Daniil Berg is a well-known figure in Russian fashion. A talented stylist who has created incredible TSUM advertising campaigns with world top models such as Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, as well as incredible showcases that are not inferior in beauty to the famous showcases of the Lafayette gallery in Paris and the Harrods department store in London. After 17 years at Mercury, Daniil Berg created several collections for Russian brands and eventually announced the creation of his own brand.
About childhood and home
I remember my childhood with joy. I did not like school, but I enjoyed visiting various circles, including sports, and also loved spending time with my aunt, who worked in an atelier. I plunged headlong into the world of colored patches, boxes with buttons and ribbons. He loved to visit his relatives who lived surrounded by nature and silence. They literally carried me in their arms. Since then, I must be surrounded by beauty, silence, nature, otherwise I cannot work and rest. I'm not a hermit, but I'm not a city dweller. I live in the suburbs - all the benefits of the world are located nearby. The house is small, but cozy, stands in the middle of tall trees, I was categorically against the empty area. Everything is there as I like: a beautiful glassed-in veranda turns into a comfortable kitchen where my friends like to sit (by the way,often becomes the heroine of my Instagram stories). There is also a Chinese room in the house, where furniture, accessories, figurines - everything that I brought from my travels are arranged. The main advantage of this room is a huge window that stretches over two floors. On the second floor, I put a table, and my sketches settled both on the table and on the railing. Here is my bedroom and dressing room.
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About career
It all started before the crisis 90s, when, after graduating from a specialized higher institution, my friend and I decided to open an atelier. A difficult time came, and we closed, and then I ended up in the Mercury company, where Alla Verber took me. I called her mi segunda madre - my second mother. It's hard to talk about this loss. We worked together for a very long time, so the decision to leave was difficult, as it was like leaving the family. But the time has come when it was necessary to move on. I am happy to recall many achievements (I do not like to say “proud”) associated with working at TSUM, for example, advertising campaigns with the world's leading models: Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Daria Verbova and Milla Jovovich, as well as our New Year's windows. People came from afar to see our Fairy Tales of the Nations of the World.
After TSUM there were several interesting projects, each of which gave me something. I never do without deliberation, and I get invaluable experience; I was lucky with the leaders and partners, they always gave me carte blanche. I worked with Anastasia Zadorina for the Zasport project and was also the creative director of the Edem Couture brand. If in the first brand we made a dynamic collection designed for an active life, then in the second brand we created feminine dresses and suits that were worn by both serious ladies and young girls.
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About style and fashion
I have not attended fashion weeks for several seasons, but this is rather due to the excess of trips to shows in the era of TsUM. Now I'm just looking at the photos from the shows to get an idea. To be honest, no one amazed me to the core. Today, a designer is a stylist. There is nothing wrong with this word, because no matter how hard you push, everything has already been invented before us. The task of today's designer is to combine corporate brand codes, street trends and history into a beautiful image that the client will buy. For example, take the Dior fashion house: the legacy of Christian Dior, Gianfranco Ferre and John Galliano, who worked for the brand, will last for many years to come. Fashion today is client-oriented, and sometimes it has nothing to do with style, but I love what Phoebe Fileo was doing at Celine. And I honestly don't understand haters like Diet Pradawho study the shows under a magnifying glass, and then shout who stole from whom. This is ridiculous. Take ancient Greek or Renaissance paintings and you will see the first trends.
You can talk for hours about the difference between style and fashion. Fashion can be taught, as well as the basics of combining colors, shades, cut, but style cannot be taught - this is an internal state. Today's stylists come into the profession and talk a lot about their favorite eras and times, and this is one of the main mistakes: a stylist cannot afford to love something specific. He must find beauty in any era, draw inspiration from even the simplest things, such as a little black dress or Dior's fluffy skirt in New Look style. And when inspiration leaves, do not give up and whip up your muse. Be sure to ask how comfortable the client feels in the chosen image, whether there are any doubts. Look for new ideas, not convince that it is just that good.
