Alla Verber with her daughter. Alla Verber - biography. But everything turned different

Alla Verber was born on May 21, 1958 in the city of St. Petersburg. A little girl twice a week with her parents went on trips to the opera house, to the ballet or to the conservatory for a concert of classical music. In 1976, the family immigrated to Austria. Parents wanted to see their daughter as a doctor. Therefore, the girl after the eighth grade entered the medical school, then to continue her studies at the institute. However, Verber understood that it was more to her liking to sort out clothes, to combine different elements of the wardrobe with each other, and also to choose various accessories with pleasure.

During a brief tourist visit to Italy, Alla fell in love with Rome: a real paradise for fashion lovers, and soon went there without parents. Three months later, the girl found a job. Despite the fact that Verber had difficulty speaking English and did not know Italian, she was still hired by a boutique on Via Vetto. The manager appreciated the attractive appearance of the Russian emigrant, deciding that this would attract customers, and was right. However, Alla did not work there for long: her father told her to prepare for moving to Canada.

Arriving in Montreal, a nineteen-year-old girl also got a job in a store. We managed to arrange everything much faster and more successfully than the first time: by that time I had learned a language and at the interview I was able to show off my accumulated knowledge about the fashion world. Alla not only performed the duties of the seller perfectly, but also designed the windows in an original way, choosing clothes for mannequins that buyers asked them to collect the same image and take things in sets. The owners drew attention to her talent, and soon Verber went to negotiations with famous designers and organized the delivery of new collections.

Having made acquaintances and connections and borrowed money from her parents, Verber opened her own store in Montreal. By that time, she had an unsuccessful marriage and a one-year-old daughter. Alla received a specialized education, having studied for two years at the faculty of management at McGuill University of Montreal, and organized a business in accordance with all the rules.

After the number of Verber stores reached three, she was spotted at Kmart: a large Canadian company that owned a chain of 124 boutiques. Upon learning that Alla is a Russian woman, the owners offered the business woman to go home to develop the brand of the Moscow garment factory. From there, she was invited by the management of the Mercury company, appointing her as vice president of the company. Almost simultaneously, she became the fashion director at the Moscow Central Department Store.

Working in such positions, Verber paid little attention to her health. For five years, the woman fought with blood cancer. Only thanks to an incredible belief in the best, solid character and self-discipline could I defeat a serious illness.

Alla Konstantinovna Verber died August 6, 2019  while relaxing in Italy. The woman became ill after dinner with seafood dishes. After hospitalization, doctors recorded an anaphylactic shock in a Russian woman, which provoked organ failure and an extensive heart attack that caused death.

We continue our section “Cosmetic bag”, in which the characters talk about their favorite beauty products, rituals and attitude to beauty trends. We talked with the TSUM fashion director and Mercury vice president Alla Verber about the biggest beauty disappointment, the cult of beauty in the family and the love of Italian images.

Blouse Lanvin

About daily beauty rituals

I go to bed late because of the daily evening activities that you must attend. Water helps me recover: a hot shower or bath for half an hour, a pool if I'm at the hotel, and hot tea with lemon, honey and ginger. I stopped drinking coffee in recent years, despite the fact that before noon I drank 6 cups. A cup of coffee was with me everywhere and always. Due to the hot shower, the skin dries, so I added a lot of oils and creams to my beauty diet. I take a bottle of oil and just pour it onto myself in the shower, and after that I apply cream or dry oil. Another rule of mine is the obligatory removal of cosmetics before bedtime and the application of night cream. About ten years ago I bought La Mer for the first time and got used to it so much that I put it on my whole face and body.

About recovery

TSUM is my life. The last 15 years I spend 16 hours at the Central Department Store. Therefore, I have a chronic sleep deprivation syndrome, which I created for myself, as I always want to extend my day. Recently, having met Eteri Karapetyan, the owner of the Best Beauty Salon, I began to go for massages and cardio on Sundays. It helps me relax. Anna Dello Russo once told me: "Do what I do." Anna gets up at five in the morning, does yoga, swims, does massage, styling and makeup - and at 9 in the morning she is already assembled. A couple of years ago in New York, I also decided to try it this way, I ordered myself from 6:30 a coach in the pool, a massage therapist and a hairdresser. It lasted seven days. I remember then my mother was with me, raises her head from the pillow and says: "What a blessing that I am retired."

