MOSCOW, May 1, Pavel Surkov. Vyacheslav Zaitsev was not just a fashion designer — he was an absolute, indisputable symbol of creative freedom. While the Soviet Union remained something incomprehensible and incomprehensible in the mass consciousness of the whole world of high fashion, it suddenly turned out that an incredibly talented couturier existed behind the Iron Curtain. From his work came to shock and awe of the most prestigious fashion houses in Europe. And he just did what he loved, and became a man-brand, the one and only Slava Zaitsev.
Equal Among Equals
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His first big work — at the very dawn of creativity (Zaitsev was a recent graduate of the textile institute) — was a collection of overalls for women — workers in the village. It did not go into production: it turned out to be something strange and completely unconventional for Soviet fashion. But the French magazine «Paris Match» published a photo of this collection. Pierre Cardin himself showed attention to the young Moscow couturier — and Zaitsev begins a real take-off in his career.
He is appointed artistic director of the All-Union House of Models: one could only dream of such a position. Now Slava Zaitsev could conduct a creative dialogue with foreign masters — the necessary status was obtained. But to really enter the world of high fashion, to join the «equal among equals» was not so easy: one had to confirm one's official status with work. And Slava worked, coming up with amazing combinations of folk style and new fashion trends. 
The result was, for example, the famous «Russian Series» from the famous Ivanovo chintz, which traveled all over the world (Zaitsev himself was not allowed to travel abroad for many years and ended up abroad only in the middle of 80 -X). He tries himself not only in the field of clothing — his personal collection of jewelry conquered Europe and was awarded personal exhibitions.
World fame
At the same time, Vyacheslav Zaitsev continued to be the artistic director of the House of Models. And this, of course, imposed certain stylistic restrictions on him, which, given the rapid flight of creative imagination, became more and more difficult to put up with. Perestroika times come to the rescue: Vyacheslav Zaitsev goes into individual tailoring and opens his own Fashion House. And full-fledged world fame begins: each of his new collections is «paralleled» with some striking cultural or historical events. For example, dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' and the «Russian seasons in Paris». 
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Zaitsev still adheres to historical traditions, but at the same time follows the laws and language of international fashion, keeping up with his Parisian colleagues in bold decisions. He dressed many domestic stars — from Muslim Magomayev to Edita Piekha. Among his friends are the entire color of the artistic beau monde, such icons of artistic style as Vladimir Zeldin and Marina Neelova, Mikhail Ulyanov and Anastasia Vertinskaya shine in costumes «from Zaitsev».
Cinema and theater
At the same time, Vyacheslav Zaitsev does not just dress the artists, offering them, for example, a suit or a dress — no, he comes up with an individual image for each. Actually, he does not forget about artistic creativity: he draws beautifully, his paintings and drawings are regularly exhibited both in Russia and abroad. He is called to work in the cinema — and he gladly takes the position of costume designer: «Nameless Star», «Magician», «Hold on to the Clouds» — in all these films, the costumes were created by him.
Well, the theater has always been one of his main passions, even he sometimes calls his own Fashion House the Theater of Fashion. And each of his shows turns into a whole performance with a unique scenography and direction. And how many theaters and their performances he dressed! Here is the Theater of Satire, and the Vakhtangov Theater, and, of course, the Sovremennik incredibly beloved by him: Galina Borisovna Volchek was not just a fan of Zaitsev's talent, but also his friend.
Fashion sentence
He, already at an advanced age, still continued to follow fashion trends and was constantly interested in the movement of the main creative trends. Actually, the famous program «Fashionable Sentence» on Channel One has long been associated with Zaitsev. His authority was absolutely indisputable — well, in the selection of stylistic solutions for the guests of the program, he was still inimitable, unique and approached the solution with his own author's vision. 
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He never lost optimism, even in his declining years, when his health was already failing him — his constant smile, constant good mood became his hallmark.
Zaitsev never complained about anything and never scolded his own past — he valued his own and other people's experience, but at the same time he always looked to the future. Actually, he created this future — after all, each of his shows for numerous fashion fans was a kind of signal: look what they will wear this season. A phenomenal person and a great artist.