Vika Naumova # 1 fashion blogger and Belarusian fashion

Vika Naumova is the author of the fashion blog vickyblog.com, as well as the creator of the pro-fashion.by website, Vika was one of the first to write about Belarusian fashion. She has been blogging since 2008, on Vika's blog she writes about Belarusian designers and fashion trends. Vika Naumova is also the organizer of such an event in the Belarusian fashion life as Fashion Market. The first Fashion Market took place in June 2011, the event immediately became attended, it showed that there is interest among Belarusians in Belarusian fashion, Belarusian designers, and soon, on February 11, the next Fashion Market will take place in Minsk. Today Vika Naumova will share her thoughts on fashion in general and Belarusian fashion in particular with mystylex.techinfus.com/en/.

1.Why Fashion? Why is fashion interesting for you?

Fashion has fascinated me since childhood - I loved trying on my mother's and grandmother's outfits, shoes, I could spend hours looking at jewelry from their boxes, I loved dressing dolls - I sewed them clothes myself. Then glossy magazines appeared, which further increased my interest in fashion. At the same time, I never wanted to become a clothing designer - I dreamed of becoming a fashion journalist.

Initially, fashion is interesting to me for its power of transformation, constant passion for renewal, art of combining the incompatible.

2. On your website pro-fashion.by, you say that you are also the author of the first fashion blog in Belarus, Vickyblog.com. Was it hard to start writing about Belarusian fashion?

I started blogging about fashion in 2008 because there was "nowhere" to write about fashion in Belarus except to my blog. Yes, and I had no experience in writing articles on the topic of fashion, I had no knowledge. I decided to make my blog such a training ground for myself. It so happened that I was the first in Belarus to start blogging about fashion. I wrote mainly about Belarusian designers - and this was also a novelty.

3. Belarusian fashion, what is it like? What is its feature?

Belarusian fashion is an author's fashion, created for a specific client, not a mass one. Successful Belarusian designers do not dictate fashion trends, do not try to "get" into the trend, but talentedly create things that are interesting to a certain circle of people. It is impossible to single out a single recognizable stylistic line in the Belarusian fashion. Perhaps it will never be formed, since the time for this, in my opinion, has already been lost - it happened historically. But there is some common feature - the majority of Belarusian designers strive for minimalism in forms and decor, making one, but verified accent.

4. Vika, what Belarusian designers can you single out? Which Belarusian designers, in your opinion, create interesting collections?

Recognized masters - Olga Samoshchenko, Lena Tsokalenko, Lyudmila Tarakanova, Ivan Aiplatov. Each new collection of these designers is expected and desirable, always stronger than the previous one. Yes, they are much better known and more popular in Russia, where they are perceived as their own designers, than in our country.

Among young designers, I would note Tatyana Marynich, Yulia Latushkina, Yulia Gilevich, Irina Boitk. These designers have already formed a corporate identity and brand philosophy.

5. You are also the organizer of such an event as the Fashion Market. Within the framework of the Fashion Market, Belarusian designers can actively demonstrate and sell their clothes. Past Markets have also shown that the public is very interested in such events, people are interested in Belarusian design. The first Fashion Market took place in July 2011, then the second took place in the fall, and finally the Big Christmas Fashion Market in December. Will there be Fashion Markets in 2012? What lessons have you learned from organizing past Fashion Markets? How will this event develop further?

Yes, on February 11, the Sale with Love Fashion Market will be held - a sale of clothes from the autumn-winter collections with discounts, as well as souvenirs and gifts for Valentine's Day. On March 17, the Spring Fashion Market will be held - new collections of clothes and accessories will already be presented here.

Belarusian designers have a great interest in the Fashion Market. The format of the event itself is very comfortable. For our part, we do not dictate mark-ups on goods - it is profitable to buy on the Markets. We think over advertising campaigns - as a result, the target audience comes to Markets. In addition, the designers themselves receive PR in the network - we support the best on Pro-Fashion.by.

Interest in the Fashion Market is also due to the fact that clothes and accessories from Belarusian designers are very little represented in our stores.
For the previous Markets, we accepted applications from everyone, now we are conducting a selection - in order to collect the most powerful designers and give an incentive to beginners to develop.

The Bolshoy Fashion Market project itself will gather around itself everything that is “in trend” within our country. We are constantly looking for new interesting designers, we are already trying to organize fashion shows, we invite fashion musicians to cooperate. The first rally of Belarusian fashion bloggers is scheduled for March. Also, we plan to hold Markets in the regions of Belarus.

6. If you are offered to choose one of two options, what will you choose: New York or Paris?

New York or Paris is a very difficult question! Probably, for work, I would choose New York with its rhythm and energy, but Paris is more likely for life. But that would be if I had to choose. Now I like living outside the city much more.

7. Your motto for life.

Smile and wave