About experiments with appearance

When I was little, all the girls had long hair, I had a braid to the knees. In Soviet times, there were few experiments with hairstyles: a braid, a tail or two braids. With her hair in the school could not come. Then, in the 70s, I liked The Beatles and the mod associated with them. Gavrosh haircuts, flared jeans, platform shoes - that was the ultimate dream. I still don’t know how, at 17, I decided to go to the hairdresser without my mother’s permission. Horrified by what I did, I didn’t even take the scythe. The next day she was already not at the hairdresser: they sold for a lot of money. I stood at our front door at the Theater (in St. Petersburg. - Editor's note) and waited for dad because my mom would just kill me, and dad would quietly reproach me, which would be no less scary. I saw how he parked the car on the other side of the street, looked in my direction, crossed the road and entered the front door, but passed me by. I did not understand if he recognized me or simply passed me by. I followed him up the stairs, I was already in tears, asked if he would forgive me, to which he replied: "Never." Mom then did not even scream, she silently drank valerian, then Corvalol and Validol.

Another experiment - in my youth, I burned my skin with hydrogen peroxide to remove freckles. At the end of April, when the sun began to shine in St. Petersburg, and icicles melted, my whole face was covered with freckles. Everyone was happy about the arrival of spring, and I was worried that freckles would appear again now and it was not clear what size and place. My mother and sister had dark hair and snow-white skin, and my father was completely red, all in freckles. It was transmitted to me.

About family beauty traditions

Despite the fact that we had a bathroom at home, my grandmother went to the bath every week. Naked women with basins made a strong impression on me. About 10 years old, I categorically refused to go to the bath with my grandmother.

Our mother looked after hair in such a way: thickly greased them with kefir or sour milk, put on top of the hat with my sister for 2 hours, and then rinsed with water and vinegar. After this procedure, the hair was shiny and grew well.

I started painting at 15 years old, and maybe even earlier. My mother had a lot of makeup and I secretly used it until she saw it and decided to buy my own. Then the farmers sold Lancôme, Coty, Clima cosmetics in the transition to Garden cosmetics. I still remember the aroma of my first powder from Coty. My mother still has this box, as well as a box for 5 cents with a brush for eyelashes. Usually they spat on her, and her eyelashes turned out to be long to eyebrows.

Mom was very beautiful, she had such an image of Catherine Zeta-Jones - a bright red lipstick from ear to ear and eyebrow thread. Every week she went to the beautician and she had jars of creams made by beauticians. And the grandmother always, while cooking, put the ingredients on her face - for example, strawberries with sour cream or cucumber. She never had bruises under her eyes, because from them she applied raw meat.

Blouse Valentino

In Soviet times, it was believed that if a woman goes to a pedicure in winter, then she has a lover.

The biggest beauty lesson from my family is that a woman should take care of herself constantly and be clean. Mom and grandmother told me this every day from morning to evening. I have been accustomed to doing manicure since childhood. Each bag should always have a comb, powder, a small bottle of perfume, and always a fabric handkerchief with my initials embroidered by my grandmother. I remember how my mother taught my sister and I to get beautiful powder and paint our lips. For me, manicure, pedicure and clean hair are very important. I always pay attention to people, how crystal clear they are.

About taking care of yourself while traveling

I always get on a plane without makeup on my face to use the time in flight and apply cream and patches. I always have a bag of cosmetics with me, all kinds of probes from the Central Department Store, new tools. I take out a few without selecting anything specifically and put it on myself, then wrap myself in a cashmere shawl and try to disconnect while watching a movie or sleeping. I still don’t go out and leave without MBR Liquid Surgeon cream. My other rule when flying is that I always crash before leaving the plane, because I don’t know who I can meet at the airport.

All my life I fly a lot. In youth, flights were a real event: a bag with cosmetics, skinny jeans, high heels. I still have this bag.

About favorite images

Italy had a great influence on me; I arrived there in the 70s from gray Petersburg. Many Italians have preserved the same image to this day - combed hair, long hair, intensely tinted eyelashes. Only they can wear gray with burgundy, and blue with white, green or yellow - and it will be very beautiful. They have a certain charm, and they cleverly combine everything. Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Monica Bellucci, Ornella Muti - I love their images, this glamor of the 70s. For me, this image is still the most beloved, from which it is difficult for me to move away.

About operations

This year I am 60 years old, and I have not yet had surgery on my face, because I just do not have time. It is necessary to fly away for 2-3 weeks, but as soon as I imagine that I will have to drop out of my regime, I understand that this is impossible. Nowadays it is absolutely natural to do a facelift, a woman should take care of herself. The main thing is not to overdo it and look natural.