About Russian fashion
Let's be honest: no matter how much we talk, no one knows about Russian designers outside the Russian Federation. Let's start with the fact that, despite active investments from the state, subsidies either do not reach the designers at all, or they are crumbs for which it is impossible to create a full-fledged brand that will be recognized by the whole world. All that can be enough money is to sew a collection, and not from the best fabrics. Add to this display, and most importantly - huge investments in advertising and PR. Without all this, the brand cannot exist. I admire young talents who are so charged with their creativity that they manage to create interesting models.
Education is another weak point, although design courses, workshops, etc. are functioning everywhere. While we still have a strong school of academic drawing, everything else requires serious investments and a good firm hand that will bring order to light industry.
Collections
I'll keep the topic of the upcoming collection a secret for now. I don’t run shows (in our reality I don’t see the point in this), but I make presentations. My models are in demand by clients who have appeared over 20 years of work in various well-known companies. And, of course, working at TSUM brought me the necessary acquaintances.
You can understand the style of the Daniilberg brand by looking at the lookbook of this season's collection. They are beautiful, expensive everyday pieces that show a mixture of styles. Here is the story of an English gentleman who came to the Russian Empire, replaced by Scottish elements, smoothly flowing into the details of the traditional costumes of the Chilean folk dance cueca. In the collection you can find trouser suits and oversized denim jackets, combinations with lace, blouses, ponchos, Scottish kilts, T-shirts and sweatshirts with the words “Try walking in my shoes”, “The winner takes it all” and “Black is always black ", as well as cordobés (typical for Spanish Cordoba. -" ") handmade. I try to use exclusively natural fabrics: silk, cashmere and cotton, and I also devote a lot of time to details. For instance,on some models you can see the unique hand embroidery. We presented the collection in a mansion on Prechistenka, in which we recreated the atmosphere of a Parisian apartment, where antiques are placed everywhere, which perfectly coexists with modern light installations.
About comfortable driving
Outside my home, everything is also subject to comfort. I am a big car lover, it is a pleasure for me to drive. Especially if the car is new. I can drive on the roads just so that to the end feel the novelty. I remember buying my first car - it was a small and compact Volkswagen. My main requirement for him was that the New Year tree fit in, otherwise we will not take it. How the seller looked at me! New Year is my favorite holiday, so there could be no exception.
When I first noticed on the road Cadillac, I immediately sunk into the soul of its appearance. I went to look at the brand's models, and my attention was drawn to the new CT6 sedan, which is both elegant and similar to the car of a superhero like Tony Stark's Iron Man. When I got behind the wheel of the CT6, it became clear that I was taking the car. Here every millimeter is thought out and makes sense.
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For starters, the stylish charcoal gray and flowing lines combine to form a powerful body with a striking radiator grille. Secondly, thanks to the light, innovative design, partly made of aluminum, the sedan is easy to drive without the noise of the road being heard. Thirdly, the big trunk, which I, a big lover of carrying everything with me, is not completely filled. Everything is here: cuts and rolls of fabrics, sketches and even things to quickly change. Fourth, the salon, which I first took in a light version. While everyone says dark shades are the best option in our climate, they are not. Drops and dirt are not visible and can be removed very easily. There are comfortable chairs that warn of the danger of vibration, an excellent controller that helps to control the multimedia system, climate control, a powerful audio system, and, of course,rearview mirror with video. It broadcasts HD video from the rear view camera, and in the end I see absolutely everything that happens from behind from any angle. It is enough to touch once - and the video turns off, and the mirror turns into an ordinary one. And fifth, safety. I have been driving for many years and immediately appreciated the dual LED lights, which improve visibility on the road, and the night vision system, the sensors of which can recognize people and large animals in the dark and give an immediate signal.>whose sensors are able to recognize people and large animals in the dark and immediately send a signal.>whose sensors are able to recognize people and large animals in the dark and immediately send a signal.>