Maria Egorova, editor-in-chief of the magazine of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, a leading author of media training and our loyal reader, shared with us the story of her love for sewing and Burda!
Today, our guest is Maria Egorova, editor-in-chief of the magazine of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, a leading author of media training and a dedicated reader of Burda. Maria met our magazine as a child - in the school theater of fashion, and this opened up a completely different world for her. What did a girl from the small town of Kovrov dream about in the 90s and how did she end up on the catwalk of the legendary Vyacheslav Zaitsev Fashion House? Is it possible to get into the fashion stream while living in the province? How to find your zest in clothes and stay true to your own style? What inspires Maria to new sewing projects and what is unique about the Burda readership? Listen to the next issue of our podcast!
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Marianna Makarova: Good afternoon, friends! You are listening to the Burda magazine podcast about fashion, style, and trends. With you, I am the chief editor, Marianna Makarova.
And today, our guest is charming Maria Egorova, the editor-in-chief of the magazine of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the host of copyright media trainings and, in combination, the reader of BURDA magazine. And not just a reader, but an active member of our community and an active user of burdastyle.ru, as well as a multiple winner of our sewing contests! Hello Maria!
Maria Egorova: Hello, Marianne! Hello dear listeners!
MM: I want to say right away that Masha is a passionate fan of fashion. This can be seen immediately, since she is always impeccably and wonderfully dressed, looks bright and stylish. And it’s interesting to talk with Masha about this. Masha, I know that literally as a child you entered the catwalk, and not just any, but the catwalk of the Vyacheslav Zaitsev Fashion House. How did this happen?
ME: Yes, the story is very interesting. I am happy to tell her all. In general, I have a connection with BURDA magazine and with sewing - my favorite hobby, or rather the hobby of my whole life - more than 20 years. And everything happened in the 5th grade when I first saw at our school ... (a small caveat: I come from the small town of Kovrov, Vladimir Region), and I saw real nymphs! I remember that at one of the school holidays two girls appeared: one of them was in such a short red velvet dress, and the other - in such a long blue dress with a shirts. And I just immediately realized that this is the life that I want to live! When I asked who this phenomenon was and what it was, they answered me: “Don’t you know that we have a Fashion Theater in our school ?!”
And then I already found out that the red dress was sewn from the curtain, and the blue dress was sewn from the mother’s shirt of Yugoslav production. So everyone did at that time.And in spite of everything, it was such an obvious ray of light in the dark kingdom, which I rushed to with pleasure!
Skipping a few years of life and returning to your question, I can say that I really came to the podium at Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Zaitsev in 1999, when our Fashion Theater "Charm" participated in the festival of children's fashion theaters under the auspices of the association "Golden Needle". And this, in my opinion, is still one of the most vivid impressions and emotions of my whole life!
MM: Vyacheslav Mikhailovich somehow appreciated the work of your team? So personally, did you manage to communicate with him then?
ME: Yes, he generally loved and celebrated us, probably due to the proximity of his hometown of Ivanovo to our territories. In 1999, we took 3rd place in Russia, being the only school fashion theater at that time that was part of the Higher League of Children's Fashion Theaters. We did not have any sponsors. And we were not trained by any Palace of Culture, as it was in many cases. But we were bright girls and with a twinkle, as we were then told. And we had a terrific leader Elena Dmitrievna Sorokina - she created collections that could not be ignored. And so 3rd place has become a real apotheosis of our creative career!
MM: It is especially pleasant that in our conversation the names of the ancient Russian cities of Ivanovo, Kovrov surfaced, because many of our readers do not live in capitals and always experience a certain sense of infringement from the fact that they are far from fashion centers.
Masha, tell me, did this somehow affect you? Or you were as impudent as you say, perky. And what was it: the desire to just stand out in this provincial environment or somehow feel different, attached to something new and interesting?
ME: I think it's all about emotions! I already understand this from the height of the past years (laughs), but, probably, it was so. And then I really wanted to stand out somehow and wanted to be different from all this boring gray provincial mass, because the slogan "hopeless-point-ru" was really hopeless then, sorry for the tautology, it dominated there!
I remember very well how in 1995 I picked up the first BURDA magazine, a brand new magazine that just arrived. We had a large selection at school, but it was a fresh, freshly printed number. On the cover was a girl - in a pink blouse and a pink skirt with pale pink lipstick. It seemed to us something very strange, because at that time we didn’t dress and dye like that. And it seemed to us that this triumph of bad taste! But in fact, then we were the triumph of bad taste. But we ourselves, of course, could not admit it.
I remember how our leader Elena Dmitrievna asked: "Well, do you like it?" And we depicted such half-acid mines: "Well, of course, yes!" And it was on her part a great work to open the world of high fashion to us. And not only ready-to-wear. Thanks to her explanations, we began to understand what fashion is, and indeed at some point it was transformed into a desire to stand out, into our own style - bright and unlike anyone I am trying to keep faithful to.
MM: I want to confirm that Masha really has her own distinct style. This is visible on her profile on our website and this is visible on her page on Instagram and other social networks. Honestly, Masha can never be confused with any of our other readers. She has such a highlight here, but what does it consist in - do you know it yourself?
ME: The highlight is probably in this indestructible brightness! I tried to correct myself and tried to convert myself to a different faith, because at some point it seemed to me that it was time to "be nice"! It may be funny to speak at such a fairly young age, but when a dress code and official events came to my life (and my work is often associated with attending business events at economic forums), I had to sign my own helplessness! I don’t have these official clothes! But I have different bright dresses and bright costumes. And I really tried to make pastel and muted tones, but honestly, I failed this task, which I gave myself.
