Kiev-born Helen Yarmak didn't plan to make a career in the fashion industry, but she is nevertheless today one of the country's best-known designers of fur apparel and jewelry.
Although hers is today a household name among fashionistas, Yarmak's education was in cybernetic mathematics, a field in which she holds a Ph.D. But when Yarmak made the move to fashion design less than a decade ago, she did so without hesitation, and in possession of a wealth of talent that has helped her to make an international name for herself and her designs in a relatively brief period of time.
Not only is Yarmak listed in "Znamenitiye Zhenshchini Rossii," or "Who's Who Among Russia's Women," but two years ago the Businesswomen's Network of Washington named her its Global Entrepreneur of the Year.
Today, Yarmak has salons on Manezh Square and New York's Fifth Avenue. Her clients include actors Jim Carrey, Melanie Griffith and Goldie Hawn and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, as well as Russian luminaries mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, tennis player Anna Kournikova and gallerist Olga Sviblova.
She talked with The Moscow Times last week.
Q:When you were growing up during the Soviet era, was there anything that influenced your decision to become a fashion designer?
A: You cannot imagine what kind of a market we had in the Soviet Union during the communist era. I remember talking to a very dear friend of mine during that time. She was an architect and had perfect taste, so I asked her: "Why are you dressed so plainly when you have such good taste?" She replied that she would one day die and no one would ever know what kind of taste she had because she was unable to buy anything with style -- she was unable to exploit her good taste.
Just to buy a simple coat back then you had to be the daughter of an important minister. In Kiev, we had one woman who was the daughter of a very famous pediatrician. She was the only person who had a mink coat. [When she got it], we used to ask each other "Did you know Tatyana has a mink coat?" It was absolutely incredible news because everybody in Kiev dressed so badly. I suppose, in those days, I just wanted to walk down the street and be noticed.
Q:But you nevertheless started out as a mathematician. Why did you make the transformation from doctor of mathematics to fashion designer?
A: About nine years ago, my husband and I moved from Kiev to Moscow. For his first birthday in Moscow, we decided to gather the few friends we had at the time and have a party. I wanted to make myself a new dress, but I didn't have the materials, because there was either nothing of any quality in the shops or it was too expensive. ... One day I was in a store and I saw a pair of women's knickers made from some really wonderful material. I looked at the label, found out which factory had made the pants and gave them a call. I told them I was a representative of a big Russian-Canadian fashion company and that we were interested in working with their factory to export to Canada.
In those days, being foreign meant so much more than being Russian. Even a waiter from Poland was a VIP. So, I took a taxi from just a few meters down the street from the factory so that they would see that I had arrived in style and was therefore important. Initially, I just wanted some material, but when I showed them my designs, the factory [representatives] said they would make my dress for me. Soon, the people at the factory figured out that I wasn't who I said I was, but by then we'd become good friends. They said they could do something with my designs, so I changed my name from Yelena to the English Helen, and here we are.
Q:Does having a logical, mathematical education help or hinder your work as a designer?
A: A mathematician's work uses the right side of the brain. A designer's work uses the left side of the brain. I suppose I'm lucky because, on one hand, I'm able to use both sides of my brain ... and, on the other hand, I'm a woman, which makes me illogical. I also believe in everything.
Q:Many people don't often use the words "Russia" and "fashion" in the same sentence, but Moscow is nevertheless fast becoming one of the most fashionable cities in the world. How do you explain this?
A: First of all, Russia is a country of great culture and that culture is in the country's blood. Fashion is merely part of culture in general. Second, and it is difficult to explain why, Moscow has suddenly become so glitzy, but much of it has to do with the fact that there's money in fashion. Although socialism accounts for a very small interval in the history of Russia, [it has meant that] Moscow got a late start. We need to catch up, and we don't have time to walk. We've got to run.
Q:Would you describe your creations as typically Russian?
