Vyacheslav Zaitsev found himself on the verge of ruin. Vyacheslav Zaitsev: a normal person in my place would have died long ago - Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, they write all sorts of things about your health now

The famous fashion designer spoke about main woman In my life

When we hear the word “fashion”, many of us have a clear association: Vyacheslav ZAYTSEV. It seems he has always been there. Energetic, slightly shocking and invariably bright. In our country, Zaitsev’s clothes were as cool as CARDIN’s. Girls wanting to become fashion models lined up in long lines at famous House fashion in Moscow. The history of this forge beautiful life began on June 19, 1982 - exactly 35 years ago. On an anniversary, it is customary to remember the past and make plans. This is what we are talking about with the designer in the legendary building on Mira Avenue.

I was preparing to see mannequins on the walls - well, what else should the office of a famous couturier look like, but I came across an exercise bike installed in the middle of the room. The maestro stops pedaling, easily jumps off the seat, rushes towards us with the photographer and, pleased with the effect produced, laughs.

I feel great! - Vyacheslav Mikhailovich reports. - I don’t walk, I run, I enjoy life like a child. The body at 79 years old is, of course, tired and worn out. A normal person in my place would not have survived. How many talented people things broke down around me, many smoked, drank themselves to death, and disappeared. But I thank God for his generosity and patience.

In order not to fall, you must constantly pedal, the maestro is sure

- So you’re not planning on retiring?

Rest is an unaffordable luxury. I live 70 kilometers from Moscow. Every day I get up at 4.20. You have to leave at 5.20, otherwise you might end up stuck in traffic for two hours. But wasting so much time is unacceptable for me.

- Where do you get your strength from?

Finding time for my lungs physical activity. I’m walking around my estate, digging around with flowers, in the garden. I eat modestly, without frills. I love cabbage soup, borscht, mushroom noodles, chicken soups, porridge, meat or vegetable cutlets, juices. I love fish. I cook by myself or by friends who come to visit me. This helps to withstand the frantic rhythm - creative process never stops.

Padded jacket collection

- Today you are a fashion guru, but this was not always the case. Let's remember how it all began.

I had to go through a lot. I was accused of not creating the right image Soviet woman, because he painted girl models not with open faces looking to the future, but with sadly bowed heads. At the Moscow Textile Institute there were always problems with teachers - on exams they gave me either an A or a D. Nevertheless, for three years I received a Lenin scholarship. But before defending his thesis, he quarreled with the dean, refusing his consultations. What I was punished for was that they changed the topic of my work, and instead of creating outfits for an ice ballet, I had to draw a business suit.

After studying, I was assigned to the Experimental Technical Sewing Factory of the Moscow Regional Economic Council in the city of Babushkin - now this is a district of the capital. There I was tasked with creating special clothing for rural workers. I tried to bring variety to everyday work, studied the traditions of Russian costume. Back then, there was nothing interesting at all: in the stores there were gray coats with a piece of fur on the shoulder and dull suits. I tried to fight these “sarcophagi” by personal example: I sewed myself a coat in the style of the images Holbein - German artist Renaissance. It was a shortened model made of black overcoat fabric - wide arched shoulders, neck without a collar. A very creative thing.

Meanwhile, at the factory, I was entrusted with developing a collection of padded jackets. Seeing my colored sheepskin coats and quilted jackets made of bright linen, skirts made from Pavlovo Posad shawls, and even yellow and red felt boots painted with gouache, the members of the artistic council were horrified.

- Did your workforce support you?

Where there! I was released from my position as artistic director of the experimental group, and a comradely trial was held. Due to the nervous shock, I even temporarily lost my sight. But it was then that French journalists offered to do an interview with me. Paris Match published an article praising my workwear offerings. After this, felt boots came into fashion abroad. It was April 1963. For the first time in the world they started talking about a Russian clothing designer. By that time I had moved to work at the Model House on Kuznetsky Most. But he soon became restricted from traveling abroad and came under the supervision of the KGB. It happened that I was waiting for a foreign delegation, but suddenly I got stuck in the elevator, and the guests were told that I was sick. Such intrigues were built.

Organic tomatoes grow in a greenhouse on the site

Three holes - two seams

- They say you didn’t really like “government” wives and daughters. Why?

