Kitsenko Eduard Vasilyevich biography. Polina Kitsenko: “The main thing is not the goal, but the path to it

Polina does not like to put her life on display. In her social networks, there are very few pages dedicated to family or everyday life, but there are so many sports recommendations, direct PR for a healthy lifestyle and beautiful photos of the celebrity herself in expensive outfits and at social events.

It is known that Kitsenko was born in the Vladimir region in a family of officials. Her parents moved to Moscow when she was 11. There, a capable and diligent girl went to an English special school, and after graduating from it, to the International Institute. Kitsenko studied as a lawyer, but the student paid much attention to languages.

Edward

Developer Vadim Raskovalov and Podium Fashion Group co-owner Eduard Kitsenko (left to right) at the new annual Metamorphoses project of the Silver Rain radio station and SNC magazine at the Gogol Center.

It is difficult to say when Polina became a fan of a healthy lifestyle and became so interested in sports that now she can easily carry millions of fans of morning jogging and healthy eating with her. However, it is known that her husband, businessman Eduard Kitsenko, whose last name she bears, fully shares her passion for an active lifestyle.

When the lovers got married, Edward owned the Podium company and one store and, according to rumors, was against his wife also doing business.

Young people met many years ago and soon created the very family that many people only dream of throughout their lives. In one of her interviews, Polina calls herself Chekhov's Darling, and Ksenia Sobchak (her friend and author of that interview) reveals secrets: the star always personally prepares breakfast for her husband and arrives home early to be with him.

Kitsenko has two children - a son and a daughter, the age difference between them is 12 years. They travel a lot for the whole family, often having active rest: skiing, cycling, climbing ... They work, one might say, also together. When the lovers got married, Edward owned the Podium company and one store and, according to rumors, was against his wife also doing business.

Fashionista

However, the girl was extremely interested in fashion. In an interview, she admits that she is still delighted to find unusual and beautiful things - even a sweater for a thousand, even a priceless couture dress.

It was at her suggestion that stores selling premium brand clothes first developed into a chain, and then some of them were modified into Podium Market, a more accessible boutique that works for a wide audience.

The special knowledge that the fashion industry demanded from her, Polina studied on her own. The businesswoman says that her husband helped her in many ways.

Most kind

She calls him the kindest and most patient man and talks about his subtle, unsurpassed taste, with the help of which her husband directs Polina herself. Well, what else to expect from a man whose business is directly related to the fashion industry?

Kitsenko also talks about the fact that a spouse can give good advice on the image of his wife. It was he who invented the legendary blonde hairstyle. He can also casually note which outfit on the Field sits more advantageously.

Maybe that's why Polina calls her husband her best friend, and her family - not sports or work - is the closest sphere in which she is ready to be realized endlessly.

Polina Kitsenko's husband Eduard is not only her faithful companion in life, but also a like-minded person - they have many common interests and hobbies, to which the spouses introduce their children. The couple are raising their son Yegor and their little daughter Tonya, who is twelve years younger than her brother. Antonina was born in one of the maternity hospitals in Germany, and in order for the birth to be successful, Polina left there in advance.

In the photo - Polina with her daughter

This married couple is engaged in the same business - Eduard and Polina Kitsenko - they own a chain of fashion stores PODIUM market, in which far from poor Russian citizens dress.

Polina is not only the creative director of the brand, but for some time now a true trendsetter, who advises the most famous socialites on how to create their own stylish image.

With son Yegor

Another hobby of Polina is sports and a healthy lifestyle, and she tries to involve as many people as possible in this.

So, Polina became one of the organizers of the largest charity run in our country, she periodically posts training videos on Instagram, and also gives advice on proper nutrition.

And she manages to combine all this with hard work - Polina believes that success in business can only be achieved through hard work.

At one time, she graduated from a special school with in-depth study of the English language and was going to enter the Institute of Foreign Languages, but on the advice of her father she became a student at the Faculty of Law of the International University, opened by Mikhail Gorbachev and Gavriil Popov.

In the photo - Polina and Eduard Kitsenko

After high school, Polina worked for some time in a bank, dealt with credit cards. She traveled to the USA on a student exchange, and from that time she developed an interest in fashionable things - she got the opportunity to dress beautifully and stylishly. In the future, this helped her start working in fashion.