A: No. Goldie Hawn is one of our clients, and she's not Russian. Neither is Jim Carrey. You know, a lot of fashion used to come from Russia: Christian Dior, Galliano and Cartier were inspired by Russia and Russian fur fashions. But we're talking about tsarist times, of course. For me, the most important thing is that the people who buy my designs are happy, and that women are able to retain their mystery by wearing my coats.
Q:You also design jewelry. Is it intended to complement your furs, or to be sold separately?
A: Both. When the Russian tsars traveled on holiday, they carried with them 40 kilograms of stones and jewelry, and, on normal days, they carried 20 kilograms. And it wasn't because they wanted to show off their wealth -- they didn't need to do that. Everybody knew they were tsars.
Not everybody can carry jewelry and stones. If you use the right jewelry, it can give you energy. I have a very famous Japanese client in New York who has been telling me how to tell if a jewel is right for you or not. In the beginning, I didn't believe her, but I tried it and she was right. She told me to place the item of jewelry in one hand and to press the thumb and index finger of the other hand against it. If you can separate the two fingers, then the piece isn't right for you: It doesn't give you the right energy. I now check all my jewelry that way. I like big, beautiful coral best: I love them for their design, but when I wear them, I don't feel strong. I don't feel special. So I know they're not for me.
Q:Your clients generally number among the world's rich and famous. Would you say your designs are elitist?
A: No, not at all. Money is not happiness. ... People always want more. ... For me, I want to create jewelry and fur that's fun, that makes people happy. Yesterday, a friend came to see me and she was so down. She was in a very bad mood because she was having some problems with her husband. So she came to me and said "Let's go to the showroom," and we started to try on jewelry and clothes and fur and she purchased quite a bit. The next morning, she came to me and she was so happy, smiling, a completely different person. And I said to her, "You know, my dear, I should also add the price of psychotherapy to the price of the fur."
Q:You are obviously doing well. What is the secret of your success?
A: Never feeling that I'm successful, that is my secret. I always feel that I should keep running. I'm never satisfied. If I produce a new collection, I am naturally happy, but I immediately start thinking of what I should be doing next.
Although hers is today a household name among fashionistas, Yarmak's education was in cybernetic mathematics, a field in which she holds a Ph.D. But when Yarmak made the move to fashion design less than a decade ago, she did so without hesitation, and in possession of a wealth of talent that has helped her to make an international name for herself and her designs in a relatively brief period of time.
Not only is Yarmak listed in "Znamenitiye Zhenshchini Rossii," or "Who's Who Among Russia's Women," but two years ago the Businesswomen's Network of Washington named her its Global Entrepreneur of the Year.
Today, Yarmak has salons on Manezh Square and New York's Fifth Avenue. Her clients include actors Jim Carrey, Melanie Griffith and Goldie Hawn and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, as well as Russian luminaries mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, tennis player Anna Kournikova and gallerist Olga Sviblova.
She talked with The Moscow Times last week.
Q:When you were growing up during the Soviet era, was there anything that influenced your decision to become a fashion designer?
A: You cannot imagine what kind of a market we had in the Soviet Union during the communist era. I remember talking to a very dear friend of mine during that time. She was an architect and had perfect taste, so I asked her: "Why are you dressed so plainly when you have such good taste?" She replied that she would one day die and no one would ever know what kind of taste she had because she was unable to buy anything with style -- she was unable to exploit her good taste.
Just to buy a simple coat back then you had to be the daughter of an important minister. In Kiev, we had one woman who was the daughter of a very famous pediatrician. She was the only person who had a mink coat. [When she got it], we used to ask each other "Did you know Tatyana has a mink coat?" It was absolutely incredible news because everybody in Kiev dressed so badly. I suppose, in those days, I just wanted to walk down the street and be noticed.
Q:But you nevertheless started out as a mathematician. Why did you make the transformation from doctor of mathematics to fashion designer?
