YANA RAIKES (FLAME)
Autobiography and Collections
DESIGNER
LONDON
Autobiography and Collections
DESIGNER
LONDON
Photographer: Svetlana Braun
I’m a talented and creative person who can and really wants to bring beauty to this
world! There is no brighter fire than that burning in my soul! In order to tell you
about myself, it is necessary to give you some background information and history. I
will try to be brief, but not dry.
The world of creation is absolutely immense (unlimited)!
The true Russian Soul is as wide and deep as the ocean, filled with wealth, goodness
and creativity!
Many years ago, in the big industrial Russian city of Yekaterinburg, lived a little girl
Yana, amidst a family of good parents and grandparents.
My parents tried to enrol me into various youth creativity classes, including
needlework, sewing and drawing in art school, where I learnt to sew and draw;
experimented with sculpture; cut and glued paper to make flowers; made collages and
explored many other artistic disciplines to prove to myself and (this world) that I can
create beauty.
I started sewing and dressing my dolls, helping my grandmother to stitch fur coats and
cut fur hats, and subsequently dressing others.
My grandmother made a major impact on my life – she noticed the creative abilities
and persistence in my character to set the goals and achieve them, no matter what.
No wonder they say – Russians never surrender – but this is true.
I am not only a person of dreams and fantasies, but result and action.
I was born as a leader in life, I’m always ahead, I’m always moving forward and I
never stay in one place. In particular, I move, motivate and lead other people who
admire me and wish to grow up and achieve something.
My mother was another role model regarding sewing – she made clothes from the
patterns published in Burda, the most fashionable (at that time) German sewing
magazine. When this magic happens every day in front of your curious eyes, you
cannot remain apathetic – you are absorbed in this, live and grow up with it.
Perhaps the elders are right – genes cannot be washed away (or spoilt).
Children always overgrow their parents – with my childhood love of sewing and
curiosity to make something original – I became a designer and creator!
I love antiques, clothes and accessories, regardless of time and age, as fashion repeats
itself.
My inspiration was puffy dresses from the 16 th –19 th centuries in Europe and Russia,
during the reign of Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Victoria, Sissy
and others, and I wished to create beautiful outfits for modern women.
Every day we dress in what is comfortable, but any woman dreams of becoming the
Queen of the Ball! Evening and ball dresses are taking my imagination to the highest
level in my wish to combine ancient and modern fashions.
Lucky me! After living a year in London, I was invited as a guest to the Fifth Russian
Ball, to which I arrived like Cinderella (the coach was in the form of a black London
taxi), where I saw many beautiful dresses!
Later, when I returned to Russia to see my family, I searched the local shops and
found a very beautiful and quite an expensive Japanese cloth – Guipure. Then I
realised the need to create a new beautiful dress, which I would wear to the ball and
win the hearts of other women.
Unfortunately, I did not get to the next ball, but I wore this dress in 2016, when I
participated in the Ethnos Art Fest, as an artist presenting my own paintings and as a
designer of clothes with a mini collection.
Thereafter, it was a straight road of creativity that carried me away.
Besides clothes, I love painting. I’ve had three successful exhibitions in London and
Bournemouth.
I have also organised and decorated weddings, where I made dresses for my friends
and brides, and created accessories, decorations and handmade gifts.
I have organised successful festivals in Paris, Livorno and London, and been involved
in many other international projects. Now I am running the Flame International
Fashion and Art (FIFAF) festival in London and Tallinn. This is a big platform,
bringing young and established talents from around the world under one roof.
I just can't stop!
My passion is evening and wedding dresses for the ladies that can combine the past
with the future. There will be the time when I make that kind of collection, I swear.
Designers are always criticized for the fact that their clothes are created only for very
rich people and, yes, I agree with this. However, to transform beauty into accessibility
– it’s possible! Not only the rich can be beautiful.
