Elena Yarmak, the favorite of American stars, the grand lady of the business elite on both sides of the Atlantic, is sure that fur has a powerful energy that can make a person both peaceful and aggressive. Gray sables from Helen Yarmak become a collector's item for most of her clients, whose names the designer does not voice for known reasons. Elena does not think that it is necessary to shout about it. OK! decided to find out why
Photo: DR
WITH How old is Helen Yarmak and what challenges did you face as a startup?
We started in the mid-90s, towards the end. (“In 1992,” a PR manager present at our conversation prompts.) Already 22 years old? Really? You know, I see no point in celebrating pompous dates and treat them without much reverence. Answering your question, I will say that the most difficult thing at the start was the complete lack of money, the complete absence of connections and the complete absence of the necessary knowledge. There was only a desire to do a useful thing and mathematical logic - by the way, an excellent tool for establishing cause-and-effect relationships.
Is competent calculation or intuition more important in the designer's business?
When it comes to design, the word "calculation" is not suitable, it's more about intuition and logic. I'll give you an example. When developing the design of a particular model, in your mind you imagine one picture, then, in the process of creating it, new ideas appear, a lot of nuances arise related to both the features of the fur and the sewing technology, and in the end you understand that the thing turned out even better than you could imagine. Therefore, it is very important to find real assistants with whom you at least speak the same language - the language of fashion. Otherwise, such a situation gives rise to serious capital costs and the need to correct errors. In my team I take only "champions", a very important criterion for me is the independence of their thinking. I love to experiment and I hate compilations, especially when it comes to design. I draw my ideas only from lifestyle.
Are you a good leader?
Horrible. My employees often complain that we don't have meetings or meetings. I seriously considered implementing them until I came across a book by an American management guru. He writes that only a fool does not change his mind, and the most effective method company management is corridor management. How can you not change your mind if you think about the end result, and the situation changes every second? It turns out that I intuitively adhered to the right path.
Are you a business person, can you give advice on how to act in the current crisis? The company, which appeared at the stage of formation of a market economy in Russia, survived the most troubled times ...
I do not like to teach, I love to learn, so I do not undertake to give advice. There will be day and there will be food. You know, the topic of my thesis was "Differential games on the plane" - so let's allow ourselves to integrate games and the most daring decisions into reality.
Any moment of crisis should activate the creative forces? Can we say that being ahead of consumer expectations is the key to success?
Yes. It is also important to understand and understand the markets: now we are paying close attention to our boutique in Seoul, we are looking at China ...
Future for Asia?
Don't know. May be. But the future belongs to a real quality product. I am ready to declare with all responsibility: what we do is always more art than fashion. And in any times of crisis, people want to buy true values and invest in genuine works of art. Our things, unfortunately, are worn for too long. ( Smiling.) Clients come to us who bought a fur coat 18 years ago, and it looks like they bought it just yesterday ... We do not save on quality.
This is cool!
This is great for buyers, but not for the manufacturer. ( smiling.)
The voice of the heart and the voice of reason are always in conflict. Sometimes one wins, sometimes the other ... There is always a dilemma when a capital-intensive model is in operation, for example, a gray-haired sable, which costs fabulous money. In such cases, I think I will wear it myself if they don’t buy it. And what do you think? The most expensive product, I would say fashionable and “meaningless”, goes first. As you can see, these art objects are more than appropriate. Also, personalization is very important. Once we received the most luxurious sable, "impudent" - too expensive to process and purchase - from which we created a wonderful product. By the way, a sable pelt costs from $200 to three thousand, and the technology for processing one skin costs from one to 100 euros. Therefore, you can say with accuracy what you will succeed in the end. One client, a businesswoman, asked him to try on - he was her face. In a conversation with me, she began to lament that she would never buy it, but rather build something with this money ... I was in solidarity with her. She left, and after some time her son returned for a fur coat, as a gift to his mother. A few years later I meet this client, I find out that she has started having problems with her business, many things are not going well, but the sable hanging in the closet still brings so much happiness and joy! “Here,” she says, “I come home, open the closet, stroke the sable and think to myself: but life is still a success!”
At one time, Vogue magazine dubbed you the mistress of the sable mountain. Is sable still your favorite material?
Yes, this is the most worthy fur. Perhaps my love for him is explained by the fact that I have, in fact, the same surname as the man who discovered Siberia, presented it to the Tsar and brought these valuable skins for the first time. Sable has a special energy. Previously, there was a law according to which only monarchs could wear sable. In 1928, at an auction in London, eight kilograms of pure gold were given for the skin of Russian sable. And when crowned persons got married, such a skin was hung over the bed of the young in order to stimulate the birth of the best heirs. It's like a charm, like a trophy.
