The X File of Yulya X's Fashion World

Я тебя люблю, Ксения!

There was a time when I was young when the name Ksenia Kahnovich was yet unknown. It was a time when the fashion crowd was first striked by an invasion of models from the Ex-Soviet Union ruling the runway like Ekaterina the Great once did. Victory did not come as a surprise to Anne Vyalitsyna, Eugenia Volodina and “Supernova” Natalia Vodianova who were known as the 3 musketeers from Russia. Here, from that exact era, sprung the beauty Ksenia Maximova. One of the reasons why I like the ex-Gucci rush girl is no doubt her fair looks and unique facial structures, which reminds me a bit of my friend Val’ya from Kyiv. I know liking someone because of their looks is an absolute lame reason to like someone, but today while reading an interview of her from FMD, I found a more concrete reason to like the Russian beauty: her strong work ethics, her down-to-earth attitude and her grounding. That all adds up to make her ultra special in the industry. Here is the interview:

Did you ever think you’d be doing this [modelling]?

Ksenia: No, not really. I was bullied so much at school, that I was sure I was ugly.

Have you encountered any surprises along the way?

Ksenia: Major one was probably the weird stereotypes people have of models and people from fashion industry.

Ever get tempted to get pulled into the party scene?

Ksenia: I used to party much more than I do now. I just got bored. I don’t have much time to see my friends, so I don’t see a point in going to a club, where you can’t even hear each other.

Have you developed any new interests since you started modeling?

Ksenia: Yes, a lot. But I started at 16, so it was probably a part of growing up. I’m interested in world music, psychology, cultural studies, filmmaking and art, but art was always my passion.

Do you have a mentor? Who? What is it about them that affects you? Why?

Ksenia: I used to, but he passed away last year. It was the man who discovered me and some other Russian models. He was a very strong person.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? What could be your next career?

Ksenia: I’m working on it now. I’m doing Art BA in London. Hopefully I can do illustration some day, or even publish a kid’s book. But I would like to move to a warmer place within next 10 years.

What are your best beauty secrets? How do you stay in shape?

Ksenia: Sleep well, eat healthy. Exercise. Everybody says it and it’s so easy, but people still fail to follow.

What would you want people to know about you?

Ksenia: I don’t know… that blonds are not necessarily stupid? I do get that a lot in university unfortunately…

Any advice for new models? What advice would you give other models starting out?

Ksenia: Not to forget that modelling is not forever. It hurts people a lot sometimes to come back to the other reality.

Favourite all-time model:

Ksenia: Polina Kouklina

Favourite quote:

Ksenia: “Until lions produce their own historian, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

I’d like to meet:

Ksenia: Sigmund Freud, to smack him.

[Source: FMD]

The whole interview could be found here. Ksenia talks here in this video. Я тебя люблю, Ксения!