Blouse Lanvin

On the attitude towards yourself and Russians
beauty masters

In 1977, I came to Canada and could not find anyone who does manicure. Moreover, I noticed that the girls there were not so accustomed to beauty. There was no hand care in any salon. Only a few years later in Toronto, through someone I found a Russian girl who does manicure. All Russian beauty masters are the best. In my time, cosmetologists always had amazing skin, because they tried everything on themselves, the skin was glossy. I once had an interview with Monica Bellucci, and she told me: “You are Russians. You have the most beautiful skin. " Then we talked for another hour about skin care and exchanged compliments. I believe that today any woman can afford at least some procedure.

Camera
Konstantin Mordvinov

Mounting
Lyudmila Andreeva

Sound
Vadim Sergach

Color correction
Alik Mirzametov

Makeup

My parents did not allow me to use cosmetics for a very long time. It seemed to dad and mom that young girls do not need this, a sign of bad taste. The maximum that they allowed is powder and a little lipstick. I hid the makeup bag on the stairs. I left the house and painted on the porch, but on the way back, I don’t remember what, quickly washed everything off. (Laughs.) After all, we then copied everything that we saw in the movie: when the film “Sunflowers” \u200b\u200bwas released with Sophia Loren, I immediately began to draw arrows and eyebrows for myself with a thread. And at one point, matte lips became terribly popular, but there weren’t any such lipsticks back then! Therefore, we mixed crushed strawberries with sour cream, applied to the lips and waited for all this to dry. Today I can easily allow myself to leave my house without make-up: if there are no meetings, I’m going to the office with just a lip balm and I always apply cream on my face to make it look fresh and moisturized. So my employees have so much compromising evidence on me. (Laughs.) Well, if I crash, I trust only proven means: Dior Diorskin Forever foundation, Dolce & Gabbana Miss Sicily lipstick, Domenica and charcoal black M.A.C Kohl Power Eye Pencil.

Figure

I envy slender women. It even seems to me that everyone is thin - already beautiful. (Laughs.) On the other hand, I perform castings on duty and often wonder: in front of me is a tall girl, with an excellent figure, perfect facial features ... But she does not catch, there is no charisma in her! So they say it right: beauty is always a combination of external and internal.

Idols

In our family there was a cult of women. All the fair sex were very beautiful and looked after themselves. Mom spent 8 hours every week at the hairdresser at Tolmacheva. Lips were always made up with red lipstick, like a Hollywood actress. Grandmother, while cooking in the kitchen, laid everything on hand, whether it be a cucumber or zucchini, on her face, saying: "It will not be worse." My idols are strong women: Ornella Muti, Gene Lollobrigida, Anita Ekberg, Brigitte Bardot, Jacqueline Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn ... I saw them all personally, and you know, in life they are different - even more beautiful! But the most beautiful woman on the planet is Sophia Loren: I watched “Marriage in Italian” 100 times, no less!

Salons

I simply do not have time for salons. I do makeup myself, a wonderful hairdresser puts hair on. Our family has always had a special relationship with hair. As a child, I went for several hours with kefir, after washing with water and vinegar. All youth slept on curlers. Recently, for example, when I arrived in Yekaterinburg at the Tsum Fashion Show, I looked at myself in the mirror at the hotel and realized that I had to urgently act! She quickly applied the foundation in a dense layer, added blush, dyed the eyelashes properly, and a decent person turned out.

Face care

La Mer! I have a whole line of products - from tonic and serum to classic cream. I also really like their mask: I apply it either with a thin layer (and in this case I do not wash it off), or thick - for the night. And, of course, it cannot do without good old recipes: my grandmother, for example, smeared her face with baby cream and ... sour cream all her life!

Fragrances

Perfume means a lot to me. For a long time I was in love with the aroma of Tom Ford Violet Blonde: when I found out that it was being discontinued, I started to buy like crazy all the bottles that caught my eye. (Laughs.) This was really “my” perfume, they recognized me from it! Recently, "stuck" to the aroma of Oligarch, Roja Dove - the third bottle was used. And I also love Clive Christian, in my collection there are absolutely all the aromas: during the day I use lighter ones, and in the evening I use saturated ones.

Body care

In the morning I definitely take a hot shower (without this ritual, the day will not start!) And I pay great attention to moisturizing the skin. I love Chanel Coco Mademoiselle lotion and creams David Yurman, La Mer and La Prairie.

