Atlas of Fashion Designers

Nina Donis

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Nina Donis

Born in Moscow, Donis Pouppis spent the bulk of his childhood and adolescence in Cy-

prus. In 1996, he left the Mediterranean island to attend the Textile Academy of Moscow,

where he met the person who would become his fellow traveler, Nina Neretina, an art

student from a town close to Voronezh who headed for the Russian capital after graduating

from college. From this encounter, an uncommon aesthetic was born, one situated some-

where between the functionalism of Soviet constructivism, avant-garde and continuous

references to pop culture.

Nina Donis, the brand created by the two, was gradually making a name for itself, with

designs appearing on Russian runways and—sporadically—European ones, before making

the defi nitive leap to London Fashion Week, soon enjoying the recognition and interna-

tional projection this achievement brings.

Along the way, Nina Donis has collected numerous acknowledgements and awards, includ-

ing the Mix Collection Prize of the 2001 International Festival of Fashion and Photogra-

phy, held in Hyères and representing a meeting place for young designers, and the Designer

of the Year Prize, awarded by the Russian edition of Harper’s Bazaar.

 e design tandem Nina Donis is a clear example of how the Russian fashion panorama is in

full swing, with a wide and varied range of proposals certain to leave no one indiff erent.

Photography courtesy of Nina Donis

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Helen Storey

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Nina Donis

With white and black colors in the

background, and reds and oranges as

eff ective combinations, Nina Donis

structured her Spring/Summer 2008

collection, from which a sketch and

one of the designs have been selected

for these pages.

Sketch courtesy of Nina Donis

479

Nina Donis

Photography courtesy of Nina Donis

480

Helen Storey

480

Nina Donis

Nina Donis

Nizhniy Susalniy per., 5 str. 5a.

105064 Moscow

Russia

www.ninadonis.com

- What inspires you?

Everything around me, life, recollections and dreams.

- What is your dream as designers?

To have the opportunity to do what we love most of all for as long as possible.

- What has been the most important achievement of your career?

 e most important achievement is our long-term cooperation with each other and the delight we are still taking in it.

- How important are trends?

Trends are needed to make fun of them.

- Fashion has always refl ected a certain era. What does fashion refl ect in the twenty-fi rst century?

Chaos and vanity.

- What book would you recommend to every fashion designer?

Encyclopedia of Arts and World Art History.

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Nina Donis

Sketch courtesy of Nina Donis