Russians in London: Ekaterina Bazhenova, director
Over the past week, Wonderzine talked about the key moments of London Fashion Week, which is traditionally famous for its avant-garde and young fashion designers. What is not surprising - in the development of youth culture with the city can be compared except New York. In London, always come the guys who want to get the best education in art or fashion and / or join the teams that form the taste of an entire generation, be it Dazed & Confused, Love and i-D magazines or KTZ or Palace clothing brands.
We gathered 6 girls who are currently building a career in the London fashion industry, and asked them whether it is difficult to survive in one of the most expensive cities, how to get a job in a place where almost the biggest competition in the world is, and whether return to Russia.
Ekaterina Bazhenova
On Catherine: BACK by Ann-Sofie Back dress
I was born and raised in Tripoli, Libya. Moved to Moscow at the age of eight, when Russia became Russia. I lived there for twelve years, I don’t think that this is enough for a sense of nostalgia. Since childhood, I was fond of visual art. Although due to the fact that we had a piano at home, instead of art school my mother gave me to the musical one. She studied at the Russian Academy of Economics. Plekhanov, in Högskolan i Borås, London College of Fashion and Chelsea College of Art & Design.
In British colleges we were forced to take root in the industry at a professional level under the pretext of educational projects, and initially I worked as a photographer. Finally chose a profession because of dyslexia. I did a lot of projects. One of the most beloved and most difficult is the couture project with Boudicca: it took me more than three months to negotiate with brand designer Zouvy Broach, and the shooting was transferred five times for sure. I almost don’t remember how I shot the last video for Bless - I didn’t sleep for 48 hours until the morning of shooting. It seems we managed in one hour.
I moved to London by chance never planned it, never came here. I like the city with its openness, multinationality, tolerance and climate, but transport communications sometimes force me to swear. I do not want to advise you to move to London. I would advise you to leave Russia. I have never worked in Moscow. For me, the fashion and art industry in Russia is missing or has a distinctive character. I try not to compare Russia with anything. No, in Russia, I would just do something else.