Julia Vasilevskaya

Fashion phenomenon and founder of the YuliaWave brand Yulia Vasilevskaya interviewed Madonna Moore for her YouTube channel. The designer talked about how she came to the capital from a small town on the outskirts of Russia, working as a manicurist and turning her passion for fashion into a business, she told me. Key citations collected.

How life changed after the start of special operations

I try not to touch this topic, as a creative person I have a kind of dome (protection). The first thing I felt was fear, uncertainty. It’s still there, but has dwindled a bit. I try to suppress it myself because I have a big team (50 people), they have their own families, and I have something to fight for. I am trying to get rid of the current conditions.

On the course of international brands and competition in the fashion industry

I am a human actor. Competition is important to me, especially when it comes to big European brands. I want to trust them, I like that our customers constantly compare us with brands in the luxury segment. I hope after a while everything will go back to the way it was. As for financial indicators, we are now in growth.

About life and difficult childhood in Dudinka

I have never associated myself with this city, only memories in the form of photographs or my classmates who write to me come back to it. The city can be bypassed in exactly five minutes. I have no idea what people are doing there right now. All my friends are gone a long time ago. This is an ordinary small town where they don’t like the weak. You must be strong there. School years are years of survival. I changed about five schools. When I left Dudinka, he was full of drugs. I escaped this fate. Although I was in bad company at school, I was introduced to alcohol early, studied poorly, lacked confidence… Our city is not sprouting for you to somehow create yourself. I thank my mother for sending me to an institute in Moscow. I don’t remember anything good about my city. I associate this with the boarding school my mother sent me in connection with various occasions.

About moving to Moscow

I was a difficult teenager because my mother worked hard. I was raised myself, raised by the garden and the company. After school I entered Norilsk as a programmer. I sat in lectures and never understood what I was doing here. I failed at everything and gave nothing. My mother was the manager of the only restaurant in our city and she made connections. I was offered a place in Moscow so that I could enter the capital’s university for an affordable place. My friend and current business partner Katya and I went to Moscow. I studied economics for five years. And so it’s all gone.

About starting a business

I had a small rental flat in a panel house with old women and cats in the window. Later I worked as a manicurist and YuliaWave’s first clients were just people I had manicures with. I had seven to ten clients a day, and I designed and designed clothes at night. Katya had saved money and agreed to take a loan (one million rubles) to open a brand.

about feminism

Although traces of feminism can be traced in our collections, I do not consider myself a feminist.

Relationship with her husband and children

I have three children. My husband Dmitry has an older daughter Milena, I treat her like myself. I have no distinction in this matter. My husband is a friend, a fellow in arms, everything somehow fits in one person.

Those who knew me five years ago say I’ve changed a lot. I hope I will be a good mother, spend all weekends with my family. I’m trying to arrange romantic trips for my husband.

We met on social networks, he wrote to me for a long time, I was looking for a room for our showroom and he was just a realtor. We went on a date and haven’t broken up since. From the first days I felt like I was behind a stone. I always tried to run in front of the engine and finally managed to lower my shoulders.

It has nothing to do with my job. If you need advice, I can ask him, but the main rule for me is not to spoil the relationship with money.

Elsa Hosk in a Yuliawave trench coat

Yulia Vasilevskaya founded the clothing brand YuliaWave in 2014. The designer’s works are worn by world stars such as Elsa Hosk, Irina Shayk and Katie Holmes. The brand’s clothing products are sold at the Central Department Store, Butterfly and the brand’s boutique. The brand was supposed to appear on Farfetch this year, but deals with foreign partners fell through due to a special operation.