Russian 17-year-old Kira Plastinina, ?the world?s youngest designer,? drops by Manila, the first country outside of Europe and US to host her fashion brand
AH, TO BE YOUNG AND TO BE carefree. When Kira Plastinina, 17, left her own party at The Establishment recently, the ?world?s youngest designer? chose to ride a jeepney to Naia to catch a midnight flight via the Middle East to her native Russia.

Daughter of Russian dairy mogul Sergei Plastinin, Plastinina made a three-day visit to Manila last week to open her second store at the Shangri-La Mall.

Like her first store in the Philippines, which opened sometime last year at the nearby SM Megamall, the new outlet sells ready-to-wear clothes, fashion accessories and perfumes all designed by Plastinina and her three-person creative team.

Never mind if the jeepney she took was nothing like the cramped, open-air variety that regularly cruises the country?s highways and byways. Air-conditioned and with seats arranged like a mini bus, the jeepney gave Plastinina, a first-time visitor to the Philippines, the ultimate high.

?I was on my way to one of my engagements yesterday, when we drove by this area where there were a lot of parked jeepneys,? she said. ?I had to ask the driver to stop the car because I needed to get off and have my picture taken.?

Meanwhile, her hosts, including Filipino franchise holders Keri Zamora and Ruby Coching, were scrambling up to the 11th hour to get her the ideal jeepney after they learned how serious Plastinina was. With Manila?s heat, traffic, smog and what have you, an open-air jeepney was out of the question. They finally found the right one to the tune of P6,000.

?It?s nice to experience warm weather,? Plastinina assured. ?And the traffic in Moscow is just as bad.?

It wasn?t a bad deal, actually, as the jeepney had to wait in front of The Establishment for almost three hours as Plastinina wrapped up interviews before doing another round of socializing with Manila?s party fixtures.

Plastinina has been designing and making her own clothes as far back as she could remember.

Fashion guinea pigs

Apart from dressing up her Barbie dolls, her earlier ?victims? were her dogs and cats.

She remembered vividly one incident during her childhood when she needed some fabric for her project. Unaware of the consequences of what she was about to do, she cut one of her mom?s expensive scarves to turn it into her vision of the ideal dog dress.

?Of course, my mom wasn?t too happy about it,? she said. ?But I can?t forget how happy and proud I was of myself.?

While growing up, Plastinina would profess to people who?d care to listen of her desire to become a fashion designer someday. She backed this up with sketches and DIY projects that won her praise and admiration from both friends and near-strangers.

When her dad wanted to expand into the fashion business a few years ago, he didn?t have to look far. Without thinking twice, he tapped his daughter, who was then barely 14, to head the self-named label?s creative team. The company has since added Lublu K.Plastinina, a high-end line.

?I couldn?t believe that I?d be a fashion designer as such a young age,? she shared. ?At first, I felt intimidated. But after a number of people talked to me and expressed their belief in my skills, everything fell into place. It?s been great.?

Her whirlwind trip to Manila culminated in a fashion show earlier that night. Plastinina was so hands-on that she even personally selected the models, a bevy of Filipino, Australian and Brazilian girls. For some strange reason, said an insider, she said nyet to the inclusion of a pair of Russian mannequins.

Aides, including a burly, porker-faced bodyguard (yes, very much like the sinister-looking Russian villain in those James Bond flicks), had the good sense of checking in her bags, including 20 kilos of dried mangoes, way in advance. Rumor has it that they booked her first class on two flights just in case she missed the first one.

Travels

?I draw a great deal of inspiration from my travels,? said Plastinina, a senior at a British-run high school in Moscow. ?This country is so different from all the other places I?ve been to. There?s so much character and optimism, and girls here are so stylish. I?m sure I?d be able to draw inspiration from here for my future collections.?

The designer obviously loves to mix and match, which is evident in her 2010 spring-summer collection consisting mostly of separates, including tiered skirts, blazers and tank tops worn under shiny corset dresses. She also showed a number of cropped jackets, beaded overlays, leggings, layered tees and draped vests.

Although most of the pieces, made from such fabrics as silk, jersey and cotton, were close to the body, they didn?t reveal more than what was necessary.

And in line with her style philosophy of keeping the bling to a minimum, she showed a few beaded pieces, including a sequined pencil skirt, for some visual zing. Otherwise, she said, furs, heavy jewelry, beadwork and all the stereotypical elements of Russian excess aren?t for her.

?I can see why other people say that [about Russians] and I?ve seen that before,? she said, without the slightest sign of being offended. ?But it?s not like that anymore. I?m quite happy to note that Russians are so much into fashion right now.?

She also noted that a growing number of young and emerging fashion designers from Russia, just like her, are now starting to venture abroad to show their collections to an international audience, particularly in Milan.

She also takes pride in the fact that she has a lot in common with her clothes? market, consisting mostly of teenagers and young women, in terms of music, books, role models and even everyday concerns.

?I don?t look up to any style icons,? said Plastinina, who is on a first-name basis with such celebs and trendsetters as Paris Hilton, Nichole Ritchie, Leighton Meester, Audrina Patridge and Katherine McPhee. ?Although I?d love to dress up the Olsen twins someday. I find them really stylish and unique.?

Every woman, she added, should develop her own personal style. It?s not intrinsically bad to draw inspirations from famous people, but it pays in the end to ?stay true to one?s self and not try to be someone else.?

It is this same independent quality that has drawn Plastinina to Vivienne Westwood. She admires the British designer not so much for her clothes, but for her courage to do things her way despite what others might think.

Any notions we had of Plastinina being a spoiled brat and daddy?s girl (well, she probably is) vanished as soon as she began patiently fielding questions from the media, including seemingly impertinent ones already found in press kits and on the Internet. She was candid without being tactless and had nothing but good things to say about the Philippines.

It seems, the Philippines, has a special place in her heart for being the first place outside Europe and the US to open a Kira Plastinina store. To date, the brand has more than 100 ?style studios? all over Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and two in the US.

Note to hosts: They better store the air-conditioned jeepney driver?s number. Plastinina promised to come back soon (perhaps with her Russian boyfriend) and spend an extended holiday in Boracay.