The main beauty-advice

Once, when I was still very young, our whole family was resting in Sochi, on Mount Akhun. And a stunningly beautiful girl in a white dress and sandals passed by, just a sight for sore eyes! I turned to my dad and exhaled: “That's what I want to be!” And he frowned in response and said: “No, you will never be like that! Look how untidy she is! ” Since then I have a fad. (Laughs.) To my daughter I always say: beauty is clean. In well-groomed hair, perfect manicure and pedicure. You can imagine yourself any kind of diva, but if you have flaky nails, you can’t count on more than a saleswoman on the market.

Text: Lyudmila Ghukasyan

In contact with

Classmates

Do you know who decides what to wear Muscovites in the upcoming season? Do you think fashion bloggers who post on their page a list of fashion trends? No, not them. For this, all responsibility falls on the shoulders of buyers - people who are engaged in the purchase of goods for the best stores in Russia create collections. And the main among them in the Russian capital is Alla Konstantinovna Verber, who is the fashion director and buyer of the Central Department Store, as well as the vice president of the jewelry company Mercury.

This woman is one of the most successful business women not only in Moscow, but also in Russia, a public figure and journalist. The fashion director of the Central Department Store tells about her buyer's flair that she had developed in her childhood, when she spent days looking from the windows of her apartment at foreign tourists who came to Leningrad. The most chic women of fashion in the capital pray for her, because thanks to her they can buy the best new items from the collections of the most famous designers of world fashion for their wardrobe.

Alla Konstantinovna was born on May 21, 1958 in Leningrad. Here she grew up on Glinka Street, in a house whose windows overlooked Theater Square, the Kirov Theater, and, of course, the conservatory. As a little girl, she went to the opera house, to the ballet or to the conservatory for a concert of classical music 2 times a week. In addition to her, the family also had a sister, Irina. The girls’s dad was a dentist by profession, but he held a rather “bread” position - he was the director of the denture department, and my mother was a paramedic. Alla spent 2 years of youth in the besieged Leningrad, and, of course, she valued her welfare.

In fact, the family lived in abundance, and when they decided to emigrate abroad, many could not understand what they lacked in the USSR. Just the head of the family put personal freedom above all else. My father wanted to move freely, to build a career himself, to get a better education.

In 1946, the family went from Moscow to Vienna, each had $ 76 in their pocket. They thought they were leaving the country forever. Moreover, they could not even think that Alla Verber, whose biography often made such sharp turns, that it was simply breathtaking, would be the chief buyer of the Central Department Store.

Usually, talent is a gift that is given to a person from above. Often this is due to creativity, but Alla Verber, whose biography is so interesting and unusual, had the gift to predict fashion trends for several seasons ahead. In addition, she had an incredible taste and sense of style. Each of the employers saw this gift in her and kept it tight in his company. Where did the girl from the family of doctors, although wealthy, but far from the sphere of fashion and show business, suddenly have this ability? Yes, everything is very simple. Some children like to count pigeons in the yard, others - look at the stars, and only rare ones - study in detail the style of foreign tourists - guests of the Northern capital.

Soon, she could easily distinguish the French from the Italians, and the Americans from the Scandinavians, etc. Of course, she liked the style of Italians most of all. And it was their images that she preferred to study in great detail. She liked everything about them: a combination of colors, jewelry, and other accessories. And worst of all, in her opinion, were the Americans.

Of course, the parents wanted to see their daughter as a doctor. Accordingly, the girl after 8th grade entered the medical school, then to continue her studies at the institute. But she understood that it was not her business, that she liked to sort out clothes, combine different elements of the wardrobe with each other, and select accessories. She wanted to work in a fashion store, although in Russia, where she lived, there were almost none. But parents believed that it was an unworthy profession for their family, and that trade workers eventually end their careers in prison.

And just then, when the family decided to leave the country and go to Israel, the situation turned up. The girl had to first fly to Vienna, well, and then transfer to the liner to Tel Aviv. However, it never reached Israel.

Arriving in the capital of Austria, she immediately went to her beloved Italy. Rome seemed to her an amazing city, a real paradise for admirers of fashionable clothes, such as Alla Verber. The biography of the girl from this moment went in the right direction.

The first thing she did when she was in Rome was to go to Via Vetto and tried to get a job at a clothing store. She did not know either Italian or English, but her good looks, a braid below the belt attracted the attention of the manager, who took her to work and did not lose. Then she learned a lot of things, tried to absorb everything like a sponge. Then her father told her to get ready to go as a family to Canada. Despite the fact that she did not want to leave Europe, nevertheless, Alla this time was much more flexible. They stayed in Montreal - the most European of the cities of Canada.

