Public Republic

An interview by Petia Petkova with the fashion designer Virginia Zdravkova
Translation by Asya Draganova

Virginia Zdravkova is a leading figure in Bulgarian fashion. She is the author of five fashion lines: formal dresses and wedding dresses, jeans, jewellery, shoes, and sunglasses. The successful designer sells her collections in a number of international centres and capital cities: Sofia, Amsterdam, Moscow, Las Vegas, L.A., and Dubai.

She has been awarded with the prize “The Golden Needle” (Zlatnata Igla) twice as well as other international prizes. Her work is undoubtedly art. And she will be the one to tell us more about it!

I would like us to start from the very beginning. How did everything begin, how and when did you find out that fashion was your vocation?

I was very young. It is some kind of internal intuition that comes with time and appears on the surface, and you understand that you should give it a chance to make you happy. To realize it, to live with it and for it.

What is the feeling like to know that you are the best designer not only of Bulgaria but also of the whole Balkans?

It is a big responsibility. You should be always ready. You should defend what you have achieved and aim even higher.

Who are your favourite designers?

Tom Ford, Valentino (who unfortunately do not make clothes any more, for which I and a lot of other people, I believe, regret). Donatella Versace, some Italian designers who demonstrate perfect elegant cut, Alexander McQueen – the most up-to-date with great sense of shapes, Michael Kors.

Are you led by world fashion trends, or do you follow your own style?

The fashion trends in colours, textile, shapes, accessories, etc. are represented on specially organized expositions. They take place a year and a half before the next season and everyone who works in the area gains information from them. It is the same with me. But the information gained is interpreted differently by everyone, as it is transformed by prisms of my own style and visions of fashion.

At the Oscar ceremonies in 2006 and 2007 two of your dresses were worn. Who were the celebrities who had chosen your brand?

The first dress that I worked on was specially-made for Mrs. Maria Novak for the ceremony in 2006. The dress if made of silk taffeta, created by hand with French lace and richly decorated with Swarovski stones.

The next year another Bulgarian outfit was shown and adored by many on the red carpet in front of Kodak Theatre. It was worn by the famous cinema critique from the New York Times Sharon Waxman. The dress is made of English chameleon dushe satin that blends from black to green.

Tell us more about the project “Fashion Love Music” where you participate with the pop singer Miro.

It was a very special and pleasurable project for me. He is a very talented person and it was a privilege working with him. It filled me up with positive energy. Elena Petrova, who presented me as her close friend, and Anelia, who introduced Miro, also took part in the event. A lot of people attended, who were obviously happy with the lifted atmosphere.

What is the source of inspiration for your wonderful projects?

From different places. Whenever I work on a revue or another project with a particular concept, I try to gain positive energy from people or from beautify in life. That is the only way I can create: peace for the soul, good mood and beauty on my mind. It always shows whether an artist has their inspiration.

What would you advise the girls that graduate this year and need to choose prom dresses?

To take into consideration their figures, height, hair colour, skin colour, own style, sense of elegance and then fashion tendencies. In terms of them: colours – clear and stylish, shapes – long, loose, draped; materials – silk, transparent materials, taffeta. Accessories – narrow belts, hair-clips, fine jewellery, small bags, high-heeled shoes with exquisite decorated heels.

You are a laureate of many awards: “Fashion Mercury 2006”, “Golden Needle 2005”, “Golden Needle 2006”, and many more. What do those prizes bring to you?

They are one of the categories through which my work gets appreciation and I am proud of them.

Does your day begin with Lavazza coffee?

If I drank coffee, my day would start with Lavazza coffee, because I have special affinity with this brand. It is related to my long term common work with Sofstock for the famous Lavazza calendar.

Does the contemporary Bulgarian woman have the ability to be in pace with fashion?

Definitely yes, but unfortunately there is a lot of distortion that comes from pop-folk television channels, where nakedness is too much and real fashion is absent. Fashion is an ephemeral way of thinking and behaving but not culture!