At what age can you wear a sable coat?
Don't believe in myths - there are no age limits. All our products are distinguished by the so-called family-code: they can be worn by both mother and daughter. And sable is good with ski boots and on the red carpet.
The main thing - to be able to wear?
Knowing how to wear is important. But the main thing is to be able to make an excellent option. Each of our things, albeit a classic silhouette, has its own "rock and roll", and most of the models are transformers. All models can be worn on both sides, and some of them offer all 24 ways to put them on. Therefore, buying a product is a real entertainment.
Elena, you have achieved a lot, you have regalia that none of our designers dreamed of. It seems that you are more famous in the West than in Russia, right?
We, thank God, feel good here and there. There are many regalia, but is this the most important thing?.. After all, real art does not scream, but whispers. At one time, my business card indicated that I was a professor, doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, and so on, but now it’s just a name and a phone number, without statuses and regalia. The main goal of my work is to make our customers happy. Not even clients, but like-minded people. I often see my friends tired, tortured by life, and when they try on my things, they immediately transform and cheer up, start circling around the mirror and even hum something to themselves ...
Photo: Legion-Media.ru
Elena Yarmak is a bright, bold fashion person open to experiments. After receiving a doctorate in mathematics, she decided to connect her life with the fashion industry and achieved success. Fur coats from her personal brand are preferred by such world celebrities as Audrey Hepburn, Jennifer Lopez (who has a whole collection of couturier fur coats), Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and even Jim Carrey. Designer items have also been featured in The Devil Wears Prada, Shopaholic, and other films about the fashion world. You can buy fur clothes from the legendary fashion house Helen Yarmak on the official website of Intermoda.
You won't find standard clone coats in her collections. On the contrary, designer Elena Yarmak has gained popularity among fans of everything extraordinary and exclusive, combining furs of different textures and dyeing them in original colors. The couturier deliberately designs some models without lining - a tribute to the occasion when she decided to become a fashion designer. Having ordered a fur coat according to my sketch, it simply did not turn out to be a suitable fabric for lining, which became the highlight of the thing.
Elegance and self-irony
Brilliant in her boldness, the designer once released a line of fur swimsuits - needless to say, they were sold out immediately. Zippers, which fashion designers try to hide from the eyes, in the brand's creations reach incredible sizes - the width of a palm. Similar original solutions have long been the hallmark of the Helen Yarmak fashion house.
Fur coats are designed in such a way as to elegantly complement both an evening dress and sets with jeans. They are also universal in their functionality - a warm fur product transforms into a vest or even a short jacket with a flick of the wrist. Accessories complete the look - muffs, hats, scarves and even designer jewelry. You can get acquainted with the assortment and buy the works of Elena Yarmak in our online store.
Materials for tailoring are purchased at the most prestigious auctions, the quality is strictly controlled. The brand works with a variety of furs - arctic fox, mink, fox, raccoon, sable, weasel and many others - the couturier is convinced that the choice of fur is very individual, so each client will definitely find what she wants.
The art of breaking the rules
The trendy lingerie style is reflected in coats from Helen Yarmak. Such an ironic model, despite the pronounced relaxed style, will serve as a great addition to the elegant trouser suit or evening dress. The official website of Intermoda also presents products of a feminine “cocoon” silhouette, straight, flared and transformer fur coats.
Customers can choose Helen Yarmak models from exquisite materials in both natural shades and branded rich colors. Products with a pattern or plain, long or short from the outstanding Russian fashion designer Helen Yarmak are presented in our online store.
Showroom of Elena Yarmak fashion house in Moscow on Kadashevskaya embankment near Tretyakovskaya metro station. The author's collection of fur clothes from a world-class fur designer.
Fur: broadtail, fox, mink, sable
Cloth: female, male
What to buy: Women's fur coats, Women's sheepskin coats, Women's fur vests, Men's fur coats, Men's coats
Hollywood stars collect fur coats from Helen Yarmak
Her name is inscribed in the "Famous Women of Russia" catalogue. The World Association "Women in Business" awarded her an award as an outstanding entrepreneur, the American television company CBS called her "Ambassador of Russian Fashion. She is an Academician of the French Academy of Architecture and Design, an academician of the International Academy of Information at the UN, a member of the Academy of Sciences in New York, a member of the Union of Artists. Her name is known all over the world - HELEN YARMAK.