There were many boutiques, restaurants, and shopping centers. She was 19 years old, and she thought that she had a great deal of experience in the fashion business. Despite the fact that she did not know English very well, she was nevertheless taken to one of the clothing stores. And here she managed to show off her knowledge of fashion. In the days when Alla was in the store, sales became much larger. And all due to the fact that she very stylishly dressed mannequins, and, noticing them, buyers asked them to sell everything that was on the window.

From here, Alla was sent to Milan and Paris to negotiate with the famous couturiers about the supply of fashion collections.

After some time, having acquired connections, Alla Verber decided to open a personal store in Montreal, then the second and third followed. Soon she received an invitation to one of the largest companies in the country - Kmart, which had 124 stores throughout the country. Upon learning that she was a Russian citizen, the owner instructed her to go to Moscow and take control of the production of towels at one of Moscow's factories. She, of course, was very bored in the production, and then she was invited to her company Mercury, whose face at the moment is Alla Verber. Almost at the same time, she became the fashion director and chief buyer at TSUM.

At present, Alla Konstantinovna has been traveling for 8 months out of 12, or rather, is on business trips. If she is in the Russian capital, then her working day ends at 10 in the evening, and then she starts skype chatting with the USA. After that, it still works until one in the morning. Alla's morning begins at half past seven. During business trips, you also need to get up early to get ready for shows or business breakfasts, which usually begin at nine in the morning. There are situations that she manages to watch up to 100 shows in one trip.

While living in Canada, Alla Verber met her future husband. They have been married for 3 years in New York. They had a daughter, Catherine. But after some time they parted, and Alla again went into free swimming.

From New York, she moved again to Canada and settled not in Montreal, but in Toronto, where she created her first boutique, which was given the name in honor of her daughter Katia of Italy. Further, as you already know, she was offered to be a representative of K-Mart in Russia, and she agreed. It was 1994. After arrival, she met a man who later became her second husband. Entrepreneur David Averbach is president of a large food company. She is happy in union with him, although they have no common children. But Katya had two wonderful daughters, and today Alla Konstantinovna is the most business-like, but loving grandmother in the world.

Three hundred thousand subscribers follow the Instagram diva’s Instagram posts of Mercury’s vice president and TSUM and DLT fashion directors Alla Verber, and her tags # I buy here all and # find the money we quote endlessly and out of place. For a day, we returned with Alla Konstantinovna, a native Leningrad, to a city that was familiar to tears, but conducted it without a Mandelstam tear, but with a Verber positive.
# gasswerayem?

Leningrad time

What is left of your childhood in Leningrad in today's Petersburg? What now instantly immerses you in fond memories? But what, on the contrary, did not survive?

Forty-two years after I left Leningrad, first to emigrate, and then to Moscow, every time I drive up to St. Isaac's Cathedral, my breath catches. I will definitely take a photo on St. Isaac's Square and post it on Instagram - this has become my tradition. It seems that photographing is our family. Mom was very fond of gathering the whole family and taking them to a photo shop on the corner of Nevsky and Sadovaya - at least four times a year. It was a whole story: my sister and I combed, dressed, chose shoes, handbags, bracelets, brooches, beads, hats. And we went to celebrate the new photo in the Sever cafe with meringues, potato cakes and eclairs or in the ice cream parlor on Nevsky 24, which everyone called the “Frog” because of the green color of the walls and velvet sofas - here it is, Unfortunately, not preserved. Someone had to save him! If I were in the country when the premises were put up for sale, I would definitely buy it. Of course, it is impossible to forget the Christmas tree and shining shop windows in the DLT! There was the largest Christmas tree - under the ceiling, I remember its sparkling lance and toys. Children's masquerades took place there: I dressed up as a bunny, and a wolf chased after me! I was sure that he would catch me and eat me. In addition, naturally, magnificent - we often went not to the one that survived to our days on Bolshaya Konyushennaya, but on Theater Square. We lived next door, in a house on Glinka Street, opposite the Mariinsky Theater. That was my area! In the large courtyard, we walked late, there was a wonderful school in front of the house, and on the other side of the Conservatory there was a Glinka music school. You know, my childhood was the best in the world, and I had no problems except a terrible music teacher.

Interestingly, at least one person in this world had a normal music teacher?

I was less fortunate than anyone, because they allegedly discovered an absolute pitch in me. Therefore, I had to study not on the piano, like my older sister, but on the violin: a heavy violin in a case and a folder with notes three times a week. I always repeat: if parents have ambitions to make a child a musician, then he must study every day of the week and want to study music, not music and twenty other things. Mom and grandmother spent hours at school waiting for my sister and me. And my sister still graduated not only from a music school, but also from a school. The violinists did not work out of me, I earned only scoliosis.

