Fashion editor, haute couture collector, Russian top model Tatiana Sorokko is the first Soviet pride in the international fashion market, who enters the world rankings of the most stylish celebrities of all time. Tatiana Sorokko was born Tatiana Ilyushkina, on December 26, 1971, in the closed city Arzamas-16 (now Sarov) in a family of nuclear physics scientists.
After graduating from high school she moved to Moscow. She worked as a model in the fashion center “Lux” and was soon spotted by the French modeling agent Marilyn Gauthier. Gauthier invited her to work in Paris. World popularity came to Tatiana at her 17 years old. She worked on the catwalks of the world for leading fashion houses and has appeared on the covers of the most famous magazines. She was “the first Russian supermodel” and “”. Her private collection of historically important designer dresses, haute couture dresses and accessories has been exhibited in prestigious museums of Russia and the United States.
The sense of style can only be innate. Fashion can be learned, because it is all around us. But fashion is fickle – it comes and goes. A style – this is your rod and spirit. It’s either there or it is not. One may engage in self-education, but I do not think that a true sense of style can be instilled if it is absent at the beginning. Tatiana Sorokko
The Western media write about Tatiana Sorokko as a “style icon” and the “trendsetter”. American Vogue called her “the model guiding fashion” back in 2000. She is credited with popularizing the beginning or fashion trends, such as the now part of mainstream culture in the West, vintage clothing and decorations with skulls and symbols of memento mori, especially iconic jewelry by Venetian jeweler Attilio Codognato, which she has been collecting since the beginning of the 1990s.
“Tatiana’s clothes is not subject to time and reflects her unique perspective on style, – a fashion historian Dennita Sewell told to newspaper ArtDaily. – Her choice of clothing goes beyond the latest fashion trends”. Editor of Harper’s Bazaar Glenda Bailey believes that “Tatiana – a style icon, not only in what place it occupies in fashion, but also in how she looks at the fashion. This makes her a full-fledged co-author of fashion”.
American fashion designer and artist Ralph Rucci shared his opinion “Tatiana is one of the few models that has brought into fashion her own vision and independence. Her style is not only flawless, its influence is felt in various fields. She certainly inspired my work”. However, according to the influential trendy site Style.com, Style of Tatiana Sorokko is sometimes “sabotage”.
In one interview with the Russian newspaper Tatiana Sorokko stresses that “fashion and style – are two different things”. Opinion of critics and luminaries of the fashion director were summed up by the director of the Russian Museum of decorative and applied Arts Margarita Barzhanova: “Our compatriot has achieved incredible success in the world and has become a real fashion – legend.
In 2000, American Vogue included Tatiana Sorokko in the annual international list of the 100 best dressed celebrities – «The Best Dressed List», and in 2007 the American Harper’s Bazaar named her among the best dressed women of all ages – «Best Dressed Women of All Time». The U.S. Harper’s Bazaar also included her in the list of «Best Dressed Celebrities» annually from 2008 to 2013.
Russian super model Tatiana Sorokko is married to Serge Sorokko (Russian emigrant), American entrepreneur and the owner of the well-known gallery of contemporary art Serge Sorokko Gallery in San Francisco, USA. Tatiana Sorokko studied the history of fashion at the Academy of Arts in the United States. Tatiana and Serge Sorokko live in San Francisco, CA.