A: About nine years ago, my husband and I moved from Kiev to Moscow. For his first birthday in Moscow, we decided to gather the few friends we had at the time and have a party. I wanted to make myself a new dress, but I didn't have the materials, because there was either nothing of any quality in the shops or it was too expensive. ... One day I was in a store and I saw a pair of women's knickers made from some really wonderful material. I looked at the label, found out which factory had made the pants and gave them a call. I told them I was a representative of a big Russian-Canadian fashion company and that we were interested in working with their factory to export to Canada.
In those days, being foreign meant so much more than being Russian. Even a waiter from Poland was a VIP. So, I took a taxi from just a few meters down the street from the factory so that they would see that I had arrived in style and was therefore important. Initially, I just wanted some material, but when I showed them my designs, the factory [representatives] said they would make my dress for me. Soon, the people at the factory figured out that I wasn't who I said I was, but by then we'd become good friends. They said they could do something with my designs, so I changed my name from Yelena to the English Helen, and here we are.
Q:Does having a logical, mathematical education help or hinder your work as a designer?
A: A mathematician's work uses the right side of the brain. A designer's work uses the left side of the brain. I suppose I'm lucky because, on one hand, I'm able to use both sides of my brain ... and, on the other hand, I'm a woman, which makes me illogical. I also believe in everything.
Q:Many people don't often use the words "Russia" and "fashion" in the same sentence, but Moscow is nevertheless fast becoming one of the most fashionable cities in the world. How do you explain this?
A: First of all, Russia is a country of great culture and that culture is in the country's blood. Fashion is merely part of culture in general. Second, and it is difficult to explain why, Moscow has suddenly become so glitzy, but much of it has to do with the fact that there's money in fashion. Although socialism accounts for a very small interval in the history of Russia, [it has meant that] Moscow got a late start. We need to catch up, and we don't have time to walk. We've got to run.
Q:Would you describe your creations as typically Russian?
A: No. Goldie Hawn is one of our clients, and she's not Russian. Neither is Jim Carrey. You know, a lot of fashion used to come from Russia: Christian Dior, Galliano and Cartier were inspired by Russia and Russian fur fashions. But we're talking about tsarist times, of course. For me, the most important thing is that the people who buy my designs are happy, and that women are able to retain their mystery by wearing my coats.
Q:You also design jewelry. Is it intended to complement your furs, or to be sold separately?
A: Both. When the Russian tsars traveled on holiday, they carried with them 40 kilograms of stones and jewelry, and, on normal days, they carried 20 kilograms. And it wasn't because they wanted to show off their wealth -- they didn't need to do that. Everybody knew they were tsars.
Not everybody can carry jewelry and stones. If you use the right jewelry, it can give you energy. I have a very famous Japanese client in New York who has been telling me how to tell if a jewel is right for you or not. In the beginning, I didn't believe her, but I tried it and she was right. She told me to place the item of jewelry in one hand and to press the thumb and index finger of the other hand against it. If you can separate the two fingers, then the piece isn't right for you: It doesn't give you the right energy. I now check all my jewelry that way. I like big, beautiful coral best: I love them for their design, but when I wear them, I don't feel strong. I don't feel special. So I know they're not for me.
Q:Your clients generally number among the world's rich and famous. Would you say your designs are elitist?
A: No, not at all. Money is not happiness. ... People always want more. ... For me, I want to create jewelry and fur that's fun, that makes people happy. Yesterday, a friend came to see me and she was so down. She was in a very bad mood because she was having some problems with her husband. So she came to me and said "Let's go to the showroom," and we started to try on jewelry and clothes and fur and she purchased quite a bit. The next morning, she came to me and she was so happy, smiling, a completely different person. And I said to her, "You know, my dear, I should also add the price of psychotherapy to the price of the fur."
Q:You are obviously doing well. What is the secret of your success?
A: Never feeling that I'm successful, that is my secret. I always feel that I should keep running. I'm never satisfied. If I produce a new collection, I am naturally happy, but I immediately start thinking of what I should be doing next.
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