The future husband of Polina Kitsenko, when they met, was a co-owner of the Podium company and did not want Polina to work with him. She made every effort to join this business, and she succeeded.

In her boutique, Polina Kitsenko presented only luxury fashion brands Antonio Berardi, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Chloe and others. She selected only the best models for sale in her store, and her business has grown rapidly since the mid-nineties of the last century.

Together with her husband, Polina opened stores in major Russian cities - Samara, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk.

Later, Kitsenko's company began to focus not only on the clothes of luxury brands, but also on the mass market.

The fact that the business of the Kitsenko family is developing very successfully and brings Polina and her husband good income can be judged by the fact that every year they and their children often visit the fashionable ski resort of Courchevel and spend the New Year holidays there.

And for some time now, one of the PODIUM market stores, Podium Jewelery, has opened in this beautiful place, selling branded jewelry, the price of which varies from fifteen to twenty thousand euros.

To keep abreast of all fashionable novelties, Polina Kitsenko tries to visit important cult fashion shows, where she selects the most interesting models not only for her stores, but also for herself - the owner of PODIUM market prefers to wear things from Chapurin Couture, Azzedine Alaia, Givenchy, Phillip Lim.

In her image, she tries to mix the clothes of luxury brands and not yet very popular brands. Polina is very grateful to her husband for the fact that he creates all the conditions for her to develop, supports her and, if necessary, suggests what to do in this or that situation. Their union can be called ideal - there are never scandals in the Kitsenko family, and they always know how to find a common language.

For the fashionable Russian elite, the name of Polina Kitsenko is far from an empty phrase. The owner of the Podium boutique chain has been a trendsetter for several years and is one of the most influential people in Russian fashion. Such “stylish things” as Ksenia Sobchak, Miroslava Duma, Daria Zhukova, Olga Slutsker and many others are proud of personal acquaintance with her. At one time, it was Polina Kitsenko who taught all Moscow young ladies, and after them the whole country, to wear leggings in combination with mini-dresses.
The niche occupied by the Podium trade brand in the capital's clothing market can be conditionally called "clothes for very rich people." For the first time in Moscow, these luxury stores opened in 1994 and since then have become a real Mecca for the “cream of society”. The official website of the Podium Fashion Group says that it laid the foundation for the development of the fashion industry in Russia. The assortment of boutiques includes almost all leading fashion brands specializing in the production of clothes, shoes and accessories of the highest price category. Polina Kitsenko herself has said more than once that it is mostly those clients who dress in her salons for whom buying outfits at the price of small cars is a common thing. Podium does not adhere to any particular style concept, it offers collections of clothes in the spirit of the mainstream and in the spirit of the avant-garde. Next to things from Alexander McQueen, Pucci, Baldessarini, Balenciaga there are new items from Celine, Chloe, Antonio Berardi, Emilio Gardem, Hugo Boss, Jean Dsquared2. Podium boutiques also offer expensive niche perfumes and cosmetics, jewelry and interior items. Profitable business Polina Kitsenko's boutiques are open in a number of regional centers of Russia, in particular, in St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk, Samara and some others. The company is not inclined to advertise information about its turnover; Moreover, at the peak of the crisis, the owner of Podium did not lag behind the general fashion to express dissatisfaction with the economic trends in the country and complained about the drop in interest on the part of buyers for dresses from Balmain worth 425 thousand rubles. But according to experts, the volume of investments in opening one Podium store can reach twenty million euros, and its net annual profit will be approximately twenty-five million rubles. But the success of Madame Kitsenko in business can be judged by the way she spends her leisure time. Polina with her husband Eduard and children often visit the fashionable ski resort in Courchevel: it has become a family tradition to go there for the New Year holidays. In addition, the Kitsenkos opened one of their famous boutiques there. It presents jewelry brands Loree Rodkin, Garrard, Palmiero worth from 15-20 thousand euros. Kitsenko's Courchevel project called Podium Jewelery is aimed at wealthy tourists from Russia, the countries of Muslim Asia and Latin America, primarily Argentina.
One of the most high-profile purchases of Polina Kitsenko was the purchase of an unusual lot at a charity auction organized by Natalia Vodianova. The "style icon" laid out ninety thousand euros for a personal serenade performed by singer Bryan Adams, ignoring Andrey Malakhov's comments that "Factory sings for that kind of money." A fan of the ironic style But, probably, like most women with very different levels of income, Polina prefers to invest the lion's share of investments in her personal wardrobe, since her financial opportunities for this are almost unlimited. She often wears Azzedine Alaia, Phillip Lim, Givenchy, Chapurin Couture. The owner of Podium considers it her professional duty to be present at all world-class fashion events, including all famous Fashion Weeks and other cult shows. You can see her everywhere in the forefront of the audience: Polina enthusiastically selects interesting models for herself and her stores. Polina Kitsenko's style is defined by fashion experts as a balanced mix of luxury and rising, but not yet very popular brands. The images in which she appears in public often combine eclecticism and spontaneity, bordering on deliberate negligence.
They say that this shows the ironic attitude of the trendsetter of the capital's fashion towards herself. “I am against mental anguish on the topic “What shoes will I pick up with this handbag?”. My consciousness doesn’t work like that at all, ”admits Polina.
She used to arrange a mobile wardrobe from her car. In the back seat or in the trunk of Polina Kitsenko there is always a bag with several pairs of shoes, a couple of clutches or bags and a few outfits. She experiences incomparable pleasure when she creates images from a limited number of things. For her, this is a kind of exciting game. Svetlana Usankova.www.luxury.net

