Anna Vyalitsyna, ph: Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue:
Anne Vyalitsyna video interview can be seen on
vogue.it:
"I've only recently learned to choose what I really like and the clothes suit me. In fact, maybe I'm still learning"
Famous for
Thanks to her perfect physique, she's appeared six times in a row, from 2005 to 2010, in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
Her style
"I am very inspired by fashion of the moment, by what I see during the runway shows. It's impossible not to be influenced, with the work I do. But clearly you can't dress in an eccentric way every day of your life. So during the day I prefer matching jeans with weird shirts found in the markets and playing with accessories."
ZoomAnne Vyalitsyna began her career at just 15, thanks to a talent scout of IMG AGENCY that noticed her in St. Petersburg during the beauty contest Fashionably Loud Europe organized by MTV. Anne won, and she got signed to an agency.
Her parents are doctors, and before the contest, she thought about studying medicine: "I was attending a thousand courses, I loved studying, I was always a busy kid. I thought I would be a good doctor or a scientist. But perhaps it was more what my parents wanted."
Instead, she started working in the fashion world, and within a few months she did runway shows for
Anna Molinari,
Chloé and
Sportmax. At age of 16, she was chosen to be the face of the fragrance Chance by Chanel: "Being good at dancing has helped me a lot for the
runways, all the rest I learned on my own."
She moved to New York, to the financial district: "It's a special place, perhaps the best place to start any kind of job. You feel constantly inspired, as if here there is the best of everything."
She's appeared on the covers of Glamour, Elle France, Vogue, and worked with photographers like Steven Meisel, Terry Richardson, Patrick Demarchelier, Mario Testino and Ellen von Unwerth: "Everything that I've always wanted since I played with Barbie as a child, that is, modeling, has now coming true. And it's not something to take for granted, when big
dreams come true. For a long time, I couldn't believe it."
She tries to travel as much as possible: "Recently I went to Africa alone for two weeks. Perhaps it was one of the best experiences of my life. There I really understood who I am. Now I'd like to go to Asia, maybe Japan."
She wrote a book of stories for children inspired by her dog. The book, not yet published, is be called Anchovy, The Flying Dog.
In the future, she'd like to work in television. "But without a show of my own, like
Tyra Banks. Nothing pretentious. I would also stay behind the scenes, working on production. It's not that I'm not satisfied with modeling, but one day I'd like to do a job where it is necessary to speak."
She's in the habit of going running in the park, and in 2009 she participated in the New York Marathon as a volunteer for the association
Achilles International, helping a disabled runner complete the race.
Never leaves home without
"Putting sunscreen on my face."
In public
"I love to overdo things, especially if I go out at night: sexy dresses, shorts, high heels."
In private
Casual clothes.
Shoes''Always high and very structured, never banal. I love buying very expensive ones, because you can really wear them with any outfit. My favorites are those designed by a friend of mine, a young designer named
Alejandro Ingelmo: they are beautiful. "
Jewelry
"Even during the day, but never too much."
Favorite designers
"Everything by Azzedine Alaïa, especially the vintage stuff. And also
Martin Margiela."
Fashion tip"I think the most important thing is to trust in yourself, choose the part our body that you prefer and show it off. But without trying too hard. We will never as beautiful as we would like to be."
Music
"Right now I'm obsessed with everything that comes from Brazil, music included."
Favorite food
Italian and Japanese ''But I miss my mother's
borsch, salad and all of my grandmother's cooking."
Favorite movie
The old classics from Hollywood. ''When I was little, I didn't used to go to the movies in Russia. The last good movie I've seen was Kickass, a version of Kill Bill for kids. It was hilarious."
Favorite book: I just bought a Kindle, now I can bring all the books with me when I travel. The one I'm reading now is Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.
Favorite city: New York and Paris. "With the first one it was love at first sight, for the second one I needed more time, at the beginning I hated Paris. Now I can't live without its romantic atmosphere. It's magical. Also Moscow, because it is so different from all other cities, it's so full of energy."
Good habits
"I do everything that other people do, nothing extraordinary. I sleep well, exercise, drink plenty of water and I do yoga. And I'm careful with food, trying to eat healthy things. However I think
being happy is the best habit."
Bad habits
"I don't think I have any. Having started living on my own since an early age, I'm very disciplined."
Obsessed with
Working out. ''I go running every day, it's almost like a drug for me. When you see your body changing thanks to the exercises, you want to do it even more."
She loves
"Sleeping a lot. It's a panacea for everything."
She hates
"Rudeness, negligence, anger and bad manners in general."
ADDRESS BOOK
Restaurants
Bouley e
Bar Pitti in New York.
Trattoria Mozza in Los Angeles.
And I love sushi. But once you've tried sushi in Los Angeles, you can't eat it in New York. I go often to Sushi Nozawa and
Sushi Park. You can actually feel fish melting in you mouth."
Shops
Resurrection, New York and Los Angeles.
Narnia, New York.
"In New York I often go to Lower East Side. I can always find something nice there, especially at the vintage stores. But I don't like to shop in the city I live in. What I like the most is shopping when I'm traveling abroad. That way I find new stores every time."
Shopping online
"I never buy clothes online. But I can't resist buying junk on eBay."
