Range: mostly dresses, blouses, skirts and coats - with bows on the belts, ruffles on the pockets and flounces on the sleeves. All things are feminine, but laconic. There is often an emphasis on the waist, but the silhouettes are looser rather than fitted. Everything is in bright but gentle tones. In general, the brand experiments with color – original and bold combinations are often found. You can find a shirt dress in almost every collection.

Uniqueness: I am Studio is one of the most commercially successful Russian clothing brands. Her collections are sold in almost every more or less well-known St. Petersburg and Moscow multi-brand with products Russian designers and in many regional stores. In addition, the brand has its own online store. Perhaps the success of I am Studio can be compared with the success of Asya Malbershtein and Cyrille Gassiline. It is largely dictated by the desire to make “noticeable, but wearable” things and a scrupulous study of the tastes of the Russian audience. According to Dasha Samkovich, the founder of the brand, “It’s not just about design and trends. You need to know what colors are in demand in Russia; even little things like the length of skirts and the fit of dresses are important.”

Relevance: although, of course, trends are an important component of the I am Studio concept. They are reflected very selectively, but quite brightly. Open shoulders, dresses and robe coats, perforations – significant emphasis is placed on certain particularly trendy details and models. Such products, as a rule, set the tone for the entire collection.

Price policy: dresses cost on average 9 thousand, blouses – 7 thousand, skirts – 8 thousand, coats – 20 thousand rubles.

Story: Dasha Samkovich founded I am Studio in 2008. Almost five of them “were spent searching for a niche, the right positioning and approach.” Today, the brand’s products are represented in 40 multi-brand stores in the country.

Meghan Markle is a recognized trendsetter in the royal family. Each of her public appearances immediately becomes a reason for discussion, and in a positive way. How does she always manage to look so good? You might think that it's a matter of celebrity stylists or clothes from luxury brands, but this is not at all true. We've spotted five of Meghan's fashion secrets that allow her to look royal even in budget clothes. Take note!

Choose monochrome looks

The word "monochrome" often evokes images of boring black outfits. Meghan Markle has long proven that monochrome can be interesting. Her main rule is to choose one main color accent for the image, complementing it with neutral shoes and accessories.

Focus on the waist

World catwalks dictate the trend for baggy clothes. Thus, Comme Des Garçons and Vetements offer voluminous silhouettes from season to season. But Meghan Markle absolutely disagrees with this (and we support her in this). Perhaps such outfits look good on size zero models, but are not at all suitable for ordinary women.

An emphasis on the waist is a wonderful way to add color to even the most budget outfit. Moreover, this technique is appropriate in both classic and casual styles.

Love minimalism

In her outfits, Meghan Markle actively uses the rule “less is more.” This approach is absolutely justified, because combinations of simple things always create spectacular images.

Tip: collect basic wardrobe, in which the clothes will be combined with each other as much as possible. You will save yourself from the eternal problem of “nothing to wear” and will look great with minimal effort and expense.

Invest in quality shoes

Meghan Markle's favorite shoe brand is Aquazzura. We share our love for this brand, but we don’t think shoes should cost that much. In fact, you can also find excellent options from mid-priced brands.

Whether your shoes are from Zara or Dior, be sure to ensure their comfort and quality.

Make friends with longitudinal stripes

Many girls often avoid striped prints. There is a myth that such a design on clothes makes you look fat, but this is far from true. A shirt with a longitudinal stripe is the perfect way to lengthen your silhouette and become visually slimmer. It can be found in any mass market and worn both for walks and to the office.

Meghan Markle's fashion moves are good because they don't deprive her of individuality. Remembering the rules of royal style, you can create any look and look impressive in them, even in budget clothes.

Recently Russian brand I Am Studio has grown from a young and little-known brand into one of the most recognizable and ambitious clothing manufacturers in the middle-up segment. Its creator, Daria Samkovich, admits that the rapid rise was largely facilitated by the increased interest in domestic designers, but rightly notes: “Our success is, first of all, the result of many years of painstaking work invested both in the development of patterns and the impeccable fit of models, and in creation of exclusive fabrics and a very attentive designer approach to the fashion needs of the audience.” Daria openly spoke about what it’s like to be part of the fashion business in an interview with ELLE.

ELLE Tell us about your experience of creating a successful brand in the middle-up segment? What difficulties have you encountered in the Russian market?