About sport

I have been in fitness since the age of 18. But the desire to try myself in amateur sports manifested itself only after meeting the right coach. In the past, a skier, he offered outdoor training: running and cross-country skiing (fortunately, the ski-roller track in Odintsovo is not far from my house). I have never been in perfect health, but as soon as I started exercising outdoors, I forgot about my arthritis and chronically sore throat.

My first serious start was the ski marathon in St. Moritz, where for some reason I dragged myself after only a month of training, knowing only the style of skiing. As someone who couldn't even walk six kilometers without getting short of breath, I traveled 42 kilometers and never stopped. That's what adrenaline and the will to win do!

I understand that people who follow me on Instagram think that sport is everything for me. In fact, I spend most of my time in the office, which I usually leave at 21:00. And I only go in for sports in the morning for two hours.

About the will to win

In amateur sports, only personal achievements matter. You don't need to compare yourself to others. Everyone has different abilities: someone has a sports background, someone recovers better, sleeps more, and someone works hard and experiences more stress. When competing, it is important not to flirt, because our goal is not souvenir medals, but personal development and maintaining health and beauty.

About triathlon

The hardest part of triathlon for me is open water swimming. You start in a crowd of people with whom you have a contact fight. You never know whether the current will be strong, whether the water will get into the glasses, what the headwind will be. And the wave can also hit in the face or someone can plant a heel in your nose.

During my first start at the competitions in Strogino ten years ago, I left the race. For me it was a terrible tragedy. Due to a sharp drop in air and water temperature, I began to have tachycardia (it was hot outside, and the water was very cold), I was sure that I would suffocate. Now I know how to deal with it, but then I had no idea. It was funny and touching when my husband and my friend Ksenia Sobchak came to cheer for me at nine in the morning. They unfolded a poster with the words “Polina is a champion!”, and already five minutes after the start, when they saw that one of the “white caps” was delayed during the mass start and was not going to continue the competition, they rolled them up with the words: “It looks like this is our. We're turning." When I came out of the water, crying, the coach told me to get on the bike and continue the competition. This advice was very valuable, because I did not give up and reached the end.

The first triathlon was a personal challenge for me: at that time I swam the women's breaststroke with my head up, I didn't know how to ride a bike at all and I was just starting to run.

And the ultimate goal was to complete the Olympic distance: 1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling and 10 km running. About three hours of continuous work. It took a year to prepare, and before that there was a real small mountain triathlon in Austria, which I completed completely. But all this was an eternity ago, when triathlon communities did not exist and people did not even know what the term “triathlon” meant.