Interview with Elena Yarmak (based on the materials of the journal "Furs of the World")
Elena, how do you guess which fur suits this or that person? It's no secret that the same "beast" decorates someone, and spoils someone. Maybe you are guided by associations: like a fox - a fox, like a beaver - a beaver?
No, I do not draw any associations and parallels. We create collections from different furs, and the friends of our House choose from them what they like best, guided by our advice and their personal preferences. They have mink and sable, chinchilla and lynx in their wardrobes, but if we talk about my personal preferences, then this, of course, is sable.
- Apparently, this is why sable runs like a "red thread" through all the collections of "Helen Yarmak"
Sable is a special fur. No wonder only crowned persons were allowed to wear sable coats before. In those days, at foreign auctions, the cost of one skin of Russian sable was equal to the price of 18 wagons of grain, or 8.5 kg. gold, and a sable fur coat could cost more than a mansion! But most importantly, it had to be worn carelessly. Sable has a unique energy, and when royal people got married, a sable skin was hung over their bed...
- What are you primarily guided by when creating a new model?
For me, not only the external effect is important. You know, there are things that amaze at first sight, and then get bored very quickly. I'm interested in creating "living things" in which there is a mystery and space for imagination.
- Tell our readers what to keep in mind when buying a fur product?
- The most important thing is whether you want winter to come as soon as possible, and how soon you want to put on an elegant and comfortable fur thing.
- Do you work for your image or is it for you? By the way, the idea to write your own name in English letters was calculated marketing ploy or "sight" to enter the Western market?
When we first started, no one even thought about any international markets. I just knew that our people would prefer an imported product to a domestic product. And when we were recognized in the West, we did not hide the true origin: "Helen Yarmak - Russian? It can't be!" Many still find this hard to believe.
- We are accustomed to the fact that fur things should be catchy, indicating the wealth of the owner. Today, an allegedly careless attitude towards luxury is being cultivated: many products from expensive furs appear, but with torn edges, external seams, denim inserts...
- The more expensive the fur, the more casually you can afford to wear it. And the rest depends on the mood - today you want to wear a classic model, and tomorrow you will look in a completely different style. Our task is to provide an opportunity to choose "your mood".
- What is your attitude to artificial fur?
- Natural is always unique, and any masterpiece is a masterpiece because it is unique. In my opinion, natural fur, as a talisman, has a special energy, some magical properties and transfers this power to the owner. Anyone who is used to wearing natural fur will certainly feel the difference. It's hard to explain, you can only feel it.
- You are known far beyond the borders of Russia, and proudly present your models under the Russian brand. What is the place of the "Russian view" of fashion in the global industry?
Russia is an amazing country with its own aura. It seems to me that Russian is a diagnosis. And on the path that the Russians have traveled in 12 years, other countries took a century. Before the revolution, Russia dictated fashion. And if you now look at the collections of the most famous designers, then you will certainly notice Russian motifs, which are often the main core of the collection. Only during socialism, and this is a short period in the history of Russia, the fashion was dull, and now, Russia has good intellectual achievements, but, unfortunately, weak organizational ones. And it is not the fault, but the misfortune of our designers that many of them simply do not see the world, they exist in their own closed environment.
- One of your show-rooms is located in New York on Fifth Avenue in the Crown Building, it's no secret that your outfits are worn by world stars. Is it easy to work with them?
The brighter the "star", the easier it is to communicate with it. Most of our guests come to us with a desire to order something special. But, we rarely sew to order for clients, besides, after looking at the models from our collections, people find exactly what they imagined, choosing our philosophy. For which I am grateful...
- But it's very difficult to convince a person to accept "your philosophy" if he knows exactly what he wants?
We do not set ourselves the goal of persuading. A professional will always advise: let's do not the way you want, but the way you feel better. And if in fact it is better the way we propose - the problem is solved. A guest comes to us with one idea, leaves with a completely different one. One day, a lady from the iconic figures of the fashion world came to the New York show-room, the day before we met at a reception and she was intrigued by the jewelry that I was wearing. The next morning she was already at our place.
Declaring, literally from the doorway, that she wants only a classic fur coat and “button” earrings, she left our showroom in a yellow plucked mink fur coat with black roses, and with aquamarine pendants in her ears. There was a happy smile on her face.
- I heard that there are even collectors of Helen Yarmak fur coats.
"Some people collect paintings, but we collect you," my friends tell me. Those who have more than 30 of our fur coats are already many, and the owner of 50 fur products alone for now.
