We talked with a Russian fashion girl Karushkin, aka Karina Pavlova about style, trends, Russian food, literature and of course Russian squad in a personal interview.

Where are you originally from and what you do?

K.: I am from Kiev, Ukraine and I do everything (laughing) and of course I do fashion. I am a true fashion girl!

Could you share couple of your true fashion girl styling tipps?

K.: Everything is allowed. No borders. Today, we are currently in the 90s and 00s fashion wise so go and mix, match, “muks*” everything.

How do you style a post-Soviet 90s look?

K.:OMG!  Well, like shit (laughing). Seriously, you should probably go to Instagram get your inspo from Russian & Russian born designers and put the stuff on. It didn’t really look neat and clean (laughing again)

So where the young guys and girls should go for a perfect 90´s post-Soviet “gopnik” look, if they don´t have budget for designer clothes?

K.: I would advise to check out vintage and second hands shops. For example, Humana is very good for young people on budget, they can go crazy there and create up-to-date style for really very small money. Of course there also others, who would come to the Store (in Soho House, Berlin) and would like to get the gopnik in-look with pieces by usual suspects as Balenciaga and Vetements. In general, everything can become a hype right now and you can create your own trends. The main thing, fashion crowd should not take themselves too serious, I think.

What are you favorite brands?

K.: Oh, there are so many. Chanel of course, I love. Prada, Balenciaga, Givenchy.

What would you never wear?

K.: I would never wear something that is scratching. And it does´t matter how fashionably and trendy the piece is. I hate it since my childhood in Ukraine. These terrible tights, everybody worn were so scratchy, that I had to scratch my butt the whole time, while sitting at the school desk (laughing)

What is the reason for Russian love for the melancholy, in your opinion?

K.: Russian literature, the best writers and poets Puschkin, Tolstoj, Dostoevskji. They gave this sad touch.

So you say, before Russian literature, Russians were always funny?

K: Russians are always funny, when they celebrate, especially with vodka (laughing)

What is you favorite Russian dish?

K: Borsch and different “zakuski”

Kind of Russian tapas?

K: I don´t like the name “tapas” for zakuski. It´s something special and you can try different thing, I would say. I also like blinchiki with pickled cabbage. My babushka (grandmother) told me, if I ate a lot of pickled cabbage, my boobs will be bigger, but she obviously lied (laughing).

Why the Russians do the so called Russian squad?

K.: I don´t really know. But I assume it´s just very comfortable position. Actually Chinese also do this. You can sit in this position for hours, talking about thing, girls, smoking, eating sunflower seeds and spitting on the street (laughing)

it´s all personal

Karuschkin interviewed exclusively by Personal Issue

photographed by  Mirko Westerbrink