About sports plans

To make it not boring to train, I make a sports schedule for the whole year. Triathlon in summer, cross-country skiing in winter. Now in my mind I'm already opening the ski season.

Most of my trips are a kind of "sports local history". By participating in competitions, I even discover familiar places from a new perspective. For example, in Paris I always run the annual half marathon in March, in October according to the We Run Paris plan. It's great when you go out to the Avenue Opera in the morning, run around the city that belongs only to you, fill with its energy, and then quickly change clothes in the hotel and start a full-time work day. For me, sport is like plugging a plug into the sky, so I recharge.

About sports in the family

In my family, sport is a kind of hygiene and an obligatory part of the day. With my husband and son, we regularly work out at home and on vacation, gradually involving our daughter in training. Lying aimlessly on the beach is not our thing.

I am against tanning, and because of frequent outdoor workouts, I already get a lot of photoload, so I hardly tan on vacation. 30 minutes is enough to equalize the result of cycling and regular jogging. Instead, the whole family swim, go on excursions or shopping, travel. In Tuscany, for example, we always ride road bikes. In the morning we drive 100 km on them, have lunch, take a guide or a car and travel around the cities. And, of course, we do not build our lives around breakfasts, lunches and dinners, although we also love tasty, but healthy food.

A day on vacation never starts with "Where are we going to have dinner?" We are simply not interested.

About #SlimBitchClub

The idea to create #SlimBitchClub (the hashtag is actually a joke) came up while relaxing on a yacht with a large group of friends. Well, what can you do there? Eat, sleep? I am not against such a rest, just like everyone else, sometimes I can lie on the sofa and even stretch my hand towards chips, which, thank God, can no longer be found where I am. But I need to push myself. And on the yacht, I went to train alone, and the girls wanted to join. We made the music louder and started pumping the buttocks and abs. And at some point I say to them: “Do you want to make a trip with a healthy bias?”

#SlimBitchClub is a story about how a group of friends decided to spend time together in a useful way, taking a break from household chores and work duties. When we get married and have children, an absolutely amazing truth is revealed: no matter how much we love our spouses and children, we can only have a good rest in the circle of friends. Therefore, everyone loves bachelorette parties so much, where you can either walk to the nines dressed up, or, conversely, not make up and wear trousers with stretched knees, paint your nails and wait for it to dry.

I just came up with a program to spend time both with feeling and with sense. We can also have time to swim, sunbathe, go shopping, visit museums together, but who prevents us from taking care of ourselves and eating right? All this is easier to do together, because in order to inspire others, you need to inspire yourself, and in order to inspire yourself, you need to be inspired by others.

About nutrition

I remember how ten years ago I showed Ksenia Sobchak a photograph of myself as a 16-year-old. She was terribly disappointed to see that my figure had not changed at all since that time. She thought that I made myself, made a jump over my head to become what I was not born to be.

In fact, I never had problems with the figure and I did not count calories. But I have some kind of shit-detector that stops me when I want to eat too much. Any food, even the most healthy, can be high in calories. Take at least salmon and avocado. The issue is always moderation.

For example, for breakfast and lunch, my menu always has slow carbohydrates that maintain normal blood sugar levels, which means that after three hours I will not fall for sweets. I try to get out of the office for lunch, I usually refuse dinner, having my last snack at 17:00. The only exception is a trip to visit in the evening, where I eat what the owners of the house have prepared, because I respect their work. But at events, I would rather refuse food.

If you eat right five times a week, then because on the sixth or seventh day you had dinner somewhere or ate a ban, nothing will happen, you will not gain weight. Consistency wins in any matter.

I inherited the instinctive power system from my dad. He was always very slender and, without limiting himself in the choice of products, ate small portions when he wanted. But I also have breakdowns: I can sneak to the refrigerator in the evening for Greek yogurt, and in a fit of “sugar madness” I can eat five Korovka sweets or half a can of salted caramel. I'm not a robot, after all.

I do not limit my children in food, but I try to keep healthy foods at home, such as yeast-free or whole grain bread. My son is a gourmet, but after seven he does not eat. Lately, my husband has also been refusing to eat dinner. It's great that they came to this on their own, just watching how I eat and seeing the result.

