Unfamiliar acquaintances

This is an interview with Tatyana Vasilieva who is a fashion designer and whose works are well known around the world.

• So, lets start with the childhood and your connection with sports
• I was born in Ribachiem City in Issi-Cule. I have always liked to dance and later I started taking gymnastics.
• What grade did you have in school for gym?
• Since I am a Leo, I don’t like to do something that is required. I was very athletic and loved the only two things during the lesson: running and jumping.
• Maybe we have lost an Olympic champion?
• Maybe, maybe (very seriously)
• So what was the later relationship with sports?
• When I went away to college in Krasnoyarsk, I started skiing. Another sports activity on my record is horse riding.
• Now a personal question. Can you compare dating regular young men and young men who are into sports?
• My boyfriends were connected with two types of sports: gymnastics and alpinism. I still think that a bad person cannot be an alpinist.
• There is a conception that people who are into sports have an intellectually limited horizon and are even simple-minded. Do you agree with that?
• Absolutely not. My friends have had both athletic and life goals and have accomplished them.
• What are the common traits pertaining to athletes?
• Responsibility, inner discipline, inner organization. The athletes who I used to know had all of the aforementioned characteristics.
• Are you sure that sport has been the cause of the traits?
• Of course. When you need to come at seven at practice and then work hard for the whole day- these traits are a necessity.
• How did you occupy your daughter with sport?
• At first, Nastya was scared of water, so her dad taught her how to swim. And then she started to slouch since she was attending “sit-in” schools: English-specialized and art. Therefore, she started swimming. Later on, when there appeared a dilemma between cutting her long hair and quitting swimming, Nastya did both.
• With all the hard work, how do you manage to keep such a good figure?
• I have many sets of exercises. First of all, I run in the mornings. By doing this, I walk the dogs and improve my health. I spend about 40 minutes for all the activities
• How about your husband- does he follow your work-out or has something else?
• He watches football, hockey, tennis and etc on television. And that’s his sports activities.
• What are your favorite TV sports?
• I love watching dancing and aerobics. It reflects the culture of the body, rhythm and dance- all well-organized. I also like watching Afro-Americans run; cannot take my eyes off the TV
• Many famous athletes today go on the podium as models. Can you imagine athletes among your models?
• I already have a wonderful young lady like that- Alina Shipilina, who has been working with me for a long time and completely proves my theory regarding the aforementioned traits. She came to me when she was a student at the university and not a bad runner. She was built, all muscles, 185 cm in height and a very cute Russian face. From the first look, I unfortunately had to tell her that she would never become a model. The girl answered very politely but firmly that she would. I have heard such answers many times, so I did not want to argue with her. I have to admit that I was wrong. Alina with her hard work (used to it from sport work-outs) became a beauty with a figure of a true model. The girl has had time to finish university, work in the West and now she is working on the her degree (this is another proof of intelligence of the athletes).
• Then, maybe you should take the models from the athletes?
• I have my own school of preparing models and we base it on my own methods. It is easier to build models from “fresh” girls rather than athletes. But I respect the psychology of these people.
• What is the sport fashion to you?
• It is the fashion where the function of the outfit has to coordinate with beauty and aesthetics. Therefore, it has to be out of the natural fabrics. A person in that costume should have a desire to run, jump, and do some physical exercise.
• Today all the athletes are wearing “Reebok”, “Adidas”, “Nike”. Is there a Russian sport fashion?
• There is no Russian sport fashion because we do not have a sport costume culture. But we do not have enough equipment to provide the best quality of the product.
• Did you ever try to become the leader in the sport fashion?
• I have tried to work with the Krasnodarsk Company “Dynamo”. But it was a misfortune mostly due to unadvanced technology.
• Is there really no hope in this area?
• Not really. Oleg Machuga’s company (he is a son of a favorite athlete Vasily Machuga) is doing pretty well on the market. They work with foreign materials and goods. Considering the costs, the output is not that big. This is going to continue until our government realizes that it is profitable to produce sport costumes.
• How much does the costume influence the outcome in sports?
• In my opinion, it is 50/50. But it gives confidence to the athlete; this actually applies to everyday life too.
• Do you have friends who are athletes?
• Yes. They are Starikov, Mkrtchyan, Lavrov, Machuga, Pachivalov. All these people have the aforementioned traits of the athletes. Also Lilya Lavrova, woman who is beautiful and graceful.
• Are athletes among your customers?
• Unfortunately not. They think that their good bodies will look good in anything. It is nice to make clothes for their perfect bodies but I do not mind not perfect either. First of all, the person should listen to my opinion, and second of all, I have to like the person. There are plenty of resources to change the looks of the person.
• What is common between fashion and sport?
• First of all, it is something that combines the people. Athletes care about the culture of the body, and fashion representatives try to make people look beautiful using clothes. Both of the lines are positive because they help people to advance.
• What is needed for Tatyana Vasilieva to start producing sport clothes?
• An investor. Even though I am still convinced that we do not have enough resources in our country to produce the sport clothes, even though we could use it here, in Cubany.
• You have traveled all over the world with your collection of clothes. What was the most memorable thing in the theme of “Sport and Fashion ”.
• When I was in London, I used to go to Guide Park. I was impressed that little kids and old people were running together. Also they had the best colorful costumes. And they were all so happy, which is partly based on the beautiful sport clothes.
• How will the sport fashion develop in the XXI century?
• Many fashion designers think that the traditional style will die out and the sport clothes will become popular. It is explainable by the democracy of the clothes.
• What are the perspectives of developing of the industry of gym clothes here in Cuban?
• Cuban is created for the development of this industry. We have a lot of resorts and this kind of clothes is exactly for that. For all sports, fishing, and swimming the gym clothes is essential. This business would profit pretty fast.
• What kind of sports would you recommend for women?