Alina Lysova, creator of Vintage Voyage
Recently we told what a vintage is, how it differs from second-hand and how things are with it in Russia, and also listed 10 rules for dealing with vintage now. It is impossible not to notice that over the past two years, a dozen vintage projects have appeared of a completely different format: from online stores to studios, where they come by personal recording, and showrooms. Many of them took part in the Lambada market that specializes in vintage (and not only), which was held at the weekend in Tsvetnoy department store. We asked several of them about what is happening with the vintage in Moscow, why they like things from past eras and how to wear them in 2013.
Alina Lysova
FOUNDER Vintage VoyageVintage Voyage: Vintage of the main fashion houses of the XX century (from Chanel, Dior, YSL to Elsa Schiaparelli)
Fashion has gradually moved from the magical world of beauty to the hard, mundane world of money
In the world - a real boom in vintage stuff. Our girls also began to understand their true value. Celebrities choose vintage couture outfits for the red tracks, hunt for unusual decorations. Vintage is something unforgettable! A chance to meet a girl in exactly the same outfit tends to zero. And quite sincerely I like all people who are engaged in vintage. This is a kind of circle of like-minded people, these are people with whom you can talk about your favorite business. Everyone comes to visit me with interest, watch the collection and try on many things. However, wearing vintage items is not everything: about 50 to 50. I always say that you should accept or not accept vintage. Those who wear vintage are right. Those who do not wear, have their own internal barriers that would prevent them from feeling relaxed in these clothes, and therefore, they are also right. However, it should be noted that some of those who did not dare to wear vintage a year ago now begin to try on the example of individual items, as a rule, accessories. And those acquaintances who from the very beginning were sympathetic to vintage, began to collect their collections.
Today, the fashion industry idiom is insistently inculcating in our minds. Fashion has gradually moved from the magical world of beauty to the hard, mundane world of money, retail chains and mass production. This state of affairs categorically did not suit me, and I was fascinated by the search for the pearls of the old collections of great brands. I am sure that the works of the past are not only more interesting, but also more relevant, more modern than new products. This beauty is for me the essence of what we call the word "vintage." Being a green student, I bought myself vintage accessories and bags, then my passion spread to clothes, and I could not stop. In Moscow, I could not find everything that I liked so much in Europe: vintage outfits of YSL, Givenchy and Dior, Hermes bags from the 70s, Chanel jewelry with Gripoix crystals. So, to fill the shortage of beauty, and the idea of creating a store was born.
The idea of our store is very simple: we find and select the best that has been created by the art of fashion over the past few decades. We focus not only on brands and big names. In the Vintage Voyage collection, the most famous luxury brands are Chanel, Hermès, YSL, Givenchy, Lanvin, Balmain, as well as fashionable Houses that have been popular in the past and due to circumstances that have lost their former fame these days: Paloma Picasso, Galanos, Arnold Scaasi, Elsa Schiaparelli and a lot others. I began to collect our collection on trips around the towns of France and Italy. The main treasures are hidden in the chests of the secular ladies of Europe and America, so our search is first of all traveling and socializing with the charming keepers of vintage items. Now I travel less and less specifically for things, we have formed a circle of reliable suppliers. However, I always select each item personally, even if it is from a private collection or a fashionable relic. Our main know-how and even a matter of secret pride is a built-up relationship with suppliers. In addition, we work with Europe and the United States, so we can change the supply depending on changes in exchange rates. Anyone who is guided by the pricing environment can see that our prices are quite comparable with the prices of European vintage stores of luxury brands. This is, you see, a rarity for fashionable stores in Moscow. Our client is a fashionable girl who likes to experiment and is nostalgic about the past, she likes to mix styles and trends, she attends exhibitions of contemporary artists and watches old black and white films.
I bought a couture Balenciaga dress of the 50s from a lady whom I met by chance on a plane. I looked through the photos on our website, which now exists only in Russian, she was very interested in the incomprehensible Russian website, where there are so many vintage items, and when she learned that I was the owner of this store, word for word - and the next day was her guest. I got the same dress, some wonderful Chanel jewelry and a wonderful acquaintance. I have an Elsa Schiaparelli dress in my wardrobe, I am terribly proud of them and wear them only on special occasions.
Few people can afford to wear a vintage total-bow and at the same time look not ridiculous, and the matter is not only in a very fine taste and competent combination of eras, but in something much more elusive. Therefore, I usually advise in one image to combine no more than one or two vintage items and shade them with modern details.
visagiste: Julia Timonina
Stylist:Daria Kuzminova
Photographer: Andrey Gerasimchuk
Wonderzine thanks NAKED Studios for their help in filming.