About dieting

A strict diet is a pre-lost battle with your body. The human diet should consist of 50-60% carbohydrates, 25% proteins and 15% fats. If there is more protein in the body, problems with the liver and kidneys may begin. Everything must be in balance. This is an elementary recommendation of the World Health Organization, and not just another newfangled approach.

I eat everything: white and red meat (I want the latter no more than once a month), fish, chicken. It is important to feel what food suits you and what does not. I stopped eating many foods, because after them it’s hard to train. I do not like pasta, flour, fruits, juices, I do not drink carbonated drinks. All my life I was indifferent to sweets, but now I fell in love with chocolate. But I will never eat dessert or fruit immediately after dinner - I can not stand this terrible state of satiety.

I tried different vitamins and supplements, but by trial and error I settled on spirulina and Omega-6. Every morning I drink six capsules of algae to get all the necessary trace elements.

About sports during pregnancy

Most of my second pregnancy came in the fall and winter. For the first 15 weeks, you can’t train, so my schedule was only walking. From the 15th week, I switched to FPP, but without the static load in the form of planks and push-ups, which increase intrauterine pressure. She also went swimming and cross-country skiing in the winter. Despite the fact that they are much safer than mountain ones, you are not immune from falling. Here it is important to have riding experience, balance and feel confident.

I refused to run: such a shock load is useless during pregnancy. Two weeks before the birth, she left for Munich and walked 10 km in the park every day.

The birth happened on Wednesday, and on Monday I was still walking my ten in the English Park. With this rhythm, I gained nine kilograms during pregnancy.

About nutrition during pregnancy

The biggest misconception is that during pregnancy you need to eat for two! We talked about this with Natalia Vodianova (she gave birth a month later than me). Already in position, I asked her how to keep fit during and after pregnancy, to which she said: “You understand, in fact, a child in the womb needs 40 g of carbohydrates per day, and this is just a couple of apples. That is, the fact that a pregnant woman should eat 3,000 calories, not deny herself anything and succumb to any hormonal desires is nonsense. The more you weigh, the higher the pressure, and this is difficult for both the child and the mother.

Pregnancy was a turning point for me, when for the first time I seriously thought about my diet and set a goal to leave the hospital in "pre-pregnancy" jeans.

About relaxing treatments

Once a week I go to the Russian bath. This is our family tradition. The massage is definitely not for me. I can go only if I need to relax a specific muscle and feel that I have driven myself. I envy those who love wraps. Such procedures are not at all my format, it is painful to lie and think that during this time of inactivity it was possible to move mountains. Yes, and there is no time for them. I even do my manicure at 11 pm at home, when the children are already asleep.

About self love

You need to understand that fashion and beauty assistants are just tools that make us better. The main secret lies in self-love. If you are at peace with yourself and radiate energetic comfort, you will attract people and make the right impression.

Coco Chanel said: "If a woman has not become beautiful by the age of 30, then she is a fool." I would rephrase this quote a little: if a woman by the age of 30 has not understood which products are suitable for her and which ones are better to refuse, then she is a fool. For example, I don't eat pasta or drink white wine, knowing that they make me look and feel worse.

About hair care

I meet with my hairdresser Yura Vavkulin from the salon of Irina Baranova on Tsvetnoy Boulevard once every two weeks. I don't like to waste time on long procedures, so I usually limit myself to updating the color. I don’t strive for experiments either: in my case, style is lost with long hair, and it’s hard to deal with them, they are very thick. Even before official events, I can style my hair myself.

About makeup

My everyday set is mascara, concealer and lipstick. Concealer Tom Ford or the new cream powder from La Mer does an excellent job of masking problem areas. In any weather, I protect my face from UV rays with Cellular Swiss UV Protection Veil SPF 50 from La Prairie. Recently, a couple of favorites have appeared in the Giorgio Armani line: matte lipstick and pencil. I complement the natural color of the lips with smoky eyes, and a bright red shade of lipstick with light eye makeup. Alternatively, I can apply Dior's Addict Lip Maximizer Collagen Active gloss, which cools the lips nicely.

Cellular Swiss UV Protection Veil SPF 50, La Prairie; concealer Concealing Pen, TOM FORD; lip gloss Addict Lip Maximizer Collagen Active, Dior.