DARIA SAMKOVICH When I started at the age of 20, I realized that I had neither the experience nor the ability to make catwalk collections, but I didn’t see the point in it for myself. I wanted to make clothes for people like me. For those who value fashion and beauty, but do not want to overpay for an idea or a well-promoted brand. I was not interested in simply expressing myself and demonstrating my unusual view of the world. Besides, it seemed boring to me to simply release a collection and then sew it on a client in my atelier. In addition to fashion, I was always interested in marketing, economics, I liked to do everything wisely and “competently.” In other words, I was interested not so much in creativity and fashion, but in the principles of work fashion industry and its mechanisms. I Am Studio was absolutely experimental project: I had neither budgets nor serious business plans, I acted relying on instinct and intuition. This fall the brand will be 8 years old, 5 of which were spent searching for a niche, the right positioning and approach. Over the years, I had to learn a lot, go through a lot, and the pleasure from work began literally a year ago, when it became a little easier. Therefore, without undue modesty, I say that we are a young brand: established, strengthened, serious, but young. And the first day off when I gave myself permission not to go to work, but to devote a weekday to myself, happened last week.

ELLE How many multi-brand stores currently carry the I Am Studio brand?

D.S. We are represented in about 40 stores in Moscow and the regions, but there are many times more offers. Due to our positioning, we are forced to refuse many people. There are no particular problems with the regions, except that many are not yet ready to buy trendy models. In general, we are very pleased that something is happening in the regions and fashionable places and shops are appearing.

ELLE What most often inspires you to create a new collection?

D.S. Modern world. We analyze modern fashion, the lifestyle of our clients, try to predict what they might like, while at the same time not deviating from our vision of fashion and design. We stand for lightness, unobtrusiveness and for girls to remain themselves in our clothes - but always fashionable and beautiful. Another powerful source of inspiration for me is contemporary art.

ELLE If you were talking about your brand to someone who doesn't know anything about it, what would be the first thing you would focus on?

D.S. I would pay attention to the fact that this is a high quality Russian brand. First of all, I want people in our country and abroad to finally understand that in Russia they can sew good and beautiful clothes. And it’s also important for me to convey that each item in our collection is something very noticeable in itself that stands out in the crowd, but at the same time absolutely wearable, compatible with most of the wardrobe, seasonal - we don’t make fishnet skirts and silk dresses in winter .

ELLE Tell us about the process of developing the collection. How long does it take from the idea to the items arriving in stores?

D.S. Ideally, it is necessary to budget a year for the production of a collection. Samples must be ready at least six months before entering stores, so that buyers can place an order and we can reproduce required amount models - this requires three months for fabric production and another three for tailoring. This is preceded by another six months of painstaking work: first we have the idea itself, sketches and a matrix of the collection, then the search for fabrics begins, after which the factories send us a small yardage of fabrics in our colors for testing samples. This is three months. Then another three months of sewing, designing, fitting...

ELLE What difficulties most often occur during production process? How do you deal with them?

D.S. Since all the fabrics are imported, there are problems with import and customs. For example, we do not work with Turkey, but due to well-known events, customs began to delay all cargo. As a result, we received the fabrics a month later, and the collection went on sale a month later, and this is a serious loss. Quality control is also constantly needed. One and the same factory can sew today without defects, and tomorrow with defects. Thus, you need to always be on your guard and rely only on yourself. My employees regularly visit factories, monitor the sewing process, and make adjustments to the technology. There are also problems with the quality of fabric: even very serious factories are not ideal in this regard. And the defect may be revealed after cutting or even on sale. The result is colossal losses. In general, the process is very complex from start to finish. It's much easier to assemble TVs!

ELLE Tell us about the choice of fabrics and colors for your latest collection.

D.S. We are working very closely on color scheme, you can say this is ours business card. Color is the main thing in design; often people buy a thing because of the color, and not because of the style. Many brands do not take risks and are afraid to experiment with color. We are the opposite. The more complex the color, the more expensive and interesting the product looks.

ELLE What kind of girl do you see at I Am Studio? Tell me, what is she like?

D.S. She is modern and fashionable, she does not follow general trends, but is always looking for what others don’t have. She is bold, ready to experiment, but not pretentious. It seems to me that this is an image that everyone can try on: a happy, successful beauty, free from prejudice, who is easy about life, about herself, about her wardrobe, but at the same time is always in the center of attention.

ELLE Do you think there are any worthy competitors in the middle-up segment on the Russian fashion market?

D.S. Of course, there are worthy brands that are worth paying attention to. Another thing is that now you can’t make mistakes, because it’s time to occupy the market, and many brands have the wrong pricing policy (either too expensive or too cheap) or do not produce exactly the things that are needed during a crisis.

