “Okay, I’ll go to the most useless one.” (laughing.) In the end, it turned out to be the best decision in my life, because there, thanks to the teachers, I received all the necessary skills and wonderful opportunities. This place made me who I am.

In the beginning, there was a huge desire to dress up and dress up. After a while the second one faded and I focused on the first one.

It’s not like I look at someone’s brand and say I like everything, but I roughly understand where I gravitate towards and which brands I want to hang out with. I want to make interesting but also understandable clothes that help people open up and don’t scare them. I think the coolest ones right now are Dion Lee, Coperni and Jacquemus. This is roughly how I see the ideal angle at the Lafayette Gallery. (laughing.)

Sexy, smart, kind.

In the three words above. And also for branding purposes. Before, I dreamed of dressing everyone the way I wanted, but now I have a duty to give people what they want, but under my vision.

Dress made of thick sports fabric with underwire and a cutout under one bust. The period called MARDO started with him._

Jewel in the butt for 14 million. I really don’t understand this. (laughing.)

The fact that we are alive and still exist. We never had large investments or experienced curators. And when some sad events happen, first of all they forget about us and it takes a very long time for us to rebuild all the cycles. That’s why I’m really proud that we launched a collection despite the difficulties.

There’s a sequin dress with a hot pink pattern and green flowers, and it’s truly awful. I don’t know what happened to me at that moment. Moreover, we used this print on the grill and it turned out very nice. And for some reason I thought it would be great if you made such a dress with sequins, but no. We had a few unsold dresses left, but I wanted them removed from the site so no one could wear them. Although some still buy them. It was probably charity. (laughing.)

Customer response. I often talk about money, needing to increase sales, etc., but for me creativity comes first, not Scrooge McDuck’s goals. The MARDO._ brand is an opportunity to shoot great shots, work with great creators and create interesting things.

I want to open my own store, go to the Dubai market, we are doing this right now because there is a lot of demand from there. And of course there are international targets. But I’m old now and I won’t be going to Paris with bags full of dresses anymore. This is all great, you can get good publicity, but it doesn’t work that way, so now we’re working on the right strategy with the right PR.

A way to express yourself.

I would go on vacation. I recently realized that in the four years of the brand’s existence there is not a day that goes by that I don’t work for at least 10-15 minutes. I don’t know what a holiday is. I think it would be a great investment for the brand if I take a break. (laughing.)

I would also like to build my own flagship that will have a bar, restaurant and club. This is truly my dream! I also dream of a space where other designers can sell. When I have a resource, I want to share it with beginners, because, for example, I did not have some kind of boss who saw my talent and invested in it with advice or coins, which is even better. Okay, actually I would buy LVMH with LVMH’s money and take over. (laughing.)

Zendaya or Fleetwood Mac frontman Stevie Nicks.

Larisa Dolina’s look at this year’s Moscow Fashion Week.

There is no such thing. It’s all about style.

In 2019, I released the War is a Prostitute t-shirt.

Nastya Bachurina. He is the director of the brand. She is not a model, but a real muse. Nastya guides me in many ways, filters my ideas. She is exactly the same person who tells you what a woman wants. This is reflected in the collections.