Anastasia Zadorina, designer and founder of the ZASPORT brand, told BeautyHack about her love for Russia, pride in our athletes, and why makeup and training are incompatible.
About career
I have always dreamed of becoming a designer. It all started at the institute - I studied at MGIMO, there were many different events. I wanted some kind of individuality, so I often ordered my outfits from the studio. For me, exclusivity is always above all else - it happens that you buy a dress in a store and you will definitely meet it on someone else.
I graduated from academic drawing courses, constantly drew at home, studied with a tutor, and completed the Theory of Fashion program by Alexander Vasiliev. I really liked all this - learning about how fashion was created, where the trends come from and how to combine it all.
I still remember the outfit I came up with when I was 19 - a white fluffy skirt with embroidery, a velvet bustier corset and gloves. Then she created the design of a dress, which is very fashionable now - a short mini completely in rhinestones. In general, I have always loved dresses - like any girl, I took cosmetics from my mother, tried on her shoes. My parents wanted me to choose a serious profession - to become a lawyer or an economist, but I wanted something creative. As a result, I began to study diplomacy, but now I don't regret it. All the knowledge that I received at the institute was very useful to me, at least because now I know English well and the culture of different countries - anywhere in the world I can easily communicate with people. These six and a half years were very bright and interesting.
But I didn’t go through diplomacy, and as soon as I showed the first results of my work as a designer, my parents supported me. I'm sure they are proud of me now.
When the first atelier opened, I did everything myself - there were no managers or managers. I came up with everything, drew, looked for seamstresses, designers, went to courses - studied what a sewing machine is, how to use it, what brands there are. It helped me a lot - when you know the whole process from the inside, it is much easier to work. Sometimes I am asked the question: "Is it easy to become a designer?" Perhaps - if you come to a hired company and just draw something. But when you start to manage, you need to be involved in all industries - you are an accountant, a lawyer, and an administrator. This is a business.
About the ZASPORT brand
The sportswear brand was created back in 2012. We made equipment for sports clubs and worked with large corporations. At that time, we did not have a single Russian brand that would create not only sportswear and equipment for the Olympians, but also collections for everyday life, active sports. Then I thought, "Why not?"
I really like to develop in this direction, because this niche has not yet been filled - now it is more fashionable to become designers of evening dresses, furs, bags.
Of course, the processes of creating dresses and sportswear are completely different - these are different fabrics, other designers, cutters. It seems that clothing for sports is easier to make - but it is not. It is necessary to provide for all the nuances so that it is convenient for athletes to run, jump, train. The paint should be resistant, somewhere the sleeves are needed shorter, somewhere longer. When creating a collection for the Olympic team, we took all this into account, discussed it with the athletes in advance. By the way, they were very pleased - they were involved in the process for the first time. This is how we had a collective brainstorming session.
As soon as it became known that the Olympic Committee was organizing a tender, we immediately decided to take part. They submitted an application, listed their capabilities, showed their previous work - who they worked with, what they sewed. When we won, I immediately wanted to get to know our national team, federations, presidents, and professional athletes. We provided three types of designs, told about each of them, about the cut and fabric. I must admit that athletes did not participate in this process before. And I, on the contrary, was interested to know their opinion and to take into account all their wishes - they also have to do it later!
We approached the creation of the Olympic collection with patriotism - this theme can be traced in the design. I love Russia very much for the fact that in it you can develop in completely different directions and be inspired by the history of our country. We have now become more active, curious, learn more - and this is great!
About a healthy lifestyle
As a child, I was engaged in rhythmic gymnastics, ballroom and sports dancing - now they are replaced by fitness. I regularly go to cardio workouts at the fitness club, although I used to like to work out with "iron" more - I pulled myself up, carried weights. I tried yoga and pilates, but it's not mine. Therefore, I just train on an ellipse or stand in a bar - this is my personal sports minimum. I also love to run - in the summer I ran three marathons, and now I just arrange jogging in Luzhniki.
