designer of the brand „Studio 29“
Text: L y u b o v M e l n i c k o w a
Thank you for taking time for an interview with us! We are happy to welcome you to PURPLE HAZE magazine. Before asking questions about the brand, I would like to learn more about the designer and founder of the brand Studio 29.
Tell a little about yourself. How did your creative path begin and why did you decide to become a fashion designer?
My name is Tanya Fomicheva, I am the founder and art director of the Russian clothing brand STUDIO 29. I was born in a village with a population of just over a thousand people and have always been a creative and active child. Of course, they didn’t know anything about fashion in the village, but my mother always found special high-quality things for my sister and me and took them in installments, because there wasn’t enough money.
designer of the brand „Studio 29“
In 2008, I moved to Yekaterinburg and entered the university. I was a student, so I was constantly saving, and at some point the idea came up to start buying clothes wholesale for myself with a 50% discount and selling to someone else. That’s how my entrepreneurial activity began: I rented a room, figured out logistics, rented a cash register and opened a multi-brand store that brought a good income. Now I understand that I myself created my first store from scratch at the age of 20 as a student.
What does fashion mean in your understanding?
Fashion for me is people, atmosphere, this is what unites and makes the world around me interesting, multifaceted and deep. Every day I meet new people from the fashion world and discover creative, talented people who love their work as much as I do. Together we don’t just create clothes, we create projects that change the world around us. Fashion in recent years raises a lot of social problems, we are increasingly thinking about environmental friendliness and reasonable consumption.
backstage of Moscow Fashion Week
Tell us a little about the brand. At what point did the idea of creating a brand come up?
After moving to Moscow, I got a job as a sales manager for a Russian clothing brand. After working there for six months, I decided to quit, because I had a burnout and I realized that I didn’t want to work for someone and could try to create clothes that I would wear myself. I became interested in how to produce clothes, calculated how much money I needed to open my own brand. I launched my brand for 50 thousand rubles and told about it on my social networks.
As a rule, a clothing brand is a large team that takes part in the creation of collections. How many people are in the brand team and what are the responsibilities of the chief designer?
I hold the position of art director in the brand. Two designers work under my supervision, with whom we develop collections. Also, a large team of the production department is working on the collections: a technologist, a designer, tailors, laboratory assistants, a cutter, a confectionist and a manager for placing orders at garment factories. In general, there are about 50 people in the team now. The team is growing rapidly as the brand develops and we need more and more specialists in the staff.
creating collections
creating collections
creating collections
How would you describe the brand’s style?
We create basic clothes with interesting details, they make our clothes recognizable. We work with color and trace our own stylistic techniques. In our clothes, girls can feel free, but at the same time express their individuality and character through details and combinations.
Now many brands are for environmental friendliness and recycling. What materials does the Studio 29 brand use? Are you planning to create collections from recycled materials?
The team and I also started thinking about environmental friendliness. At the moment, we are recycling the remnants of fabrics and paper in the office, we want to start sorting garbage, all the lighting in the office has been completely replaced with LED, which allows us to reduce the amount of energy consumed. As for the production of collections from recycled materials – it’s a little more complicated. We need to find reliable suppliers and high-quality materials. We are working in this direction.
collection show at Moscow Fashion Week
How would you describe the brand’s style?
We create basic clothes with interesting details, they make our clothes recognizable. We work with color and trace our own stylistic techniques. In our clothes, girls can feel free, but at the same time express their individuality and character through details and combinations.
Who is the Studio 29 brand for? Can you describe its target audience?
Our target audience is 25-35—year-old girls who follow trends. They value the quality of materials and a good cut. They have a bright, busy life, in which there is enough space for a career and for love, they devote time to themselves, their self-development.
brand collection
Studio 29 is a well-known brand in Russia. Would you like the brand to exist on the world market in the future?
Yes, this is my dream! Today we already have many customers abroad, they love our clothes, appreciate them for their good quality and cut. But of course I would like as many girls as possible to find out about us in the world. I am sure that the brand has a wonderful future ahead of it.
How would you describe today’s fashion and what feelings does evoke in you?
Fashion in its direct sense surprises me less and less. It seems to me that styling plays a really important role now. It’s really fascinating. Today it is important to find yourself, let go of all trends, imposed stereotypes and opinions and just listen to what really responds to you personally. This is the most important thing! Fashion today is a choice.
brand collection