I resort to the services of professionals only before events or filming. Make-up artists Andrey Shilkov, Savva Savelyev, Agnessa Ilyina from Chanel have no equal. But more often I paint myself because of lack of time.

About facial care

Regular outdoor workouts have a positive effect on complexion, but negatively on skin condition. Running and functional training are dehydrating, so I constantly monitor the water balance, drink plenty of water and coconut water. The latter, by the way, can always be found in my car. Coconut water is a natural isotonic that contains natural trace elements and salts, replenishes the salt balance. 300ml post-workout is my daily ritual.

I often talk about the importance of UV protection. All because I experienced all the "charms" of the appearance of pigmentation due to regular exposure to the sun. Now I wear high SPF protection in any weather. If these problems could not be avoided, you need to save yourself with ZO®Medical creams and serums from Zein Obagi. They perfectly align the face and avoid the laser. Keep in mind that these are very strong medications, so it is better to consult a dermatologist before using them.

Brightenex™ Corrective Cream 1.0% Retinol; Ossential ® C-Bright Serum 10% Vitamin C; Invisapeel™ Intensive Resurfacing Peel, all ZO®Medical by Zein Obagi.

In winter, I definitely use La Mer nourishing creams. Other favorites include Aesop's Bitter Orange Astringent Toner and Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Eye Cream, Biologique Recherche's P50W Lotion and ADN Elastine Marine Collagène Marin. I am also a fan of La Prairie: Sérum Eclat Caviar Nacré and Cellular Radiance Perfecting Fluide Pure Gold are my favorites.

Bitter Orange Astringent Toner; Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Eye Cream, all Aesop.

Lotion P50W Phase d "Initialisation, Biologique Recherche; ADN Elastine Marine Collagène Marin face cream, Biologique Recherche; Sérum Eclat Caviar Nacré cream, La Prairie; Cellular Radiance Perfecting Fluide Pure Gold fluid, La Prairie.

Skin problems are handled very well at the Rosh Medical Center, where I have been going for about 17 years. Lyubov Andreevna Khachaturyan is the queen of problem skin, it seems to me that she saved absolutely the whole of Moscow. The specialists of this center make creams themselves: sticky, unpleasantly smelling, but very effective.

Sometimes I look into the "White Garden" to Oksana Lavrentieva. The cosmetologist Natasha Rodina works there, who makes excellent massages. It is a pity that there is often not enough time for a course of such procedures. I would like to be able to visit her more often.

Interview: Margarita Lieva
Text: Julia Kozoliy

Kitsenko: Evil, from work. Now she will talk to you and return to the office - and it is already eight in the evening, because her employees did not turn in assignments to her by the deadline, which was on Friday (today is Monday). Polina Kitsenko is a person who sits in the office 10 hours a day.

Kremer: Now such a stressful period, because the crisis?

Kitsenko: Of course, since the economic situation is not the most favorable either in the country or in the world, no one, including us, can relax. I have never worked as hard as I do now.

Kremer: What about delegation of authority?

Kitsenko: Unfortunately, there is no one to delegate specifically my powers, although we have a huge team. In general, there are very few personnel on the market who are capable of implementing tasks at an uncontrolled level. There are a lot of "creative" people who light up instantly and go out just as quickly. I have a lot of ideas myself, but I know from all my friends, business owners, that the percentage of ideas implemented is, God forbid, up to 30-40. And if you don’t remind, you don’t take control, you don’t direct, you don’t set it on fire, you don’t raise the wick, then you don’t have to hope that someone will bring you results. You see, working in large strokes is much easier than being a person who will scrupulously bring ideas to the final result. These so-called Impressionists are a dime a dozen. And the hard workers and bees who work in the “devil is in the details” mode are few. Workaholic and bees, on which all this execution ...

“I want to believe that I have never been dressed stupidly”

Kremer: Let's rewind a bit: you started around 1994 when the Podium brand was registered. How did you come to this? What did you want to be when you were in high school?

Kitsenko: At the age of ten, I wanted to be a geologist and look for gems. My parents had an interesting geology book with color photographs that fascinated me. Partially it was realized, by the way. We opened the Podium Jewelery network.

