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By MONICA WHYTE

«
UNNY,” the blonde wailed,
“my hair! Do something!”
os Bunny broke off his sent-
a and hopped over to soothe
milla Ramonovskaya, one of
bn poet Union’s top fashion
Sa and considered the per-
bly €xample of Russian blonde,
“e-eyed beauty.

p At 28, Vyacheslav Zaitsev is

oe
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the hottest item in the Russian
fashion industry. A slight, quick
young man, whose nickname
“Zaichik” (Bunny) derives from
the meaning of his surname,
finally agreed to a sneak pre-
view of part of the collection
which is being prepared for
Montreal’s Expo 67.

On a slushy, cold November

fash; Tribune correspondent Monica Whyte interviewing Moscow

kaya

r
Qh
2 Valya Sevgeieva.

'©n designer Zaitsev. In background are models Regina Zbar-
And, facing mirror, Ludmilla Ramonovskaya, fixing her hair.
top photos show Ludmilla Ramonovskaya (seen also at right)

earn ba oe

morning, I trudged up the nar-
row “Blacksmith’s Bridge”
Street to where the Moscow Fa-
shion House is located.

In a room upstairs, a harassed
Zaitsev was talking to three
models and two cameramen at
once. I found a quiet corner and
tried to stay out of the way
while last minute accessories

were brought in and adjust- .

ments made.

Zaitsev apologized, explaining
that he himself hadn’t seen the
new numbers modelled — they
were straight out of the pres-
sing room. He favors loose,
straight lines, above the knee
skirts, and is noted for his use
of Russian motifs. His inspira-

tion for the “Canadian Collec- -

tion,” he told me, came from an-
cient Russian architecture and
the distinctive curlicues and cu-
polas of old churches.

The first item, in off-white,
coarse weave, soft wool, set the
stage for the type of “Zaitsev
Suit.” The word is definitely
high fashion, but not as far out
as some Paris creation. Solid
colors without exception, orange,
pale yellow, raspberry red, no
trim except for buttons down
the back, skirts two inches
above the knee, jackets either
tunic high — one or two inches
above the skirt hemline or cut
away in front and falling in cur-
licues to the back and worn
either over a skirt or sleeveless
dress —- these are the main
features of his suits and suit
dresses.

The Moscow Fashion House

plans to exhibit about 150 crea--

tions during their. six weeks in
Montreal. In fact, Fashion House
director Elena Vorebei : said,
Expo ’67 is the focal point of
their work this year.

To demonstrate the fashions,
at least six models will travel to
Canada.. The already mentioned
Ludmilla specializes in the
“Russian Look.” She has tra-
velled widely in Europe and
made one trip to Buenos Aires,

but this will be her first visit to
North America. :

Regina Zbarskaya is a tall,
cool, sophisticated brunette who
has also travelled extensively.
“Although I have been to New

. York, this will be my first trip .

to Canada and I am told that
Montreal is one of the most in-
teresting cities on the conti-
nent,” she told me in English.

Both girls. have been~ models
for several years and I asked
them how they got their start:

“I heard a radio announce- .

ment that the Fashion House
was __ interviewing prospective
models. on a certain day and I
thought I’d come down and t
“out,” Regina said. :

* “But how did you learn the
trade?” I persisted, “The way to
walk, how to make up and so
on?”

“We just pick it up. The older
girls help the new ones. That
and a lot of practice.”

Mrs. Vorobei said that some-
times as many as 100 girls
would show up and not one

would be chosen. “Either they
have a pretty face and @-bad
figure or a good figure but a
plain face, or else their legs are
too fat or they’re too short.
Something is always wrong,”
she sighed. _ aa
_ How long can a girl go on be-
ing a model and what do they
do when they get’ too old? I
asked. ;
“Usually a high fashion model
lasts to-the age of 28 or 30;then
they can go on to demonstrat-
ing more mature fashions for
the home market. Most of- our
girls stay with us.” Her eyes
twinkled and she pointed out a
thin, handsome grey-haired: wo-
man who was busy making notes
and discussing the suits with
Bunny. “You see Mrs. Raiseman
— she was a model in the
Thirties, now she is helpingwith
the collection.” ie =
In addition to the Moscow
Fashion House, the Leningrad,
Kiev and Riga Fashion Houses
will each have six weeks in
Montreal to exhibit theirs8wn
creations. one

ee

Czechoslovakia plans
six-section pavilion

Czechoslovakia, whose pavil-
ion at the 1958 World’s Fair in
Brussels took first prize, is mak-
ing elaborate preparations for
Expo 67 in Montreal. Its exhibi-
tion at the Montreal site will be
divided into six sections: Sym-
phony, the Hall of Centuries,
Tradition, the World of Chil-
dren, Inspiration and Invitation.

“Symphony” is to present
Czechoslovakia as a developed
industrial country. The ‘Hall of
Centuries” will display outstand-
ing works of art and craft. “Tra-
dition” will recall the famous
past of Czechoslovak glass pro-
duction, and the “World of

Children” will present “scenes
from 22 of the world’s most
famous fairy tales, the work of
Czechoslovakia’s national artist
and famed puppeteer Jiri Trnka.
“Inspiration” and “Invitation”
are to show products of the
Czechoslovak consumer _ goods
industry and tourist possibilities
in Czechoslovakia. :
The Czechoslovak National
Day at Expo is scheduled for
May 16, and will consist=of a
cultural program and a nufiber
of official events. The Canadian
government has invited Czecho-
slovakia’s president Antonin
Novotny to attend the National
Day. °£ af ame.

December 16, 1966PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 7

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