Despite the fact that in my wardrobe appeared hand-sewn gray and black suits, skirts and vests, I still confidently mix them with bright blouses.Yes, and my dresses, despite the classic cut, are all quite bright colors. But, as that song sings, I can not do otherwise!
MM: Masha, what inspires you when you start new sewing projects? What is the basis of the new project?
ME: Everything happens very differently. It happens that I just see the fabric and fall in love with it, and just grab it without looking!
MM: So, you also suffer from such a well-known disease, hamsterism, as many of our readers complain?
ME: In my case, this is called tissue disease. But sometimes I myself consciously set such artificial celibacy, when, for example, after working for 5 years at my favorite sewing store, I never go there!
This summer I forbade myself to sew anything from scraps. Because we often have some beautiful pieces of fabric that we promise ourselves to add somewhere and make some interesting collage. So I forbade myself and sewed only from full pieces.
Returning to your question, the fabric can often inspire, but more often when I buy the BURDA magazine, the first thing I look at is natural-technical drawings.
It’s important for me to see what kind of silhouette there is, that you just see this beauty and understand that you need it! And what does all this end with? There are different options here, like on that path - you will go right or go left ... And this does not always happen right away, because time is our great value and, alas, it is not always enough for sewing.
MM: Masha, when do you sew and how do you manage with such a load?
ME: Well, I used to sew nights. And honestly, now I don’t do that. I try to completely disconnect myself from this bad habit, because I still need to sleep at night, otherwise it affects efficiency. In this case, different motivations work for me. For example, I myself came up with this rule: for every birthday and every new year I sew a new dress for myself. Yes, maybe I don’t need it and I will wear it only once, but I can’t do it any other way! And I came up with one more rule before my vacation: I’m sure to update my wardrobe. At least one thing should work. And here I am breaking all the laws of common sense! I can sometimes skip work. I made my coat in one day! I just really wanted to treat myself. In my case, these are primarily emotions.
MM: Have you had any negative emotions associated with the implementation of sewing projects? Well, maybe something didn’t work out in any way, or did some model play a trick on you?
ME: Yes, it was like that at the beginning of sewing training. In the Fashion Theater, when we sewed there basic things - jackets and coats. And also, what is recalled is my acquaintance with a wonderful woman, for whom I worked as an apprentice. She was a professional seamstress, and I got an apprentice to her when I was 16 years old. It was a summer vacation after grade 10. This seamstress helped me do something that I just did not know. But this was my first failed project - I tried to sew a lining in my jacket, or rather a long frock coat, as far as I remember, which was sewn from my mother’s, again Yugoslav cloak (hello, nineties!). And this lining didn’t want me to sit down. And then this woman, Aunt Tanya, told me then what was my problem! She explained to me how to sew a lining, so that it was not visible from the inside. And for me it was a real mystery and magic! She then showed me all this and put it on the shelves, and only after that I sewed my first correct coat. But I damned that damned jacket, but he drank a lot of blood to me! I remember that I woke up in the morning and looked at him: hanging and hanging ... Maybe something happened during the night? No, the same clumsy lining. Yes, it often happens, and this is a word about the need to contact professionals. And, of course, to get the basic techniques.
MM: In this regard, we have a completely unique “bourdois community”. I know that you have known and been friends with our readers for a long time, as well as with the teachers of the BURDA Academy.How does this community help you? And what do you think is its uniqueness?
ME: Maybe it’s selfish enough, but thanks to this community, I found my beloved friend Ksenia Dyakova, who now lives in London. This was the case when I did not succeed. I remember that I sewed a velvet dress, and there was some kind of sophisticated collar or neckline. And she already had this dress sewn and uploaded to the site. I took it and wrote to her: "Ksenia, I see that you have the same dress! Tell me, how did you deal with this?" We met with her, and we had love and this love-friendship has been going on since 2010. Despite the distance, we remain very close to each other, so for me the BURDA community is about friendship and the realization of a dream! Huge such a giant dream!
I still understand that it was BURDA magazine in my life that was the Great Big Dream! And to imagine that I would be in such close contact with you was also a Dream!
Recently, I began to realize that I had forgotten how to dream. And then I really dreamed, and when dreams come true - it's great! And I'm not talking about the appearance of my humble person on the pages of my favorite publication BURDA! It’s just something from the realm of fantasy! This is the very happiness and the fullness that makes our life. And I can’t even say with words that this is for me - here I am, a girl from the nineties, from a provincial town, and I am in the magazine BURDA! This is real happiness and it is truly a world of unique women from one coordinate system, who are united by one hobby and who support each other, develop and discover new best qualities! Just great!
MM: And I am very glad that Masha Egorova also belongs to our community with us. And I urge all users of our social networks, come to our website burdastyle.ru, buy the BURDA magazine, come to study at our BURDA Academy. We are really interested, informative, it inspires and, as Masha has already said, gives a dream!
We have not had time to talk on many interesting topics, so I think we will have a reason to meet again. That's all for today. And you were me, the editor-in-chief of BURDA magazine Marianna Makarova, and the journalist Maria Egorova. Goodbye friends!
ME: Thank you very much, Marianne, for the invitation! Thank you, dear listeners!