Chudinov: And then?

Kitsenko: I studied at an English special school. Where did everyone go from Moscow special schools in those years? Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages ​​or MGIMO. At first, I was also going to enter MGIMO at the Faculty of International Information in a specialty that had just appeared with the mysterious name Public relations (it is symbolic that everything in life returns to normal: today one of my main duties is PR, although I have a profile education I didn’t get what I do at work today, I can’t learn in any of the institutions of the world), I seriously worked in this direction. And then, at the last moment, my father offered me the International University, which had just been opened by Gavriil Popov and Mikhail Gorbachev. I quickly entered the law school there, for free education, and I thought that I wanted to stay there.

Chudinov: How would you answer such a rather simple question: how do you get a taste for things?

Kitsenko: Initially, I probably didn’t have a taste for things and couldn’t have. He developed. When you don't have any opportunities in life, how do you know if you have a taste for things or not? After all, I lived in an ordinary simple Soviet family. Dad was an official, he held a serious position in the prosecutor's office, but we lived from paycheck to paycheck. I didn't have a bike. I did not have imported pencil cases, bubble gums, and the first Barbie was already presented to me as a symbol for my 18th birthday. I was not a major.

Kremer: Do you remember yourself in that period when you were still foolishly dressed?

Kitsenko: I want to believe that I have never been dressed very stupidly. Still, I studied at a special school, and at some point I was sent on a student exchange to America. It changed me a lot. I remember that somehow I immediately started to dress: Lee jeans, Reebok sneakers. For 1991, it was chic.

Chudinov: But at the same time, you have become a person who develops the fashion industry and dresses the majors. Where does this sense of audience come from?

Kitsenko: It didn't fall from the sky. First, I just got married. My husband had a Podium company, he had one store, and he categorically did not want us to work together. But I so wanted to work in fashion that I made every effort to educate myself in this area, and not from the point of view of a consumer who endlessly measures and wears, wears and measures. In addition, I had an unlimited specific resource, even just my own store. I began to be very actively interested in what was happening in the industry, subscribed to all the magazines, became interested in our retail. I have always believed that where you sow, it grows there.

Then it was the end of the 1990s, and the whole luxury went up dramatically, not only here, but in the world. There was Dior, there was Galliano, there was also Gianfranco Ferre, Gaultier cheered up and made his own pret-a-porter line, Stella McCartney had just come to Chloe, and then she was just a girl with a huge surname. A period of revival of the great houses, already moth-eaten, began. This was the period when Louis Vuitton hired Marc Jacobs, and before that, Louis Vuitton was a mothballed, unwanted brand. These brands began to be picked up, bought out and reincarnated by the LVMH concern. Tom Ford had just joined Gucci, and none of us knew what Gucci was before.

Chudinov: I was surprised when you said that you were not a major. I thought that you always focused on your circle, dressed it. You are more likely to move from luxury to mass market than vice versa.

Kitsenko: What we do at Podium Market is not exactly a mass market. This is a relatively new niche, and it did not form here. We picked up the Western trend. Understand that there is a crisis going on in many industries all over the world, and this is no coincidence. Over the past 20 years, luxury has developed rapidly, every year new collections were imposed on us, a complete change of wardrobe, red, not red, red again, black is no longer in fashion. Brands, logomania. All houses began to make not even four collections a year, because it was necessary to load production evenly throughout the year. We, the consumers, were forced to buy constantly. At some point it had to end. Overconsumption has occurred on a global level: none of us need so many things. No one has the strength to shift mirrors and lipstick from bag to bag. And on the other hand, there were magnificent concerns Zara, Top Shop, etc. - cool things that have improved a lot lately, but still up to the first or second wash. Everything had to come to some kind of balance.

That is why intermediate brands appeared, what we call affordable luxury. They release several collections a year and even every month, like fast fashion, but they are distinguished by high quality and reasonable price. In terms of quality, they are almost as good as luxury. Rich people are no longer ready to buy another T-shirt for 300 euros: you can go to American Vintage and buy a chic T-shirt for one and a half thousand rubles.

That's why we made Podium Market. This was not the case in Russia.