There is always a way to give an opportunity to any woman to feel like a Queen,
Princess, Bride and Natasha Rostova at the Ball!
world! There is no brighter fire than that burning in my soul! In order to tell you
about myself, it is necessary to give you some background information and history. I
will try to be brief, but not dry.
The world of creation is absolutely immense (unlimited)!
The true Russian Soul is as wide and deep as the ocean, filled with wealth, goodness
and creativity!
Many years ago, in the big industrial Russian city of Yekaterinburg, lived a little girl
Yana, amidst a family of good parents and grandparents.
My parents tried to enrol me into various youth creativity classes, including
needlework, sewing and drawing in art school, where I learnt to sew and draw;
experimented with sculpture; cut and glued paper to make flowers; made collages and
explored many other artistic disciplines to prove to myself and (this world) that I can
create beauty.
I started sewing and dressing my dolls, helping my grandmother to stitch fur coats and
cut fur hats, and subsequently dressing others.
My grandmother made a major impact on my life – she noticed the creative abilities
and persistence in my character to set the goals and achieve them, no matter what.
No wonder they say – Russians never surrender – but this is true.
I am not only a person of dreams and fantasies, but result and action.
I was born as a leader in life, I’m always ahead, I’m always moving forward and I
never stay in one place. In particular, I move, motivate and lead other people who
admire me and wish to grow up and achieve something.
My mother was another role model regarding sewing – she made clothes from the
patterns published in Burda, the most fashionable (at that time) German sewing
magazine. When this magic happens every day in front of your curious eyes, you
cannot remain apathetic – you are absorbed in this, live and grow up with it.
Perhaps the elders are right – genes cannot be washed away (or spoilt).
Children always overgrow their parents – with my childhood love of sewing and
curiosity to make something original – I became a designer and creator!
I love antiques, clothes and accessories, regardless of time and age, as fashion repeats
itself.
My inspiration was puffy dresses from the 16 th –19 th centuries in Europe and Russia,
during the reign of Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Victoria, Sissy
and others, and I wished to create beautiful outfits for modern women.
Every day we dress in what is comfortable, but any woman dreams of becoming the
Queen of the Ball! Evening and ball dresses are taking my imagination to the highest
level in my wish to combine ancient and modern fashions.
Lucky me! After living a year in London, I was invited as a guest to the Fifth Russian
Ball, to which I arrived like Cinderella (the coach was in the form of a black London
taxi), where I saw many beautiful dresses!
Later, when I returned to Russia to see my family, I searched the local shops and
found a very beautiful and quite an expensive Japanese cloth – Guipure. Then I
realised the need to create a new beautiful dress, which I would wear to the ball and
win the hearts of other women.
Unfortunately, I did not get to the next ball, but I wore this dress in 2016, when I
participated in the Ethnos Art Fest, as an artist presenting my own paintings and as a
designer of clothes with a mini collection.
Thereafter, it was a straight road of creativity that carried me away.
Besides clothes, I love painting. I’ve had three successful exhibitions in London and
Bournemouth.
I have also organised and decorated weddings, where I made dresses for my friends
and brides, and created accessories, decorations and handmade gifts.
I have organised successful festivals in Paris, Livorno and London, and been involved
in many other international projects. Now I am running the Flame International
Fashion and Art (FIFAF) festival in London and Tallinn. This is a big platform,
bringing young and established talents from around the world under one roof.
I just can't stop!
My passion is evening and wedding dresses for the ladies that can combine the past
with the future. There will be the time when I make that kind of collection, I swear.
Designers are always criticized for the fact that their clothes are created only for very
rich people and, yes, I agree with this. However, to transform beauty into accessibility
– it’s possible! Not only the rich can be beautiful.
There is always a way to give an opportunity to any woman to feel like a Queen,
Princess, Bride and Natasha Rostova at the Ball!
Contributed by: Saif Rahman Sozib - July 2019
World Fashion Media News
Contributing International Fashion Journalist and Media Consultant
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