The Muses of Coco Chanel and Christian Dior: Russian Models of the 20th Century Inspiring Legendary Designers

Do you know what unites Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga and Elsa Schiaparelli? No, this is not only design genius and impressive collections, but also collaboration with Russian models. After the 1917 revolution, many representatives of the intelligentsia left our country, and Paris, of course, became the main attraction for former princesses and bridesmaids. The girls began to actively collaborate with famous fashionistas as fashion models and even unspoken ambassadors.

For example, Christian Dior considered Alla Ilchun his talisman, but Coco Chanel was very proud that Princess Gali Bazhenova worked for her. These girls not only inspired designers and wore their outfits proudly on the runway, they also helped brands grow.

Today we will tell you about seven girls from the Russian Empire, who have become real style icons of the last century.

Alla Ilchun

At the beginning of the 20th century, Alla moved with her mother (opera singer Tamara Mikhailova) to Paris. To somehow earn a living, she sang in a cabaret, worked as a dishwasher in a cafe, and was a nurse and signalman in the ranks of the French partisan resistance during World War II.

She came to the casting at the home of aspiring fashion designer Christian Dior to support her friend. While Ilchun was waiting in the hallway, one of the employees called him and said that Dior wanted to see him. The future muse of the designer wore a dress, measurements were taken from her and told to wait for a call. And so their collaboration began. Christian Dior saw her as his talisman and was sure that Ilchun was the one who brought him good luck. He participated in many designer shows.

Gali Bazhenova

Elmeskhan Khagundokova (better known under the pseudonym Gali Bazhenova) emigrated to Paris, the main capital of fashion, in 1922. Then her modeling career began. Very quickly she received the unofficial title of “Caucasian star” in Chanel, after which she began to appear on the covers of Vogue and Femina. It was at Bazhenova, where Coco Chanel customized clothes for new collections. After some time, Chanel invited her to participate in all the shows and become a brand ambassador, as it is now called. Under the terms of the contract, Bazhenova would use Chanel’s hats, bags, and clothes for social events to covertly advertise the products.

Mary Eritova

After the 1917 revolution, Princess Mary Eristova moved to Paris with her family. There she met Prince Dmitry Pavlovich, who at that time had an affair with Coco Chanel. It was she who introduced the future fashion model to the legendary designer. So Eritova became the face of the Chanel fashion house. There are legends that first appeared on the catwalk in a pearl necklace, which later became the symbol of the brand.

barbara rapponet

Another representative of the intellectuals who migrated abroad after the revolution. First to Istanbul, then to Yugoslavia, then to Paris. He was hired in 1933 by Balenciaga’s founder, Cristobal Balenciaga. The stylist immediately baptized Barbara and, according to legends, predicted a great future for her. She became a model for Schiaparelli in 1941 and collaborated with the brand for many years. That’s why in the fashion world they began to call her a new name – Barbara Skiap. Rapponet has also collaborated with Lanvin and Maggy Rouff.

Oia de Ge

After emigrating to Paris, Iya de Gey married Baronet Robert Abdi, for whom she received status and a new name – Lady Abdi. During this marriage, she met the famous designer Paul Poiret and started collaborating with him. After going to Chanel, she broke up with a scandal only a year later. The fact is that Coco Chanel used sketches of bags made by Lady Abdi without asking.

Natalie Paley

Natalie Paley’s father, Emperor II. Nicholas’ uncle was Prince Pavel Alexandrovich. During the revolution, Natalie Paley’s brother, Prince Vladimir, and then her father, were arrested and killed by the Bolsheviks. The mother managed to save her daughter and escape to Paris. There, Natalie Paley quickly got a job as a model in the fashion house of another immigrant, Felix Yusupov, then collaborated with Coco Chanel, and then with fashion designer Lucien Lelong. He married the second. He soon conquered Paris and became the style icon of his time. She has appeared on the cover of Vogue more than once, and even the perfume of the brand Lelong is named after her.

Teya Bobrikova

In the early 1930s Teya (Ekaterina) Bobrikova became one of the most famous Russian models. She worked at the Lanvin fashion house at the beginning of her career. Then Jeanne Lanvin noticed him and offered him a fee of 2000 francs. In 1934, Thea left Lanvin and founded her own fashion house, Katrin Parel. The outfits he created were worn by the French movie stars of that era.