It is very important that now fashion has made all possible jerks around its axis. Please note: there are no new trends emerging. Cowboy style is always in style in summer, rock and roll girlfriend style is always in style in autumn. Stripes are always fashionable in summer. It's always fashionable to be a lumberjack's girlfriend. Chanel has a timeless collection of ballet shoes that are no longer discounted, they just add two or three colors in the next season. This means that nothing changes.

Kremer: It turns out that you borrowed the Western trend, which means that there is some backlog. Have you observed in your own business how the Russian consumer has changed? How did the demands, the culture of consumption change?

Kitsenko: Now there is no lag. Our people have a unique ability to instantly absorb all the best that is around. There was some kind of miss in the 1990s, but remember how quickly it disappeared. There was a moment when dashing women stormed the plane in high heels, in jeans with rhinestones. The first thing that betrayed and still sometimes betrays our compatriots is not even a lack of taste, they don’t argue about tastes, but first of all it is inappropriateness. For me, in fashion in general, the most important question is not what to wear, but where I'm going and why I'm going there. Only after that you need to ask yourself the third question: what will I wear there. Our compatriots in the 1990s did not understand at all where they were and why, but they clearly knew what they wanted to be.

"We don't sell souvenirs"

Chudinov: Once we talked with, and she said: “You see, in Russia there is no fashion as an industry at all.”

Kitsenko: This is probably an old interview with Alena. Now the situation in the market has changed.

Chudinov: My question, in fact, is about how the fashion industry in Russia works today.

Kitsenko: Apparently, at the moment when you spoke with Alena, there were still other times. Podium on Novinsky was the first store in Russia to start selling a Russian designer on a par with expensive Western brands.

Kitsenko: Yes, and in 2000 we had it hanging literally between Gauthier and Alberta Ferretti. We were innovators in supporting the domestic manufacturer in such a way.

Kremer: And now how many Russian designers do you have?

Kitsenko: I can't calculate it, but about 30% of our portfolio, which means dozens. A few years ago, I would not have believed that this was possible. You know, we didn't have fashion as such in Russia. We had these weird fashion weeks all the time, and of course there were questions about them. They invited some really strange people who showed us strange images. And in parallel, companies, brands and designers have developed that are not shown anywhere, but sew beautiful clothes. They sew it here, in Russian factories, in Moscow, the Moscow region, on distant indents, in distant regions. Of course, these are not the same volumes yet, but judging by our store, these are leaps and bounds. These companies have active production, which even during the season allows us to place additional orders for the model we like. This is something that we could not even dream of before. In these Russian brands and things that we hang, there is no lubok, there is no this chlamydomonas.

Kremer: Do they have Russian recognition?

Kitsenko: It depends on the style in which the designer works. There are Ukrainian or Russian designers who like to develop the history of the national costume in a modern way. Some have done it very well. For a couple of years now (summer is the time of year) vyshyvankas have been doing everything: from Ralph Lauren to Isabel Marant. Why can't our designers do this, given that it's our DNA? In general, I am against the division of designers on a national basis. Of course, in the late 1990s it was fashionable to group: these are Japanese designers, these are Belgian designers, these are Americans, these are French...

Kremer: Italians are still recognizable.

Kitsenko: That's exactly what "so far" and with difficulty. Which of them has kept the original? Even Gucci and Pucci no longer swindle their prints, they have long ceased to be sold. You have to evolve somehow. Today the world is cosmopolitan in a way that has never been before. We have all the designers in the Podium Market hanging interspersed. We do not have such a contemptuous and derogatory division: but this is the last floor, the penultimate nook, the “Russian block”. We do not divide our designers by nationality.

Kremer: Does the demand for patriotism that has arisen in our country lately affect your assortment?

Kitsenko: We do not sell souvenirs.

Kremer: But in society, there is a desire to dress in everything Russian?

Kitsenko: It is. It’s just that earlier “Russian” meant lubok, bad taste and poor quality. Today, “Russian” in the middle segment with which we work at Podium Market is of high quality, at the same time inexpensive, and at the same time relevant. As part of the trends that exist today in fashion. How is it inferior to Western counterparts? Nothing.