- Hollywood "stars" have already paved the way for you, but your personal interests with Hollywood have not yet crossed - I mean filming a movie?
- Why, our collections are actively involved in filming at the "dream factory". In particular, when Paramount Pictures filmed "Marcie - X" with Lisa Kudroff, the producers preferred our fur. Then we won the screen tests, in which all the designers who had fur in their collections took part. Also, the shooting of the series "Sex and the City" with the participation of our models is underway.
- How can a successful business woman remain a woman?
If you feel like a woman
- indestructible. And if this is not the case, then it does not matter whether you are a leader or just a wife. By the way, it is the female, more developed sensual basis that makes it possible to be creative in the work performed.
- Are there any conflicts between Elena Yarmak - fashion designer and Elena Yarmak - businessman?
- Always.
Through the work of many "cultured people", the so-called "intelligentsia", the impression was that nothing good is being done in Russia, and even for a fur coat you have to go exclusively abroad, as if our fur is bad, our designers can't do anything, but in Greece everyone have and best quality.
In fact, this is not so, today Greece is a poor country that has nothing to be proud of, except for history, but in Russia there are many prospects and impressive successes. Russia has always been famous for its fur crafts and products, but much has been lost during the USSR. Now fur farming is being revived in Russia - they grow minks of all colors and other fur-bearing animals, and sable is mined. And along with this, there are brands of Russian origin.
For example, Helen Yarmak
Elena Yarmak fashion industry knows how to run a successful fur business. Helen Yarmak name boutiques and showrooms are located in Petrovsky Passage and on Manezhnaya Square, on the corner of 5th and 57th avenues in New York, via Monte Napoleone in Milan, in Zurich, and many other places, and the showroom in New York is located next to Chanel and Louis Vuitton boutiques.
Chloe Sevigny, Jim Carrey, Patricia Field, Melanie Griffith, Irina Khakamada, Arina Sharapova, Alla Pugacheva and many other celebrities have things from Yarmak. Even the magazine "Vogue" recognized the success of Elena Yarmak, calling her the Mistress of the Sable Mountain!
In addition, Elena's furs have appeared in many films and TV shows, here are some of them - "Sex and the City", "The Devil Wears Prada", "Ugly Betty", "Day Watch", "Night Watch", "Moscow Saga" .. .
Helen Yarmak products are more expensive than Greek ones, and this is quite justified, because only the best skins purchased at the best fur auctions are used to make fur coats and other fur products.
But not only in this lies the success of the Helen Yarmak brand. Industry experts say that the special, signature cut of Yarmak fur coats would not have been possible without the mathematical orderliness of the fur designer's thinking. This is due to the fact that Elena began with mathematics. Back in the early 90s, no one knew Elena's name in the fashion world, but she was known in professional mathematical circles as a specialist in the field of modeling economic processes. Then she worked in a closed institute of cybernetics and did not think about the fashion business. At the same time, Elena loved and knew how to dress well, she could create a stunning outfit out of nothing.
Then life in the open former USSR began to change rapidly, and Elena was forced to retrain from a mathematician to a fashion designer.
And already in 2003, Elena received the award - "Best Foreign Fashion Designer of the Year" ("Internation Fashion Designer of a Year") at the International Fashion Week in New York. Elena Yermak is the only Russian fashion designer to receive this award.
Fur coats by Elena Ermak, collection 2014
The success of Elena and her brand Helen Yarmak clearly demonstrates that you can change a lot in your life - or rather, change your whole life. This is a great example for girls who want to become designers, but do not take up this business, arguing that now it is impossible to create a new brand without huge financial investments and, in general, starting a business in Russia is dangerous and unrealistic.
By the way, in addition to fur products, the Helen Yarmak brand also offers collections of beautiful jewelry, only this is a completely different topic and will be covered in subsequent publications.
Life Elena Yarmak makes one doubt that a person can be either a physicist or a lyricist: the mathematical mindset and Elena’s love for school subjects related to logic and analytical thinking, which manifested itself in childhood, became not an obstacle to high creativity, but a considerable help. Experts say that a special, signature cut of Yarmak fur coats would be impossible without the mathematical orderliness of the fur designer's thinking.
Even at the age of five, Elena did not like to do everything like everyone else - she considered the rules in kindergartens hard labor. Later, in order not to get bored at all at the Scientific Institute, she opened the Club of Interesting Meetings of the Academy of Sciences, whose guests different years were Andrey Bitov, Vasily Aksenov, Mikhail Zhvanetsky. Gorbachev's times, when it was fashionable to start everything from scratch, led Elena to a business that fully accumulated her seething energy, the gift of an artist and her ability to achieve her own.
