“Once Kostornaya asked me to sew a jumpsuit for the last appearance on the show in one day.” A new look at the conflict with the figure skater

At the height of the New Year holidays, a scandal broke out between the European champion Alena Kostornaya and the designer Alena Kuklycheva, who have been collaborating for two seasons. Kuklycheva sewed costumes for the figure skater (and later for her partner Georgy Kunitsa) for sports programs and performances in ice shows. On January 3, the designer said that Kostornaya had violated a number of contractual obligations: she had not paid for the latest orders and had not returned the outfits she had borrowed. In addition, a whole team of designers worked on Alena and Georgy’s clothes: Kuklycheva attracted several of her colleagues to cope with a large amount of work in the shortest possible time.

One of the masters involved in this story is Daria Dmitrieva, costume designer for rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating. She shared her vision of the situation with . We publish Daria’s story in the form of a monologue.

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Let me start with the fact that I am an independent designer: I have my own workshop “Darianika” and I do not work as a seamstress or assistant in Alena Kuklycheva’s workshop. She and I have been friends for a long time and we are united by another project, for which I agreed to help promote.

So I started working on Alena and Georgy’s costumes at the end of August. Alena Kuklycheva, who had been collaborating with Kostornaya for a long time and had a fairly warm relationship with her, asked me to participate. Very urgently, without payment, but for advertising purposes. Yes, there were no agreements – everything was discussed verbally and in personal correspondence. Which only speaks of a relationship of trust and what each person’s word is ultimately worth.

I completely made costumes for Georgy for the ice show. His looks for “Vivaldi” and “Romeo and Juliet”, as well as a black shirt for the final appearance are my work. Additionally, I helped a little with two dresses from Alena Kostornaya. We had three days to do everything. To arrive on time, I had to spend the night in Kuklycheva’s workshop, because mine is on the other side of the city and I didn’t want to waste time on the road. In addition, this workshop is located as close as possible to the skaters. I went forward to help the guys. I was happy to work for athletes of this level, especially if it could benefit the project and me as a designer. I collaborate more with gymnasts, I wanted to gain experience with figure skaters. All this time I didn’t hear a single “thank you” from either Alena Kostornaya or Georgiy.

After three days of rest, we started working on the costumes for their short, free programs. There I completely created two images of the combination of Georgiy and Alena.

During the eight days of work, I spent the night at home once. I saw my family, washed and changed clothes. It was very difficult, but I did it to promote our project and because I promised to help. I had no right to disappoint anyone! I remember Alena Kostornaya once came to the workshop and asked: “Are you going to be homeless for a long time?” At first it might seem funny, but it wasn’t.

Then Alena asked to sew dresses for a black swan, an angel and a fairy. When they were made, I was no longer there: I decided to get out of slavery, other creators helped me. Then Kostornaya finally decided to mention me in the stories of the social network, even if it was a post with a tag. Three and a half months had already passed since the start of the work and I was completely disappointed. I didn’t care if there was a return of the skaters.

Based on the results of our cooperation, I can say that I have no grudges against the guys. They are simply young and success fell to them quite early, which left an imprint on their behavior. I don’t need anything from them.