ELLE What are your plans for the further development of the brand?

D.S. We are going to participate in international exhibitions and enter Western markets. Of course, we will continue to develop sales in Russia. But the most important thing is to improve the product! We are constantly improving the design, technology, and construction of our collections. A good product will always be in demand. In addition, separate limited capsules appear in the collections - they include trendy items. Few people will be able to try them on, but there is an audience that comes for just such a complex design.

ELLE Tell us about yourself as a designer?

D.S. I grew up in a creative family that was involved with fabrics and clothing, so working in the fashion industry has been my dream since childhood. I graduated from college in Minsk, where I learned to cut and design, and then in Moscow I studied design with Vyacheslav Zaitsev and participated in competitions. Then I entered the Faculty of Economics at clothing industry to better understand the intricacies of creating your own brand. Probably, at the age of 20 it was too early to start my own business - I should have studied more, dreamed and been inspired, but then I was unstoppable! Now, having achieved some success in creating collections according to all the canons of the industry, I am interested in immersing myself more in creativity - doing art things, intellectual fashion, without thinking about sales and financial indicators of the brand. Having reached a certain level, you want either higher or something completely different - this is always the case.

Chorus:


Who else if not me, get it, no one else (no one else)
I'm not replaceable, get it, no one else (no one else)

[Verse 1, Obladaet]:
I am the newest sound and this is a new age.
I made the style again, I made everyone again.
I jumped into the Batmobile, you know - uber black,
And he flew onto the block like a superman.

Do you remember me as I was yesterday, hmm, -
I remember every day like it was yesterday!
We are in the center of the party itself, hear how chill out it is -
The same people with whom I started are still with me.

(no one else) (no one else)
I receive things before release
Forgive my temper and my whims,
But I don't see the hate through the Gucci lens.

A lot is expected of me.
You know the name - I value it.
I don't need their cheap noise.
I'm high, but I don't need a parachute.

I didn't write tracks for mods.
Salute to those who pushed through and understood.
I'm not trying to get into the audience -
I'm not a fucking college student.

All these rappers are so sad.
I see in life - what the fuck was that?
They read quickly - "b-b-b-b-b"
He made up all his lyrics!

Flight sickness - I forgot about that (ok).
I didn't rest - I forgot about it (ok).
I don’t go to a bar that smells like trap;
I'm not in trends - I change trends.

An abyss - and I didn’t know where the road led,
But with the card in my hands it was as if I was going cashless.
I graduated from the tower - there were only A's!
Look in your pockets - there are only fives there.

I knew all this right away when I was a child;
I took off my Louis V belt and spanked your chick!

Chorus:
Who else if not me, get it, no one else (no one else)
I'm not replaceable, get it, no one else (no one else)
Who else if not me, get it, no one else (no one else)
I'm not replaceable, get it, no one else (no one else)
No one else, no one else!

[Verse 2, Obladaet]:
We live like this - this is our lifestyle.
I don't eat these tablas - keep them for yourself.
However, I have no time for sleep.
I didn’t waste a minute and my time had come.

They said that (Obla was blown away).
Then, they said that (he came back).
OK! But I, -
The most discussed on all resources!

I thought so much about what people would say to me.
They all need to discuss what they won't have.
Vera and I are crazy about you, hanging in the studio.
They need an interview again - I'm not available
(subscriber unavailable)

Chorus:
Who else if not me, get it, no one else (no one else)
I'm not replaceable, get it, no one else (no one else)
Who else if not me, get it, no one else (no one else)
I'm not replaceable, get it, no one else (no one else)
No one else, no one else!

OBLADAET presents the album FILES

• Inspired cries: “F*cked album!” “Great album” is heard from all public pages, and in the official group there are more than 500 comments in the first hour! The record is called FILES, among the songs there are both personal and magnificent in implementation and idea. On the fits, that's for sure - everyone is pleased to hear Markul, who officially became famous after the track "Moulin Rouge", but the appearance of STED.D was a complete surprise. The producers of the tracks were: Black Swan, SK1ttless Beats, RedLightMuzik, and already quite well-known: Monte Molotov, BlackSurfer, lunar*vision. The sound was wrapped by Maxim Oshkin aka VeroBeatz from St. Petersburg (sound engineer and beatmaker-arranger), and the cover was drawn by Lesha Korolev akak KEESMI, who also lives in St. Petersburg. Also, on the eve of the release of the record, Nazar managed to perform live, again in the city on the Neva, and the day before that a small group of people listened to the release in Moscow.