Elena Yarmak fashion world knows how to run a successful fur business. The personalized boutiques of her Fashion House are located in the Petrovsky Passage and on Manezhnaya Square. She owns a VIP salon on Kadashevskaya Embankment in Moscow and a showroom on 57th Avenue in New York (Chanel and Louis Vuitton boutiques are located next door). Melanie Griffith, Goldie Hawn, Luciano Pavarotti have things from Yarmak. Politicians, artists, well-known businessmen constantly attend Moscow shows.
And back in the early 90s, Elena Yarmak was known in professional mathematical circles as a specialist in the field of modeling economic processes. Then she lived in Kyiv, worked in a closed institute of cybernetics and did not think about the fashion business. She loved and knew how to dress well, she could create a stunning outfit out of nothing.
Moving to Moscow was connected with the work of her husband, a professor of mathematics. But the move brought a lot of disappointments: her husband's salary was not enough for life in the capital, and Elena herself did not manage to get a job in her specialty. I had to save - including on outfits. And it was this economy that played an important role in a fashion career.
One day, in some store, Elena caught the eye of ... pantaloons made of lace woolen linen. Elena was not particularly interested in the product itself, but she liked the material. It seemed to her that a dress made of this material would look good. Wanting to sew this for her husband's birthday, she went to the factory. Naturally, just like that, no one would have sold anything to her. Therefore, Elena came up with a story that she is a representative of a Canadian company that is looking for suppliers in Moscow and wants to buy knitted fabric from the factory. Elena attached sketches of models to the story - the factory management liked them so much that they offered to sew these models right at their place. Elena Yarmak decided to take a chance, and when the order had already been actually completed, she admitted to a gamble. But the models were so good that cooperation with the factory did not end there.
Later, Yarmak registered her company and took up furs. Her things are much more expensive than the Greek ones that fill the market - and all because the skins are purchased at the best auctions in the world. At first, while the brand was not yet sufficiently promoted, Elena Yarmak hid the Russian origin of her luxurious models. She developed an original advertising policy: when the company opened a showroom in New York, everyone around said that it was impossible to gain fame without a traditional advertising campaign - insanely expensive. And Elena Yarmak just made people talk about how they like her things: word-of-mouth advertising turned out to be a win-win. Clients came back and brought friends. Confirming the success of Elena Yarmak in the fashion business, Vogue magazine named her the Mistress of the Sable Mountain.
The products of Elena Yarmak, the founder and designer of the House, are always accompanied by an invariable intrigue: each model of the collection can be transformed with a slight movement, turning into a completely different thing, at the request of its owner.
Helen Yarmak boutiques and showrooms are open in the most iconic places in the world - the legendary The Plaza hotel and the Crown building at the corner of 5th and 57th avenues in New York, via Monte Napoleone in Milan, Zurich, Kadashevskaya Embankment, Ritz Carlton and Akter Gallery in Moscow and Zhukoffka Plaza in Zhukovka, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
Luxury models from Elena Yarmak have won recognition and love among connoisseurs of haute couture all over the world. Famous athletes, business elites and Hollywood stars became friends and collectors of the fashion house, and Helen Yarmak furs appeared on the big screen in such works as Sex and the City, Devil Wears Prada, Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, Day Watch, Night Watch Watch, Moscow Saga.
Special attention should be paid to the method that is used to create most of the clothing models of the Helen Yarmak Fashion House. Thanks to the mesh base, through which thin strips of fur are passed, fur coats, mittens and muffs have fur not only on the outside, but also on the inside, which creates additional warmth and comfort.
The secret of the success of Yarmak products in Russia - and her fur coats are worn by Irina Khakamada, Arina Sharapova, Alla Pugacheva - would seem to be simple: luxury (trimmed with rhinestones, river pearls, gold embroidery), lightness (the most voluminous fur coat can be put in a small bag), warmth (Elena's favorite fur is sable) and exclusivity. But among Elena's clients are Melanie Griffith, Jack Nicholson, Goldie Hawn, David Copperfield ... In the designer's New York boutique, the cheapest fur coat from Yarmak costs 20 thousand dollars. Our things, - Elena says not without humor, - this is something superfluous, without which it is impossible to do without. And when journalists too persistently seek an answer to the question - how did she manage to succeed so much ?! – Yarmak responds with his favorite quote from Dumas père: Every day there are a lot of situations when a person can completely change his life. But only a few know how to use it.
