“The profession I am doing is still behind the scenes, and I cannot say that I am a public person of a television level, when people constantly pester me on the plane, on the street, at the train station and ask for something. I am not a recognizable person in this sense. I am recognizable only in narrow circles,”Alena said to herself in one of her interviews.
Indeed, many people notice that one of the most famous Russian designers, whose name is always heard, does not really like to appear at social parties, and always behaves very restrainedly at them. Although there are those who claim the opposite and call the personality of Akhmadullina scandalous and daring. Such differences of opinion speak of the bright personality and charisma of the talented designer.
Biography. Childhood, adolescence and education
Alena Asfirova (the real name of the famous designer) was born on June 5, 1978 in the city of Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Region, into a family of engineers. As a child, Alena was engaged in biathlon, and the girl also had the ability to draw, so her parents sent her to study at an art school. Alena was often disappointed with clothes as a gift for a holiday, she believed that clothes are not a gift at all, and they cannot be compared with toys. However, during the school period, in labor lessons, Alena developed a love for clothing design. She sewed outfits for herself and all her friends, altered and "improved" things from her mother's wardrobe. As the designer herself says: her interest in fashion design arose mainly due to the fact that it was in the 80s that the fashion industry appeared in Russia, which noticeably affected the attitude towards clothes among the population of the Soviet Union. But at school, Alena did not think that fashion design would become her profession. These thoughts appeared after graduating from art school, when she realized that she really loves to draw, loves art, fashion, design and this is exactly what she does best.
Therefore, after graduating from school in 1995, Alena entered the Institute of Technology and Design in St. Petersburg in the direction of "Fashion Design". Alena speaks very warmly about her university, says that there was a very large team of teachers who provided their students with great freedom, a huge number of competitions were held, which forced students to practice more often, to try themselves "in the material." All this made it possible for students from the first year to feel themselves in the profession.
Alena Akhmadullina Brand
Already a couple of years after graduating from university and starting her career, Alena Akhmadullina formed her own clothing brand. The Alena Akhmadullina brand was founded in 2001 in St. Petersburg, and in April 2001 it took part in the show with the first Pret-a-porte collection at Russian Fashion Week. Alena believes that it is natural to create something new based on what you know well, which is why the distinctive feature of her design is traditional Russian motives, Russian culture, fairy tales and painting. Alena Akhmadullina's signature prints and unique silhouettes have become widely known both in Russia and far beyond its borders. In 2005, the brand's collection was first presented at Paris Fashion Week. Since then, the Alena Akhmadullina brand regularly presents its collections in Paris.
The brand was developing rapidly, according to Alena herself, the brand from the very beginning paid for itself through sales in multi-brand boutiques, and upon arrival in Moscow, the designer had the opportunity to open a boutique of his brand. In autumn 2008, Alena Akhmadullina's first Concept Store was opened in the historic center of Moscow on Nikolskaya Street. In 2011, the Alena Akhmadullina brand launches an online store. In 2012, the brand's boutique was opened in the Vremena Goda Galleries, and in 2017 - a boutique in the Riga shopping center.
Alena Akhmadullina's portfolio includes the creation of costumes for the participants of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Vancouver (2010), the development of sketches for the uniform of the Russian Olympic team (2008) and T-shirts for the Evrovision competition in Moscow (2009), as well as the creation of costumes for the Cirque du Soleil JOEL show (2015).
About Alena
Alena shows her love for Russian culture and Russian art in every possible way. She often talks about this in her interviews and, of course, this is most clearly manifested in her work.
Alena does not hide, but does not particularly advertise her personal life. It is known that in 2017 she married the former vice president of Transneft and OJSC Stroytransgaz, Sergei Makarov. Even at her wedding, the bride abandoned the white dress in favor of the golden wedding dress, traditional for Russian culture.
