Video: Catwalk stars: How the destinies of Russian top models of the 1990s developed abroad
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The names of foreign supermodels of the 1990s known all over the world, they still go to the catwalks and participate in photo shoots. Russian top models are much less known to the general public, especially in their homeland. First of all, this applies to those of them who tried to build a modeling career abroad. Where are the first beauties of the former USSR now and how did their fates develop after a successful start in the 1990s?
Tatiana Sorokko (Ilyushkina) was called one of the first Russian "first wave" supermodels who managed to achieve success abroad. Her modeling career began in the USSR in the late 1980s, in the era of perestroika, when the excitement around the model profession was just beginning - after all, before that, the work of a fashion model was not considered prestigious. When Tatyana worked at the Lux Fashion Center for Vyacheslav Zaitsev, she was noticed by the director of the French modeling agency Marilyn Gaultier and invited her to sign a contract. At the age of 17, the girl went to Paris, where she participated in the shows of the best designers and in advertising campaigns for famous brands. The fate of Tatiana as a model was decided by designer Hubert de Givenchy, in whose shows she participated for more than one season, and photographer Guy Bourdin, thanks to whom she got on the covers of glossy magazines. She was called not only one of the first Soviet top models, but also the "queen of vintage fashion." She became the first Soviet fashion model to come to work in Paris under a contract with a French modeling agency.
Abroad, Tatiana married a Russian émigré, the owner of a modern art gallery Serge Sorokko, and moved to San Francisco, where she still lives. Back in the 1990s. Tatiana Sorokko became interested in collecting clothes, which she bought from famous designers and at flea markets. In the late 1990s. Tatiana ended her modeling career, but did not leave the world of fashion: she became a fashion editor, wrote her column in Vogue and wrote articles for Harper's Bazaar, organized exhibitions of her clothing collections, and lectured on the history of fashion. Until now, Tatiana is called a style icon. In 2007, the American Harper's Bazaar named her one of the best dressed women of all time. In 2014, after a 10-year hiatus, she again took part in a photo shoot as a model for Harper's Bazaar.
Irina Pantaeva was one of the first beauties of Buryatia. In 1989, she won first place at the Miss Ulan-Ude beauty contest, but in Moscow she often heard offensive phrases like “her face is flat as a plate” rather than compliments. Nevertheless, she was accepted into the Theater of Avant-Garde Fashion by Irina Molchanova, and in 1992 the girl went to conquer Paris. Modeling agencies called her appearance too exotic and refused her until she achieved a personal meeting with Karl Lagerfeld himself. The famous designer turned her into a world-class model, one of the most successful fashion models with an oriental look, the first model of Asian origin to make it to the pages of Sports Illustrated and Vogue magazines. In 1994, Irina Pantaeva moved to America, where she worked not only as a model, but also as an actress - there are about 10 works in her filmography. American journalists called it a "Russian phenomenon." Today she is actively involved in public activities, participating in actions dedicated to environmental protection and global warming. Pantaeva was married to a photographer, an American of Latvian descent, and they divorced in 2008.
Christina Semenovskaya got into the modeling business at the age of 14. And at 16 she was noticed by a representative of the French modeling agency "Karin Models", after which she interested Parisian fashion designers. Until she came of age, she could not work on the podium abroad and continued her studies at an international school in Paris. And after 18 years, she became one of the most popular Russian models abroad. Semenovskaya took part in the advertising campaign for Levi's jeans, and also became the face of the Classique fragrance of the Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion house and the face of the Christian Dior brand in the perfume line, and took part in the shows of the best fashion houses. Together with Irina Pantaeva and Tatyana Zavyalova, Semenovskaya starred for the 1997 Pirelli calendar. Her last work as a model was a photo shoot for the cover of Madame Figaro magazine in 2004. After completing her modeling career, Semenovskaya devoted all her efforts to raising her daughter and tried to avoid attention of the press. She no longer appears at social events and does not give interviews.
Tatyana Zavyalova dreamed of a modeling career since her youth. In 1993, she won the national stage of the "The Look of the Year" competition, and took 3rd place in the international final. After that, she became a model for the agency "Elite" and moved to New York. Soon her face appeared on the covers of ELLE, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire magazines. Zavyalova participated in fashion shows for Vivien Westwood, Christian Lacroix, Yives Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Lanvin, was the face of advertising campaigns for Christian Dior, Victoria's Secret, Diesel, etc. Tatiana became one of the favorite fashion models of the famous Vivienne Westwood, in all the shows of which she participated from 1997 to 2000. After completing her modeling career, Zavyalova returned to Moscow, got married, gave birth to three children. In 2010, she began her career in television, becoming the host of the Around the World with Tatyana Zavyalova program.
Unfortunately, another Russian fashion model who conquered the world catwalks has recently passed away: What caused the premature death of Olga Pantyushenkova.
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