For today’s fashion stylists, clothes are building blocks – and Kseniya Telitsyna and her ilk are masters at spinning a yarn. She shows up to our interview wearing a red cashmere Christian Dior twinset, Dolce & Gabbana flared trousers and black Les Slingbacks Duelo Basses pumps from Jacquemus. She’s shunned low-rise jeans since her school days, opting for a softer look.
“While it may make you feel good on the outside, tight clothes aren't actually a happy choice for your health,” Telitsyna explains. “It’s clear that how we dress can have a significant impact on our physical and mental well-being.”
Perhaps this is why it appears repeatedly on runways and stores without Telitsyna’s name. Such is the perilous condition of being a stylist with original ideas. I asked Telitsyna if this ever bothered her. “I don’t care,” she said gently. “It’s OK. A copy is always a copy. I never copy anything.”
What can’t be stolen is her personal history, the voyage that brought her from Europe’s easternmost city to the South Caucasus. Studying and identifying trends has motivated her from the beginning.
Born and raised in Okhansk, a town near Russia’s Ural mountains, Telitsyna was always itching to leave. Following her graduation, she moved to Perm, where her love for fashion blossomed. “I was inspired by Coco Chanel and admired her sophisticated aesthetic,” she said.
“For me, fashion is more than trends and magazine spreads,” she adds. “My look speaks to my moods. It’s all about embracing your individuality and expressing yourself with confidence. The moment you limit yourself by trying to fit in or follow trends, that’s the moment you’ve lost it. Build your own sense of style, your own character.”
With a client list that now numbers more than 60, Telitsyna typically juggles eight to 10 in any given month. She doesn't advertise and mainly builds on referrals from her other customers, or she is sought out because someone has noticed one of her clients displaying a noticeable uptick in style.
“When I’m choosing my own personal looks, what I have in my diary for that day plays a huge factor in what I’ll wear. Styling can be quite a tricky business, and I like to be ready for anything that might be thrown my way when I’m working. Some closet essentials I think every woman should own are a great pair of jeans, a black dress that works for any adventure, and a medium-sized handbag. I am a big fan of timeless investment pieces; in my book, less is more, always.”
As a fashion stylist, Telitsyna knows the power that jewelry can have when it comes to getting dressed. “Jewelry is the last thing I add to an outfit, but I think it's one of the most important,” she explains. “There are so many times where we style something, and it could be a minimal dress or a look, but when you set it off with that right earring, it's what completes it. Great jewelry and great sunglasses complete the look, and it's important to feel finished.”
Most of all, Telitsyna wants it known that her job is not as glitzy as one might think. “There are many routine tasks behind the scenes of this profession: from logistics and finding the right things to complex organizational issues,” she said. “Glamour is part of the profession, but not its core. Real success comes through hard work and constant development.”
Contrary to her lively and confident Instagram presence, Telitsyna is rather humble. She travels home to Perm from Baku, where she’s spent most of her time lately, as often as possible. “I appreciate small-town life so much more now than I did then,” she said. “Nothing recharges you like a walk in the forest.”
The next two years, she argues, will be the most important of his career. “It’s like I’m in a lift, arriving on a different floor,” she said, manifesting her position in the business, clearly laying out a medium and long-term plan. Elevation, she explains, is key to her success.
So what can we expect? “I cannot tell you exactly, but it will be a whole year of different ways of doing things,” she teases, that quiet confidence shining through. In the world of Telitsyna, anything is possible – you have to be patient.