What other places in St. Petersburg are your childhood memories connected with?

We spent the summer at the cottage in Holguin, where we owned a huge plot of land with a chic house, which today stands there. We rode bicycles all day, rode for the station for watermelons and ice cream. This was my world until the age of thirteen, until I realized that there is also Nevsky Prospect! I took a taxi for a ruble and drove to Nevsky, where all my friends gathered. They were already seventeen to eighteen years old, and for some reason no one knew that I was five years younger than all. We found each other without any mobile phones, walked, went for dinner at the Evropeisky Hotel - we had enough pocket money for all this. A lot of emotions are associated with the Astoria Hotel: we often went to our restaurant to have lunch and dinner with the whole family, two fifty cost lunch and five rubles cost dinner. And since 1972 we celebrated every New Year there! But the most important event happened in Astoria in May 1974: with a roar, we celebrated my father’s fiftieth birthday and my sixteenth birthday. When my parents decided to combine these dates, I made a terrible scandal! I screamed that they had ruined my whole life: naturally, I wanted to go out with my friends (by the way, I carried my relationship with them all my life), and not sit with my dad's comrades - surgeons, gynecologists, dentists. Imagine, I'm still ashamed of my behavior at that time.

That is, you rolled up concerts to parents as a teenager?

I arranged them for poor parents, not only at this age. And you know that the worst part is that my teenage years never ended. Terrible character trait! The word “no” was like a red rag to a bull for me. Apparently, I was born like that. My sister, the eldest, is completely different: feminine, beautiful, the best student in the class, she was created for the family. My parents did not have a son, grandmothers did not have a grandson, and therefore they decided to raise me strong. Yes, and I was born obstinate and uncontrollable. Dad said that if they throw me out of a plane at night in the middle of nowhere and tell me to be in Leningrad at St. Isaac's Cathedral at three in the afternoon, I will be there at the right time. I really have such power in me. So, returning to the celebration: it was an impossibly beautiful birthday! We walked like that! Until the morning, old and young drank and danced mixed up, I was on stage in a luxurious yellow dress and in yellow and black patent-leather platform shoes. By the way, this dress left for me to emigrate, and it is still remembered in New York, Chicago, Boston, Toronto. Then, in the 1970s, this color in Leningrad was very fashionable, just like now - I tell everyone this season: “Buy yellow!”

That is, the myth of the grayness of St. Petersburg was invented?

Of course! It has always been the most fashionable city and not at all monotonous! In summer, everyone wore snow-white shoes, sandals, and golf. Loved red and blue - I perfectly remember my krimplenovy suit pale blue. In addition to patent leather shoes, I didn’t have any things of black color, only about seventeen appeared a dress that I wore with a white lace collar and a brooch donated by my grandfather and grandmother - I still have it. I really liked to dress beautifully, it was very important to me from childhood. I had my own taste and habits. There were separate bows for exits with dad so that he would not get angry - such a preppy bow: good shoes, tights, a square jacket and a skirt. There were, of course, moments when on occasion it was necessary to dress up in a heavy mink coat, and I shouted: “I won’t, I want to put on a sheepskin coat!” I always came up with something original, I wore all my friends. From very early childhood, as my mother says, I loved to comb everyone. She stole cosmetics from her mother - she, of course, was killed on this occasion, because all this was very difficult. I still remember the smell of her Coty powder with a puff. Dad once bought a Lancome Climat perfume right away for all the women in the family — mom, me, sister, grandmother. He believed that a woman should have one smell, and not change them constantly, as is customary today. And on March 8, we always gave our mother the perfume “Red Moscow”.

Did she like them so much?

No, but where could we children find something else? Fifty years passed, and she gave me the bottle of Red Moscow. And somehow she suddenly pulled out black mascara with a brush on which it says “45 kopecks” - that was what they called it in Soviet times. Do you know? Which brush did you have to spit on? I say: “Mom, why did you keep this for so many years ?!” - and she told me: “This is a rarity!”

This, of course, is very Leningrad - to keep things, you don’t know why, but let it be. And how did you find clothes and shoes in total deficit?

My dad, a dentist, was a well-known man in the city and really loved everything beautiful. All the smugglers carried things to Costa Verberu, because our house was full of fashionistas. My grandmother kept the dress code around the clock, so she was a real fashionista. Our mother is extremely beautiful, just like a star from an old Hollywood movie: black hair parted in the middle, a braid, red lipstick from ear to ear. We are a little different - neither me nor sister. Grandmother always said that dad ruined our breed because he was completely red, all freckled. How did you meet dad with mom? After the war, he went to study as a dental technician, then at the age of twenty-eight he entered the institute as a dentist and met a freshman at a medical school there - she sat in a chair in a class and was shown to students as an example of what truly beautiful teeth are. Dad, of course, instantly fell in love with her.