I also instill in my son a love of sports. He turns four on December 26, but he already plays football twice a week, skis three times a week and plays tennis from time to time. That is, he has a fully loaded whole week, but he goes to these classes with pleasure. Recently, for example, his ski lessons were canceled - you should have seen how upset he was. Sport is not just something beautiful and fashionable, it really needs endurance. After talking with the athletes, I saw how much work they get. For us, three hours of fitness is an achievement, but for them it's a way of life. We were general partners of the sambo championship in Sochi - Russia took first place. So, the energy that comes from sambists is something colossal. To be honest, I didn't understand many sports before,but now I am attending competitions, I see how they are trying - and I understand why this is all. Any of your struggles should be rewarded - preferably a gold medal.
But I never go on diets. Of course, like any person, I can sometimes be overridden: "We need to lose weight by summer!"
Overall, I love simple Russian food - and it tends to be high in calories. Therefore, at night I try not to overeat - I always go to bed a little hungry. Now I don’t always have time to cook, and I’m unlikely to get some incredible dishes, but borsch, cutlets, salads, cabbage rolls are always welcome. I try to eat all this without oil - you can bake or cook in a double boiler. My son helps me a lot in proper nutrition - healthy children's food is very similar to dietary food.
About beauty
Once a week, I definitely go to my beautician at Aldo Coppola. I like to try different procedures - masks, peels, cleansing, massages. If I hear that there is a new device for skin transformation, I want to try it right away. I recently tried hot and cold wraps - I really liked it. They tighten the skin, tone up and remove water well. By the way, I sometimes do them at home.
Every other day I apply a Cellcosmet mask. With this way of life, this is simply necessary: we go to bed late, get up early, the ecology is not the best - traffic jams, planes, dust.
Sometimes I also use Korean fabric masks - I apply, lie down and wait for her to do her job.
My everyday makeup is a little bit of foundation, concealer, powder, mascara and nude lipstick. I find all this in MAC, Dior, YSL and Tom Ford. In general, Italian and French cosmetics are, of course, good, but now there are many interesting Korean brands, I also like their products. Favorite - Dr. Jart +, Cana, MEDIFACE and Tony Moly, especially their moisturizing avocado mask. I also love Russian brands - for example, Verba brushes from Russian make-up artist Vera Baratova. I prefer to entrust evening makeup to professionals.
I can easily leave the house without makeup, but I don't appear in public without styling - this is my beauty taboo. Girls should always have a neat hairstyle - without it anywhere. But what I don’t understand is the girls wearing makeup in the gym. I do not argue, sometimes you have to train with makeup, if you come after shooting, and after an hour you need to go somewhere else. But then I will not give all my best. It seems to me that in every gym there is such a girl - with bright makeup and loose hair.
I prefer neutral manicure - I don't like multi-colored nails. Do you want brightness? Paint it red. But rhinestones, bright drawings - I don't understand this. This is our calling card. I read somewhere that when meeting a girl, a man first of all pays attention to her hands, so we simply have to look after them. In childhood, the longer the nails, the cooler - now I choose restrained elegance. I am also faithful to my favorite perfume - I have been using Roses Musk by Montale for many years. I love trying new flavors, but my hand invariably reaches for him.
About plans for the future
Very soon I will go with our Olympic team to Korea - I am sure we will bring many medals. For me, this is really very exciting, I am worried about our athletes - they have become relatives during this time. And when I am asked about my favorite sport, I find it difficult to answer - now they are all my favorites. I really want to support the athletes so that they achieve all the goals that they have set for themselves.
And then my goal is to develop sports in a social sense. So that people understand that sport is hard, but it is interesting that young people more often take part in races and charity marathons. I want our athletes to be proud, so that people get used to our form, love the brand. Yes, this is something new, but there is no need to be afraid of change. After all, we strive for development, we do not stand still. Tradition is great, but sometimes you have to move away from it. Therefore, we are in favor of high quality and affordable sportswear - so that everyone can afford it. Perhaps our brand will even help someone fall in love with sports, join it and find something interesting for themselves.
Interview and text: Anastasia Speranskaya
