For the «Fathers and Children» section, designer Masha Tsigal selected the first solo collection of her son Arseniy. It was she who helped him gain admission to three European universities—Artez, WDK, and AMFI—several years ago. Today, Arseniy continues his studies at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, where his modules are studied in close connection with contemporary art. And this is not surprising.
«When I was asked to choose one of Arseny’s works, it was very easy for me to agree. Because Sanya has been drawing since he was a child. But, you see, this isn’t some surprising story for us. We have an artistic dynasty. His grandmother is a famous poster artist, the creator of the „Don’t Chat“ poster; his grandfather is the sculptor Vladimir Tsigal; and his parents are designers. So, we don’t have that ‘Oh, the child is creating’ mentality. Everyone in our family draws and everyone creates something.»
«I tried to let him try everything. Art school, the British school, English, robotics, yachting, soccer, karate, theatre. I was interested to see what he would choose on his own. Because you can’t force a profession on someone. It quickly became clear that what fascinated him most, of course, was fashion. His teenage years coincided with a time when Virgil Abloh and Kanye West literally turned the streetwear industry upside down. It started with sneaker drops and resale. Senya even sold these drops to his classmates at school and on Avito, and he made completely insane customs out of unique items. Most importantly—through all of this, he studied brand histories and reviewed every Rick Owens collection. He even gave me the very first Yeezys. Although later we sold them on the resale market.»
«When Senya started making this collection for his application, I suddenly saw a completely different person. He came up with the idea himself, decided on upcycling, gathered old jeans and tank tops, stitched them, sourced models and a photographer, and organized the shoot. I barely participated in the process. It was then that I realized this wasn’t just a fashion hobby. Before me was someone who had found his calling. That’s why I chose this specific collection.»