CURIOUSER NEW YORK

  Get ready for the Pancake Week, or what the Russians call - Maslenitsa. You'll be surprised how many countries have spring greeting holidays and traditions. Those Swedish semla and Lithuanian  spurgos look pretty good to me, but nothing beats the good old Russian crepes with sour cream and red caviar. Click here to read more.

  Yesterday I went to see Alexey Sorokin Spring 2013 fashion show that took place at the historic Pier 57. I talked about this Russian sensation, discovered by the NY-based fashion magazine Depesha , in my previous blog , and as I've anticipated, the show was incredible, but…too short. Meaning, according to my friends and the people sitting next to me on the first row - [yes, I had the best seats on the house!] - we all wished the show was a bit longer as it was visually very, very beautiful. Here's what I mean…

I got an invitation to attend the Spring 2013 fashion show by a designer from Russia, Alexey Sorokin. Well, since I have a soft spot for Russia, I was very happy about this invitation, especially after I've checked him out online and saw his incredibly creative works - [I've heard from him before, but not on a bigger scale, so I had no idea what to expect from him]. His show is tomorrow, September 12th, and I'd love to introduce this Russian sensation - [who, I pretty much sure, will take the NY fashion scene by storm tomorrow night and whose name you might be hearing very, very soon], but for now...here's his story:

Today is May 9Th - The WWII Victory Day that is very widely celebrated in Russia and Eastern Europe... It's a special day for me as well, as my grandparents fought this war. Some of them were wounded. I especially would like to dedicated today's blog to my grandfather, who was 19 when the war started and who finished it in Berlin, Germany - coming all the way to the 'finish line'.

Growing up with the best grandmother ever, from an early age I was exposed to all the baking - one of the activities that my grandma is very passionate about - [and she is great at it too!]. I could spent hours watching my grandma making dough, rolling out the sheets of thin dough and filling them up with all kinds of ingredients - from potatoes and cabbage to cottage cheese and fresh berries. I still don't know how I managed to escape getting fat as I  definitely indulged in all the freshly baked pies and cakes.  I'm in owe for my grandma for making my life so much more beautiful and full... And even now, up to this day, when I come and visit my grandma, she puts on her apron and a white cap and asks me what I want her to bake me and one of the things I always ask her to make is her signature honey cake that takes two days as it requires some serious preparation, but at the end - the cake is to die for. 

I wrote about Natalia Vodianova 's charity foundation Naked Heart Foundation before, and I'm writing about it again.  Vodianova fascinates me - not only as a fashion supermodel, who can pretty much make any clothing item, accessory and shoes sexy, but she manages to do so with three kids that, unlike many models, she had very young in the age.

I'm extremely excited and happy for my friend, Leonid Gurevich , whose hard work and unbelievable creative vision finally paid off last week, when he tributed his collection at Aurora Fashion Week in St. Petersburg, Russia .

I like the fact that what used to be a very stereotypical - [and, thus, widely known around the world] - souvenir that the visitors to Russia bring back home - the Russian Dolls , are now taking attention from the biggest fashion designers in the world. They are now a very hot commodity- both in a private collection on the shelves of one's house and in the fashionable art exhibitions.

More than 200 Russian residents of NYC and the boroughs/suburbs showed up in New York to protest this last Saturday (December 10, 2011) in front of the Russian Consulate on Madison Ave. and 91st Street, demanding an end to Vladimir Putin's rule and a rerun of a parliamentary election. I happened to be among them... I know, I know. It's too much to handle for a blog that seems to address fashion, culture and lifestyle 'issues', but hey, I've been there - [and not that you've never ever in your life participated in any kind of a protest before, have you?]. I came out on a very cold Saturday morning - [yes, I need some TLC-pity from you on this one] - and, even at the possibility of missing a play at the BAM that I've been so looking forward to - Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape ] - so, of course, I'd like to mention this fact of my last weekend's life. And not only to mention -  I'd like to share with you the photos I took d...

  I enjoy the fact how Russia has been progressive in many areas of the life since USSR has ceased to exist - [except for the politics and economy, obviously] - and how it has been progressively integrating the 'WEST' into the 'EAST' fast, adding its own cultural charms and peculiarities.

Congratulations Russia! You've got one more reason to take all those trips and follow some stylish and adventurous trends.

I finally decided to say goodbye to my long-term faithful friend, who supported me all through the years, starting with the photography class in 1998...So many beautiful moments I shared with him. So many moments I captured with him... And now it's time to say goodbye and face the realities of the new technology - the digital technology of a camera...And that's really, really sad... That's HIM - my 13-year old camera...