Surely the parents thought that you should continue the medical dynasty?

Well, of course. Dad believed that there was only one worthy profession - a doctor. Despite the lack of interest in medicine, I went to study and, if it had not been for my departure for emigration in 1976, of course, I would have graduated from a medical institute.

But everything turned out differently?

All the will of God. Grandfather and dad died at a very early age - the first at sixty-one years old, when we all lived in Leningrad, and the second at all at fifty-seven, already in exile. Of course, Soviet life was very difficult for both of them - they were afraid of the OBKhSS, they were afraid to sit down. As a child, I asked: “Grandfather, how did you become rich? How did you buy such a big country house? ” And he always told me.

Was grandfather a doctor too?

Yes, grandfather on my mother’s side. Dad’s father was taken in 1939, and we saw him only in 1972. That is, they rehabilitated him in 1955, but he remained to live in Kolyma, where he already had a second family. Therefore, in my childhood I had one grandfather - Abram Iosifovich Fleisher. And he had one hobby - antiques, which he simply adored. For my fifteenth wedding, he gave my mom a set of Faberge work — a teapot and sugar bowl made of gilded silver with ivory. And this sugar bowl is on my table today, although now I don't use sugar. On the table I have both a silver bread box and a heavy decanter, from which we, as tormented children, poured ourselves compote. I remember the day when grandfather came home and told his wife: “My God, Lisa, give me an urgently stuffed fish! They’ll come for me today! This idiot bought a Volga! ” I was referring to my dad, who bought a Volga GAZ-21 for 18 thousand rubles - by the way, she’s standing in my garage, and I drive her once a year, on his birthday. Grandparents believed that we should behave more modestly. I remember how we were going to a celebration in Astoria and, before leaving the entrance, I had to put on a scarf so that the earrings could not be seen. But dad needed to get mink coats, diamonds in the family and, most importantly, to educate the children.

Where did your father have a craving for a "beautiful" life, as they said then?

When his father was taken away, his mother sent her fourteen-year-old dad to an orphanage in Sestroretsk because she could not feed him. He remembered it for life. In 1941, in the very first days of the war, Papa volunteered for the front in his seventeen years, was badly wounded and therefore suffered all his life from terrible pain in the spine, went to Berlin, returned to Leningrad and found his mother here. He always repeated: "I didn’t eat the troubles, I didn’t sleep on the warm, I was always malnourished and survived like that." He told us a lot about the war. Grandmother and mother spent the whole blockade in Leningrad. It so happened that my sister and I are children of war and blockade, although we were born years later. We grew up with the thought: the main thing is that there is no war. May 9 was for us as a common birthday. Dad was born on May 14, and grandmother was born on the 15th, but both celebrated them on May 9th. On this day, the table was supposed to be elegantly set for sixty people and laden with food, women had to be beautiful and well-groomed. Because all those who survived should feel the joy of every day.

Now I understand where this vitality comes from in you. Indeed, in Soviet times, people in many families were taught to live differently - not to hang out.

You know, I'm generally Jewish. In those years, many Jewish families hid their nationality. And in our family, on the contrary, every day I was reminded that I was Jewish, I never hid it and was proud of it. And as for beautiful things, Dad said: “If people see you for the first time well-dressed, it will be a shock for them, and then it will be familiar to them.”

Emigration and return

It seemed to me that it was emigration that switched you to the ability to enjoy life - this is a purely American approach.

No, on the contrary. Emigration is a terrible thing, like a divorce. A person, like a tree from the soil, is torn out of the familiar environment. It’s very difficult to take root somewhere, psychologists say that the development of a new environment lasts at least three years. The first year I lived on the proceeds from the sale of paintings by Mikhail Shemyakin. Dad sold Shishkin’s painting in 1975 and brought home the other two - Oleg Tselkov and Mikhail Shemyakin. There was a scandal in the house, how my mother and grandmother reacted, I still remember. I really like the works of Shemyakin and much later I bought them myself. And recently, I met the artist personally! In Leningrad we had an apartment with large windows, with wide window sills, with amazing stucco molding on the ceiling, with a beautiful stove, parquet floors, which were rubbed twice a year. And I lost it all. For a long time I did not feel at home, I moved a lot: Italy, Canada, America. But I always and everywhere tried to create a semblance of our Leningrad apartment. In any of my houses, wherever I moved, I laid parquet. I loved and love chandeliers, I absolutely cannot live without light. I need to get dressed, stand on heels, go along the grated parquet floor, turn on the chandelier, reflect in the mirror at full height - and only then I am ready to go out.