This is not my circle. Most of them were incredibly snobbish. But I cannot be a slave - I choose my clients myself. Communication with Viktor Petrovna Brezhnev, daughter Kosygina, wife Shevardnadze, relations with Raisa Maksimovna Gorbacheva. Here Ekaterina Furtseva she always said: “Slavochka, you know better than me. Why would I advise you? A person must trust me.

-Have you tried to join the party?

Tried three times! The first time I came to the district committee in a gray striped suit with a lilac bow-scarf instead of a tie, I heard: “Young man, this is not a circus or dancing for you.” The second time he appeared in a black three-piece suit. “This is not a theater here!” - they told me and again turned me away until I got an appointment with the secretary of the party committee. I was persistent. I wanted to influence the situation and not let dullness make decisions for me.

- You were over forty when you decided to change everything.

In 16 years of working in light industry, I have never seen anyone wear the models I developed. All of them, upon entering production, were castrated to the “three holes - two seams” standard. And then the idea came to go to a simple studio. Helped turn it into a fashion house Evgeny Mikhailovich Tyazhelnikov. He headed the ideology department of the CPSU Central Committee and introduced me to the then Minister of Consumer Services Ivan Dudenkov. He said: “Glory, if you finish it, the building will be yours.” It took three years to bring the premises on Mira Avenue to perfection. Having opened it, he began artistic director. When I realized that the Fashion House was being shamelessly stolen, I organized re-election of the director. The second one is the same story. Then he took this position himself. This exhausting work took up a lot of useful time. But I was responsible for everything myself.

Brother served ten years

- Creative people It is customary to ask about the muse. Who inspires you?

Mother. Kindness, decency, warmth, generosity, sacrifice, love for nature, people - I looked for these qualities in the women I met along the way. And I didn’t find it. Mom remained the main thing in my life. I didn't see much of her as a child. She worked from six in the morning until one in the morning, she was a cleaner and laundress. At the age of seven I did all the housework myself. We lived in a tiny room with a bed and a suitcase instead of a chair, and we were also robbed. When my mother went to the hospital, I almost died of hunger. I started singing to saleswomen in stores. For this they gave me pieces of cookies and sweets, which I sold at the market. I used the money to buy bread and bring it to my mother.

- Do you remember your father?

I was three years old when he went to the front. My mother didn’t love my father, she was going to marry another man, but that’s how it happened. During the war, my father was captured, escaped, and reached Berlin. But everyone who was captured was imprisoned as traitors to the Motherland. When the train with prisoners of war arrived in Kharkov before being sent to the North, we also arrived there. My father sat on the ground behind barbed wire among thousands of exhausted people. Mom shouted something to him, he answered, after which the guards drove us away. Then the prisoners were taken along the stage, and we returned to Ivanovo. I only met my father when I was 20 years old. We were Kokurins, they bore my mother's last name. The parents formalized the relationship when the father returned from the camps. I never got close to him. After his mother’s death, he quickly found another woman, but asked me not to leave him. I took care of him until the end.

I had an older brother, Volodya, a cheerful, lively guy. After the war, in the company of other guys, he stole a bicycle, for which he ended up in a colony. He went out and got caught again. Then the brother stood up for his friend and beat the policeman. In total, he served ten years. And when I was freed, I couldn’t find myself. Got a job at a factory. I tried to help him, but he drank everything away.

Quit drugs

- Tell us about your wife - Yegor’s mother.

Marishka studied with me at the Textile Institute, but a year older. Beautiful, thin, with huge brown eyes and gorgeous curly hair. In addition, smart, erudite, with good taste. We got married in 1959, and Egor was born a year later.

We lived with Marisha for nine years. But her mother - my mother-in-law - for some reason decided that I married Marina because of the apartment. To her I was a poor washerwoman's son - they considered themselves birds of a higher flight. Family relationships were tense all the time until they separated us and kicked me out of the house.

- How did you get kicked out?

I came from Hungary, where I was making costumes for the film, and found out that they had found a replacement for me. Yegor was nine years old at the time. They didn't let me near him. My son thought that I had abandoned him, and for a long time he could not forgive this. And then he had another dad - a circus director. True, he was expelled quite quickly.

- How long have you not communicated with Yegor?

Until he turned 14. Our first secret meeting took place in some alley. Slowly communication resumed. Fortunately, everything is in the past. Contact with Marishka has been restored, I attend her holidays, she attends my shows.

- You had another marriage, didn’t you?

