“Wiener likes hard-working people, we agreed on that basis.” Interview with the stylist of the “artists” of the Russian team

In an interview with , Natalya told how she joined a large family of gymnasts, how she met Irina Viner and how she works on images of athletes.

– Natacha, I understood, you’re not a gymnast?

No, I’m not a gymnast. I am a master of the sport in ballroom dancing. She began to work there, in ballroom dancing, the sphere of stage hairstyles and makeup is more developed.

– Did you have a period of working with ordinary people or did you immediately specialize in sports?

“It all started with sports. My ballroom dancing coaches have always focused on looks: God forbid, sticky hair or crooked lips. If in Russia I turned to stylists, then the masters did not fly with us at international tournaments, I had to learn how to ride myself.

I learned how to do a hairstyle, started preparing for the tournament in five hours. During the competition, other girls came up to me, asked me who was brushing my hair like that, asked me to help them. Then the coach came to me and said: “Take some money at least for consumables…” So I started to work, I took very little for the image, only 30 euros .

– How long ago was that? Wasn’t industry developed in Russia at that time?

“It was 11-12 years ago. There were two studios in Russia. We recorded for a long time, literally praying for these six masters.

How did you start working with gymnasts?

– My daughter began to do rhythmic gymnastics, and I gathered her for the tournament: I made a neat bun, I drew arrows. And the coach says to me: “The most beautiful gymnast”. Then other mothers started writing to me on social media and telling me what beautiful makeup my child has. I watched the tournaments, studied the rules, and that’s how the work plan was born with the gymnasts.

I had my own ballroom dance studio, I did complete looks: from dress to hair and makeup. But during the period of active sanctions, we faced a problem of material supply, fabrics became very expensive, customers were not ready to pay so much money for costumes. And in the spring I made a choice in favor of a gymnast: it was physically impossible to train her at the same time with the workshop, my marks are based on personal presence.

– What is your job now: do you collect an athlete for each tournament or create an image and teach her to paint on her own?

– I understand that not everyone has the opportunity to use the services of a stylist for every tournament. In ballroom dancing, it happens like this: before the competition, athletes sign up for an image with a stylist, masters work at the tournament site, do styling and make-up. In gymnastics, I would not want to introduce such a system into the rules. I would like athletes to think about the image with a stylist for an exercise and a swimsuit, and then independently gather for competitions. Now gymnasts are burning for this topic, it’s a new area for them, so my schedule is very busy. I would like the stylist to be the person who thinks about the image, comes up with interesting solutions and does not collect athletes for each tournament.

– From a certain age, athletes begin to go to tournaments alone, without a mother. Is it realistic to teach a ten-year-old girl to do her own makeup and hair?

– I was surprised how 12-year-old girls can do their hair and make-up. I recently worked in Sochi at the Hopes of Russia, I approached the girl and asked who picked her up for competitions. Turns out she does it herself.

Of course, a child will not make a smoky or super complicated hairstyle, but at an early age it is not necessary. No need to glue eyelashes to a small child, create for him the image of a painted madam. You just need to give the face a rested look. Teaching a child to make even, glowing skin and a smooth fairing is real.

– If in ballroom dancing girls can wear makeup only from a certain age, then in gymnastics this is not regulated in any way. At what age should you increase the degree and wear more makeup?

– According to the rules of ballroom dancing, children under the age of 14 cannot wear makeup. But to be honest, we paint the kids a bit. A child can have light eyebrows and eyelashes, in combination with a smooth fairing, it looks very strange, as if a cow is licking it. There is a gap between the hairstyle and the face, so we add a little cosmetics.

– Judges don’t force children to wash?

“And so it was. They call the children, think about it. Somehow the referee drew attention to the girl and made her wash, and she is dark, with black eyelashes and eyebrows, even the makeup artist’s brush does not did not touch.

– So what about the makeup of young gymnasts?

– I noticed that parents in rhythmic gymnastics are divided into two categories. The first said: “Leave the child to me.” The second lives by the principle “all the best at once”, where sequins and rhinestones are used.

I am of the opinion that the child remains a child, everything must be taken care of, it is not necessary to make an adult aunt of a little girl. I found support from the coaches, they think the same way. But if mom and athlete want to play with the image, let’s try.

