Veronika Dorosheva is not your usual stylist. Her aesthetics are filled by the many experiences and emotions of everyday life, representing the beautiful simplicity of its materials and form in a gender fluid appearance.
With her focus on futurism and effortless styling, she provides a broad yet understated palette for mysterious looks that are born out of ambivalence for our surroundings and express the need for grace and clean elements. So it’s not a surprise when I’m telling you that Veronika has loved fashion and clothes ever since she was a little girl. There have not been many other options for her but to be involved with creativity and interacting with reflected individuals. I met up with the creative Berlin-based spirit and had a chat.
Tell me a little bit about yourself. What’s your background and what do you do?
I have quite a multicultural background. I am Russian, but I was born in Kazakhstan (back then it was part of the UdSSR). I have German roots from my grandma’s side, my grandfather’s family originally comes from Siberia, and my father’s family has some Kirghiz roots. I grew up surrounded by Russians, Kazakh and Korean people. It’s no wonder that I feel very well living in such an international city like Berlin.
Here in Berlin I got my BA and MA degree in Literature and Communication. But for a few years I’ve been involved in fashion and have worked as a stylist and a fashion editor. I would like to continue doing this and go more towards art direction in the near future.
How did you end up working in fashion?
I’ve always been interested in the aesthetic side of getting dressed, in clothes, fabrics and accessories. At first I became interested in photography in general and I met many talented people with whom I worked on some projects. Somehow I was always the one who was responsible for clothes. At some point I started my own fashion blog, attended my first fashion week (it was Copenhagen fashion week) and then it just started rolling… ☺
What does aesthetic mean to you?
Aesthetic to me is a sense of beauty and harmony. An aesthetic object for example is one that pleases the eye and the imagination and that gives you positive emotions and the feelings of joy and happiness when you look at it.
Who are you inspired by?
By humankind! By people from different cultures: ancient cultures such as Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Asia Minor cultures and many others, but also by contemporary cultures, their creativity and imagination. Think: Egyptian pyramids, Aztec pyramids, wonderful places like Meteora (one of the largest complexes of Greek Orthodox monasteries which are built on natural sandstone rock pillars). They all are truly stunning pieces of art which were created by humans. When you look at the fashion industry nowadays you also see many stunning creations.
You just graduated from University! Congrats, what was your thesis about?
My thesis was about the relationship between clothing and gender in selected Medieval German literary texts.
What’s your favourite city?
A tough question! Unfortunately, I haven’t traveled that much so far and there are still many cities out there for me to discover. I like Paris, it’s a beautiful city with a rich history where you can get a sense of the well-known Parisian chic lifestyle. I also like Berlin, the city that gives you a very particular feeling of being free, and that impresses you with its crazy nightlife. I also like Thessaloniki and it’s Mediterranean lifestyle, lively, youthful atmosphere, friendly people and great food. Porto is a rather quiet, but it’s an incredibly beautiful, culturally interesting and friendly city. I guess I could go on like this forever. The cities that I’ve just mentioned were all my favorites at a certain time in my life. So I think certain cities become my favorites for some time depending on my current state of mind…
Let’s say you had the chance to set up the perfect shooting and are able to work with anyone dead or alive! Who would be the photographer, whose clothes would you style, who would be modeling and in which magazine would the spread be published?
I would love to work with Sølve Sundsbø. I attended a conference once where he was among the speakers. I liked that he was reflecting on the way the female body is depicted in fashion magazines. I think he is very conscious of what he is doing as a fashion photographer and he is aware of the fact that he in a way is also contributing to the creation of this certain image.
I would use some vintage pieces from Martin Margiela (from the time when Martin Margiela was still present), also pieces from Robert Wun, Jamie Wei Huang, Prada and Craig Green.
Maria Carla Boscono and Daisuke Ueda would be modeling. And the editorial would be published in Vogue Japan.
To read more about Veronika Dorosheva head over to vanillachina.tumblr.com!
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