Second wife Inna is a knitwear artist. We worked together, it turned out that she had been waiting for me for many years and had no doubt that after the divorce I would marry her. Like a tsunami, she hit me with her love. We lived in a civil marriage for two years, but then separated.

- But Inna was there when you had a car accident.

When this happened, I had just turned 33. I spent nine days in intensive care, then walked on crutches for six months. Inna looked after me. But I soon realized that this was not my person at all.

Before the accident, I considered myself extremely childish. And then I managed to give up painkillers, essentially drugs. Because I saw: the man who was lying in the room with me jumped out of the window under their influence. I consciously checked myself then. And it turned out that I can be courageous. Although at first, when they told me that they would cut off right leg, I even resigned myself, I came up with an idea new image. I imagined how I would walk along the Kuznetsky Bridge in a black hat, white shirt, black glasses and with a stick. But I trained the hell out of my head because I knew I had to live. The consequences of the accident are still felt today. I had surgery on my knee joints and now I run even faster!

- Can we talk about the Zaitsev dynasty in the fashion world?

Son Egor is my first assistant, now he is my deputy general director Fashion houses. Also obsessed with work. Granddaughter Marusya is 23 years old. Since childhood, he has been drawing beautifully and reading serious literature. She studied at an animation school, did karate, and knows French. She graduated from the Fashion Laboratory at the Fashion House and walked the catwalk as a model. She participated several times with her collections in Russian Fashion Week. And now I’m interested in film directing. But I hope she returns to her profession. Perhaps in some new capacity. The second granddaughter, Nastya, is also growing up. Draws, sculpts - also a talent. These are my favorite people. So, I hope that the Vyacheslav Zaitsev Fashion House will celebrate more than one anniversary.

Notes on cuffs

"A person should not litter appearance environment, although often we do not take this into account at all and wear what we are comfortable in.”

“The classic suit is the basis of a fashionable wardrobe. You can string any mood onto it, playing with the texture of the fabric, cut, and accessories.”

“A woman’s wardrobe must have a straight and narrow skirt, because jeans devalue and discolor a woman.”

“However, the jeans themselves are a brilliant idea. Black and blue. But with lace, rags and holes - I can’t accept that.”

Photo from the personal archive of Vyacheslav ZAITSEV

Every now and then he is credited serious illness or quick emigration to Paris. The maestro, in order to dispel all the rumors, himself invited “Antenna” to the Fashion House and assured: he is alive and well, he flies to France only to buy fabrics for the new collection, which he is now drawing and sewing for his 80th birthday. He also declassified his grandson, whom he had never talked about before.

– For the first time, when getting ready for an interview, I thought more not about the questions, but about how to dress.

– The black and white classic you chose is the best. Women know how much I love her, so they usually come in a classic jacket, straight or flared skirt. Everything is fine. I am conservative in form, but vice versa in colors. Initially, the Fashion House was lined with such gray-white porous stone. As soon as I saw him, I said that they had gone crazy. And when he earned money, he decorated everything brightly, in Russian: green and blue, yellow sun, red joy. I created a festive atmosphere for people who come here to order something - a feeling of childhood.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev

– Do you accept orders yourself?

– My designer takes the measurements, and I do fittings and draw sketches. I just returned from Paris, where I bought fabrics for the anniversary collection. First of all, it will be a Russian theme...

Vyacheslav Zaitsev in Paris, December 2015

– The theme is Russian, but do you buy fabrics in France? What about your native Ivanovo and its chintz?

– There has been no chintz in Ivanovo for a long time. Around there too shopping centers, where they sell goods from everywhere. The exception is coat fabrics, which are made at the Bryansk factory. Nobody produces decent silk in Russia anymore. Once a month I fly to Paris to pick him up for two or three days, because I have a small studio there.

– Probably because of this studio there was talk that you were moving to France for good.

“They don’t know what nasty thing to say anymore.” If I wanted to, I would have left a long time ago. Moreover, since 1996 I have an apartment there, in the very center, on Rue Kleber, from which you can see the Eiffel Tower and Triumphal Arch. When I come to France on business, I spend the night in this apartment, but it’s empty.

– Is anything valuable stored there?

– No, everything valuable is stored in an estate in the village of Kablukovo, 70 km from the Fashion House. I go there every day and suffer terribly from terrible traffic jams.

– Why, when work is in full swing, don’t you spend the night right here?