How long does a complete image take?

– Of course, I want to work calmly, recover the athlete for an hour and a half. But the situations are different. At the Nemov show, we made the image of Lale Kramarenko, with stones on her head, in 35 minutes. Arina and Dina Averins were put together in 40 minutes. I assembled Katya Selezneva in 15 minutes. It was extreme.

– Tell us about the secrets of makeup durability. After all, a competition day sometimes lasts a very long time and the gymnasts stay in shape throughout the tournament.

– We don’t use special theatrical makeup, we have ordinary cosmetics used by ordinary people. It so happened that the girls slept with pictures, because the first day of competition ended late, and the second started early, there was no time to prepare again.

— What image trends exist today?

– The trend of the season is stones on the head. Now Masha Borisova and I were filming a master class, the mandatory program was lessons on stones on the head. I remember how I lay down before going to bed, scrolling through Lala’s programs in my head and thinking about what other cool things could be done on my head. I wanted a shiny head, but in gymnastics you can’t use sticky hair products because the tape sticks to them. And I thought Lala’s head could be glued with rocks. Everyone liked it very much, not everyone even realized that it was stones.

Are stones in the hair allowed in gymnastics? What if they fall during the performance?

– In ballroom dancing, specific rules are prescribed, and in gymnastics, two lines are said about this. The main thing is that it is neat, no element flies out of the head, points are deducted for this. I ask the girls to shake their heads. I make sure everything stays solid.

– You became a pioneer and gradually normalized the work with a stylist in gymnastics. Who was the first national team gymnast you worked with?

– Initially, I contacted the manager of Lala Kramarenko to pick her up for filming, but we did not agree on the schedules, and I worked with Yana Kudryavtseva. We did a good shoot, our work entered the Internet. As I found out later, Lala wrote to Yana and asked her how she liked my work, did she like everything. Then Lala’s manager wrote to me and asked me to reunite her for a concert on September 9th, and then there was the Spartakiade, Lala’s signature bangs… I didn’t think I could join the world of rhythmic gymnastics then quickly and start working with the national team.

– We all know that without Wiener’s approval, “joining the world of rhythmic gymnastics” will not work. How to please Irina Alexandrovna?

– I do not have a clear answer, but I understand that Irina Aleksandrovna is a person of action, a person of purpose, she likes the same people. I am responsible, I know how to work efficiently, plan my time, I approach the process with an understanding of the subject.

Irina Aleksandrovna came to me before the tournament and said, “Make me Lala Carmen. We will go and run a jump rope without a loop and we will make it on the hoop. Time is running out, what to do…? I had to cut a lock of Lala’s hair, nail it, blow-dry it, dry it on a radiator. On the day of the tournament, I had everything ready: after the rope, I glued the strand, and before the masses, I took it off and coated the trace of the strand with foundation, and I stuck on the ribbon. The image was changed in three seconds. Everyone asked: what did you find, what kind of secret is this?

Irina Alexandrovna loves hard-working people. I have my own ideas, I’m not lost. We agreed on this ground.

– Have you ever done Wiener’s hair?

– Yes, I put Irina Alexandrovna and Yulia Vladimirovna Barsukova to bed.

– Concerned?

“I came to do my job and I didn’t worry too much. Perhaps because we already knew each other, she understood that I could be trusted. Irina Alexandrovna wrote to me yesterday: Gather me tomorrow. And I’m in Petersburg…

– Now you get Lala for every tournament?

Yes, for each tournament. Lala tells me she can’t even imagine how she is.

– Did you record the loop? Will you continue to use it?

We don’t know yet if we will use it. Of course, we kept it. If not for use, then for memory.

– With which gymnasts do you still work continuously?

– Yes, with almost everyone: with the Averina sisters, Anya Popova, Nastya Guzenkova, Masha Borisova, Alina Protasova, Masha Pobedushkina.

– And what do the gymnasts do during hair and makeup?

– I was very worried about how the girls would accept me, I’m not a gymnast. But they were well received. We chat and laugh as we work. I sometimes ask them to show where an object passes through the body to understand how to make a beam. My work doesn’t stop with hair, then I go to see competitions, we have common themes, gradually becoming part of a big gymnastic family.