Text: Dariga Masenova
Exclusive with Dior
2011, Paris, showing the Chanel Paris - Bombay cruise collection. A few months earlier, Karl Lagerfeld notices a girl in a lookbook of the Russian design duo Bohemique and immediately sends him to the podium. Sasha has two exits, during which she mentally prays not to fall. But then suddenly - a year of undeserved, inexplicable, insulting calm ...
Models are rarely given a second chance.
Everything resembles an unpleasant deja vu: the fact is that with Sasha this already happened. Three years ago, after a few bookings in New York, the girl had to return to Moscow. It would seem that this is a failure - a young talent is not suitable for the cruel world of fashion. Nevertheless, hard work on oneself and faith do not give up. After a difficult year, Sasha gathers courage and again goes to conquer Paris. One day she was invited to a Dior casting. "I was not just worried - I was dying of fear. Moreover, my agent played a cruel joke with me. A few minutes after the casting, she called back and announced in a sobering voice that I can no longer go to auditions in Paris." This is the end ! "flashed through my head. And then she announced:" A joke. You have an exclusive with Dior! "" Exclusive with Dior is a serious trophy in the pocket of every model. This means that the brand will cover the fee an order of magnitude more than the model can earn for the entire season. And the most important thing is the recognition of talent and extraordinary model abilities.
Platinum blonde
Sasha's appearance has attracted universal attention since childhood. A Russian beauty originally from Magadan grows in Moscow and devotes all her free time to dancing. A bright girl has been celebrated more than once at ballet competitions, but a trauma received once does not allow continuing classes.
In spite of grandmother's bans, Sasha signs her first contract with the modeling agency IQ Models at age 13. The first serious show of Sasha becomes the fashion show of Alena Akhmadullina during Fashion Week in Moscow in 2008. She is only 16, but they are beginning to look closely at her. Tsarina - this is what Sasha is called in fashion circles because of her special regal gait.
However, the light streak comes along with the contract with Dior. At the Fashion Week in 2013, she opens the show Valentino and Alexis Mabille, works at the shows of Dior, Versace, Chanel and Elie Saab. These six key haute couture shows provide tremendous success.
During the shows of the Fall-Winter 2013 collections, Sasha’s name doesn’t leave the languages of the fashion elite. 58 shows, including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Alexander Wang, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, Balmain, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors and Donna Karan. The prestigious models.com website - a worldwide database of modeling businesses - proclaims the name of Luss in the top ten "hot newcomers to the industry." The famous houses Carolina Herrera, Max Mara, Valentino and Tommy Hilfiger invite her to become the first person in their advertising campaigns and seasonal lookbooks.
Six months later, in the finale of the Milan show Roberto Cavalli at the show of the Spring-Summer 2014 collection, Sasha appears in an embroidered golden white dress. An enthusiastic hum rumbles through the hall. The most promising newcomer to the world podium reminds everyone of the platinum blonde Nadia Auerman. A new hair color becomes her calling card and a symbol of rapid rise to a new height. A photo with an ironic caption appears on the model’s Instagram: “Nothing paints a woman like hydrogen peroxide”, and other models pick up the fashion for snow-white hair. Sasha also becomes a star - contracts for the debut advertising campaigns of Valentino, Lanvin, Chanel, perfume Carolina Herrera, and more recently, the Dior Beauty line.
Behind the scenes of shows, Sasha is eyeing the receptions of the best stylists, hairdressers and makeup artists. "I like to watch the work of makeup artist Pat McGrath - she taught me to correctly emphasize the contour of the face with dark powder, and if you apply a highlighter on the bridge of the nose and around the corners of the eyes, you get a fresh, modern make-up." Sasha’s style icons are big-film actresses, symbols of the golden age of Hollywood: Greta Garbo and Ava Gardner. The model takes on the acting skills of its favorites: photographers such as Patrick Demarchelier, Peter Lindberg and Willy Vanderperre like to invite her to shoot. And by the beginning of 2015, she was filmed by the iconic fashion photographer Stephen Meisel for the Pirelli calendar. The girl appears topless in the image of a pin-up of the 50s.
It would seem that all the fashionable capitals were conquered, with a portfolio of more than 100 shows in one year, and Raf Simons and Karl Lagerfeld as friends. We hope that further victories await Sasha, fantastic magazine covers and the most high-profile shows!