– I need visual images to relax. There is a wonderful forest, real pine trees, wonderful air, complete silence. I spent the night here once, and it was terrible: a constant terrible hum, very stuffy in the summer, very cold in the winter. That's why I get up at 4 am. I leave at 6 am. I start work at 8 am. Now I’m selecting fabrics for underwear, umbrellas, scarves, scarves and more.

What to talk about with the model

Shooting a clothing collection in the Fashion House studio, 2016

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

– You worked with fashion models in different eras. Are the girls of the 1960s, when you were just starting out, any different from the girls of today?

– In the 1960s and 1970s we had the same girls. There was something completely different about them than there is now about fashion models. They were intelligent, you could talk to them on any topic. For example, we talked a lot about literature.

– Then the models began to become stupid?

– They have become different. In the previous ones there was more life, fullness – both spiritual and physical. Now is the era of skinny girls: I once tried to attract plus-size models, but it’s not working yet, we’re not ready for this yet. Which is strange, because most of our women are plump, and they need to be dressed first.

– Could you talk about literature with the current models who represent your collection?

- No, it’s not necessary. We don't talk about anything at all.

– Who was your craziest fashion model in your entire career?

– I remember there was one incident with Mila Romanovskaya. While filming in Tashkent, she climbed over the hotel balcony into another room and went for a walk. She should have been fired for this. On the eve of my dismissal, I took her to the set, and she opened the car door and said that she couldn’t live without me, and almost fell out - I caught her. It was such a sad incident.

– What is the most important thing in a model?

– Posture is very important. Average height models today are 180 cm, and the proportions must be appropriate.

– What should girls of non-model appearance do?

“You shouldn’t destroy yourself because of this, because there are absolutely no problems with clothes.” My ex-wife Marina is 156 cm tall and has been elegant all her life. My mother was overweight, at the end she was size 56, but she thought she was buying 48, and I did not dissuade her.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev with his wife Marina, 1965

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

– Maybe you married Marina because you were tired of tall women that looked alike?

- Certainly. I liked her intelligence, she was a fun girl. Erudite and talented. That's how she remained. She turned 80 in June and I went to see her for her birthday. We are friends.

– Didn’t you want to get back together?

- No, we are too different. She talented person, I’m talented in my own way and don’t want to overwhelm her. When two people are talented, it is difficult for them to coexist. Son Yegor also married a fashion model, who became his wonderful assistant. Katya Romashkina is now doing her own show, she is a wonderful girl and a wonderful director.

- And you? Is it really true that after marriage to Marina you didn’t meet a single woman you loved?

- Yes she was only love all my life.

Young Slava Zaitsev

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- How long have you been living alone like this?

– Since 1969. This God's grace. He gave me solitude so that I could concentrate on my purpose. The creator must be lonely. The family is very busy, although I have a son and granddaughters. Egor is already 57 years old, he is deputy general director of the Fashion House. But he arrives at work at half past one, however, and works in network resources until 3–4 o’clock in the morning (laughs). Granddaughter Marusya is 23 years old, she successfully worked in fashion, created collections, but then decided to leave and is now studying at the directing department, because someone wrote to her online after her show that she would make an excellent director. Granddaughter Nastya is almost nine. She graduated from second grade and feels good about fashion. She was dragged here as a child, cherished, looked after, so Nastya is a child of fashion. Marusya is more reserved, but Nastya is very sociable, she has already worked as a model. I hope to live to the status of a great-grandfather. And I’ll open one more for you family secret: I have another grandson from Yegor...

- How?

- Yes, I never told anyone about him before, and he himself didn’t want to: he’s modest. His name is Anton. He is 27 years old. He also works for the Fashion House: he films us videos from shows, he himself is always behind the scenes. He is also a big fan of traveling, as well as a collector of all kinds of medicinal herbs. Recently he brought us different aromatic teas.

The fashion designer's parents: father Mikhail Yakovlevich and mother Maria Ivanovna

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

– Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, they write all sorts of things about your health now...

– I don’t complain about my health – why complain about it (smiles). My legs were recently repaired, and now I can stand normally, my knees are like new. He had major operations. At the age of 33, I had an accident: they cut me out of the car with an autogenous gun and hit my knee. Everything there was broken, I suffered for a long time, and then I fell from the second floor of my studio and completely injured my knee. Therefore, I had to undergo surgery, the second one took place in January of this year.

– The only consolation is that you are not a model and you don’t have to walk on the catwalk.