And how much time do you spend on getting dressed and leaving home?

I've been dressing all my life in ten minutes. It takes no more than half an hour to wash, get dressed, put on makeup and go out to a big celebration. And my daughter thinks differently: in her opinion, a woman should think over her image in advance.

Did you return to Russia in 1989?

And the next two years, 1990 and 1991, were the most difficult for the country. It was not the right time to go in for fashion, especially for a then already Americanized person like me. Nevertheless, we built our entire business, the Mercury company, in the luxury segment. I did not know anything else, therefore I could not build anything else.

What did emigration give you?

The breadth of views, including fashion. For example, when buying things in one country, you must understand that in another they will not always be acceptable. And not only because of climatic conditions. Even lighting affects how the bow looks. Petersburg, for example, is such a museum city where each building is so beautiful that it disciplines you. You just go outside - you already have a holiday. That's why I live in Russia.

Fashion is work

The fashion industry is constantly changing, adapting to new conditions: media space, the growth of the mass market, social topics. Is a heavy luxury relevant today?

Lux will never die! All processes in fashion, and not only in fashion, change dramatically every seven years. But luxury as a way of life has been and will always be. Russian people are spoiled today: everything is there, everything is available, you can buy all the latest and the best, not like thirty years ago, when you were given something, then you ran to buy, and you also had to know the sellers in order to get the cherished under the floors. Now you can buy everything in this life, so people began to buy more calmly, think, combine premium brands with more affordable ones. An important role was played by a combination of many details at once: service, emotions, breadth of assortment, price, quality, brand.

How are tastes changing? In rather patriarchal Russia, for example, Celine authorship Phoebe Filo suddenly appeared popular, removing the status of a sexual object from a woman. What do you as a specialist think about the future of the brand?

Designer Edie Slimane came to the fashion house, who has a certain recognizable style that he broadcasts wherever he works. He was given carte blanche to change everything completely. But at the same time, they suggested not making their own brand, but namely Celine. And I must admit that he created all the accessories, bags and shoes from the archives of the house. As for clothes, he decided: the old woman died, long live the new one! This is his first season, he had to make a shake. Everyone is unhappy, but, believe me, the moment will come and everyone will again run to buy Celine.

How do you manage to circumvent sharp corners on instagram? Have there been times when you had to delete a post?

At the very beginning, I did not fully understand how cautious you need to be with your opinions and statements, how quickly they spread and sometimes are distorted. Having seen on the example of others that people do not always understand everything the way you broadcast and interpret thoughts in their own way, I always think before writing a post. It is necessary to realize if he can not offend someone by chance. As for me, I removed the post several times just because I didn’t like myself in the photo: either the belly is large, then the chin is ugly, then my hands are thick. If you delete the signature, it means that you acknowledge your mistake. If I accidentally hit someone, I won’t delete the text, but apologize.

Anyone should dress - they are greeted by clothes anyway. There will be more democracy: now a black beautiful dress for fifty euros can answer the black tie dress code, if you have a beautiful figure and appearance, you can decorate it with jewelry and look gorgeous. But my company and I went the other way. In our department stores in St. Petersburg and Moscow, we offer the main mastheads of the world of high, catwalk fashion, something that becomes the subject of discussion or a source of inspiration for everyone who is in love with fashion or is interested in it. And it can be not only professional stylists and heroes of social events, but also people whose professions and personal lives are far from the catwalk.

What does “dress in Petersburg” mean to you?

Arriving in St. Petersburg in the DLT, I always enjoy watching a large number of young stylish people - this is the whole show. Petersburgers are distinguished by a special talent from all the presented things to choose the most fashionable, combine classics and trends, restrained, with dignity and at the same time very expressively.

text: Ksenia Goshchitskaya
photo: Danil Yaroshchuk, from the personal archive of A.K. Verber, press service archives
creative Director: Ksenia Goshchitskaya
producers: Ksenia Zheludova, Alexandra Afanasyev
style: Elmira Tulebaeva
hairstyle: Yuri Noskov Assistant
stylist: Ulyana Malikova
post-production: Zhanna Galay

We are grateful to the Nogam Road rollerdrome for providing the requisite for filming.