- That's the whole point. I used to walk and teach girls to walk, but now I can’t.

The perfect wardrobe starts with three dresses

– What will surprise you in the anniversary collection?

– It is entirely from what was before. I will show you the entire range from an ordinary dress to an evening cocktail dress, short and long, as well as a coat. Our costume has always differed from the Western one in that it is multi-layered. It is a treat for the eyes and very decorative. When I was in America three years ago, where I was given an award for my contribution to world fashion, I put on a black jacket with red flowers and a matching vest - and so I walked around New York. And it was incredibly interesting for those around me to see such things.

“Your clothes are really chic, but can you really walk along our streets in these?” Can they be worn not only on the catwalk? It is customary for us to wear something warm and non-staining.

- You have to be a brave person. Mine is also warm and non-staining. Our people are unaccustomed to beauty - we are very uptight. We adapt to gloomy weather, we are afraid bright colors, we are afraid that it looks funny, we are afraid of the condemnation of others. During the period of socialism, society was faceless. Everyone had to be the same. It was difficult to look original. Nowadays there are so many options for shoes: boots without heels... I recently ordered UGG boots online from China.

- You?!

- So what?! They also have cool sports shoes - white, black and gold.

– So you also have sneakers from a Chinese online store?

- Yes. They cost approximately 1800–2000 rubles. It's cheaper there too. Today everything has changed: beautiful clothes doesn't have to be expensive. Sometimes a dress for 50 thousand rubles from a boutique cannot be distinguished from one bought on the market for a thousand. And to evaluate a thing by its value is completely indecent. For a long time We sold kitsch, which not everyone could afford and which was therefore very popular. Today, a woman can afford to buy not only original works, but also ready-to-wear.

Show of the collection of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

– What quality items should be in every woman’s wardrobe? Skirt or Pants?

– Of course, I prefer dresses. It is advisable to have three dresses. Definitely small black. There should also be red just below the knee. The third dress can be dark blue, green, emerald. It’s wonderful if it is complemented with oriental ornaments. I do a lot of prints myself.

– Which dress is better to choose – with a neckline, a cutout at the back, a thigh-high slit?

– Instead of a classic neckline, it’s better to buy one with a collar and a placket with buttons that unfasten and slightly reveal the neckline. This shirt-type dress will be very popular this summer. If it is made from luxurious fabric, then you can go out in it as if you were wearing it in the evening, especially if you add embroidery and appliqués. And I have a terrible attitude towards dresses like Angelina Jolie’s at the Oscars, in which one leg is exposed asymmetrically. And you can see everything in him, right down to his underpants. It also happens that one hand is bare and the other is in a sleeve. These people no longer know what else to come up with.

– What other basic things should a true fashionista have in her wardrobe?

– Three options for white blouses: one is definitely in men's style with a stand-up collar - don’t bother, just buy men's shirt small size. The second is a classic romantic blouse in the Russian style. And also colored knitted vests - green, pink, red... Prepare everything for skirts - both pencil and sun, but the most wonderful one is straight black.

– What do you advise our women to throw out of their wardrobe forever?

– Completely shapeless knitted dresses in cyclamen color, sweatshirts in nasty lingonberry-pink and chicken-yellow colors. To wear knitwear, a woman must have a very good figure. If the figure is bad, then it’s better not to take risks, because the result is such an ugly loose shape. Women should not wear sneakers with a dress.

Show of the collection of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

- How? This has already been allowed for several years.

– This is American fashion, I’m against it.

– That’s why it’s fashion, sometimes to mix incompatible things.

– Yes, and in some cases it turns out well, but in America I saw women in dresses and sneakers, and it was terrible

– What shouldn’t a real man wear?

– Sports blue leggings. It’s outrageous when a man walks around in a suit and sandals on his bare feet - he definitely has to wear a sock.

I received only 10 rubles for a dress for Kosygin’s daughter

– Which of our celebrities is the most stylish for you?

– Our number one in fashion is Renata Litvinova. She always has a stunning image - very subtle, sophisticated. Her best friend Zemfira is also great: she changes, and she doesn’t care what they think or say about her. After the two of them comes Irina Ponarovskaya. At one time she was the standard.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev with Renata Litvinova and Nikita Mikhalkov

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

– You are an honorary resident of Ivanovo and Paris. Where do girls dress better - in Ivanovo or in Paris?

– A Russian woman has a rare and amazing ability to adapt to circumstances. In the Soviet Union there was no opportunity to express one's personality, but now there is such an opportunity. Our girls began to dress very beautifully. And in Paris, mostly everyone is from outside. In Europe, you won’t even know what city you’re in. Even in traditional Japan you rarely see a kimono - instead of it there are jeans, T-shirts, sneakers - American style, which greatly influenced both the East and the West.

– Does an artist need to be absolutely free or is it better for the authorities to support him? At one time you were developing the so-called state fashion?

- Nonsense and gossip. It wasn't me. I only made dresses for Kosygin’s daughter. It was a very unpleasant incident: I received only 10 rubles and after that I stopped approaching such women with special treatment. But Trump is ready to stand up for Melania: it’s wrong that some fashion designers refused to dress her because political views her husband. Fashion should be outside of politics. They shouldn't have offended her. She interesting girl, dressed well now.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev with Alla Pugacheva, 2015

Photo: personal archive of Vyacheslav Zaitsev

The legend of Russian fashion, famous fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev turned 78 years old on March 2. Despite the master's venerable age, he is full creative plans, which he, however, manages to implement with great difficulty due to serious problems with health.

“I recently returned from a sanatorium in Karlovy Vary, where I went for the first time in my life. But then the need arose to treat his legs and Parkinson’s disease,” Vyacheslav Zaitsev admitted bitterly in an interview with journalists of the “You Won’t Believe It!” program. NTV channel. Parkinson's disease is a serious disorder nervous system, when a person loses control over his movements, which gradually leads to trembling of the arms and legs, impaired facial expressions and disability. “The only thing I would wish for myself on my birthday is to get well,” says the famous fashion designer. “The disease is what depresses me.”

By the way, at the buffet table that took place after the fashion show held on the occasion of Vyacheslav Zaitsev’s 78th birthday, he ate practically nothing. I just drank water and tried to sit down quickly. The master's joints are not in order. Zaitsev recently underwent surgery - he was given a titanium prosthesis so that he would not experience pain when walking.

In this difficult time, Vyacheslav Zaitsev is supported by his son Yegor, granddaughter Marusya and ex-wife Marina, whom they met while studying at the textile institute. The couple separated when their son was nine years old, but all these years they have maintained warm, friendly relations. Marina is perhaps the most worried about her ex-husband and regularly visits Vyacheslav Zaitsev, bringing him his favorite treat - raspberry pie. “Once upon a time, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich’s mother-in-law, my mother, baked it,” said ex-wife master. – This is a puff pastry pie with a thick layer of raspberry jam and with densely packed walnuts. Slava loves this pie very much.”

Despite the struggle with serious illness, Vyacheslav Zaitsev does not intend to give up. He's getting ready to release new collection clothes "autumn-winter" and hopes that specialists will be able to put him on his feet. “The doctors are very optimistic,” concluded Zaitsev. “They say that I am a cheerful, strong person and therefore everything will be great for me.”

It has been talked about for a long time that 79-year-old fashion designer Slava Zaitsev has health problems. It was reported, in particular, that the fashion designer moves with a stick and speaks with difficulty. There were persistent rumors that the couturier also suffered from Parkinson's disease.

ON THIS TOPIC

However, the fashion designer himself tries to stay cheerful. “I don’t complain about my health - why complain about it. My legs were recently repaired, and now I can stand normally, my knees are like new. I had serious operations. At the age of 33, I had an accident: they cut me out of the car with an autogenous gun and hit my knee. Everything was broken there , I suffered for a long time, and then I fell from the second floor of my studio and completely injured my knee. Therefore, I had to undergo surgery, the second one took place in January of this year,” Woman`s Day quotes Vyacheslav Zaitsev.

The designer is optimistic about the future. IN next year Zaitsev will turn 80 years old. In honor of the anniversary, he intends to release a new collection of clothes.

However, Vyacheslav devotes a lot of time not only to work, but also to leisure. The eminent couturier is quite calmly digging in the ground on his own estate. “My mother taught me to garden. I grow cucumbers and tomatoes. I have two greenhouses about five meters long: one only for tomatoes, one only for cucumbers. And onions and other greens grow on the street. The harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers is rich: pickles from the past I still have a few years left. I also make juice from cherries and thorns. And I’m interested in flowers. I have a lot of hydrangeas and lilies, I really love the orchid family, and I water them all myself,” Vyacheslav Zaitsev boasted.