Artem Tarasov and Yura Yasyuk

25.12.2011

See also:

Harm's webstore

Original text by: Maria Glebova
Translation by: Katya Antonova for NovosibirskGuide.com's Magazine

We are proud to present the first publication in cooperation with Siburbia.ru — leading lifestyle e-magazine in Siberia.

A year ago Artem Tarasov and Yura Yasyuk from Novosibirsk developed the clothing brand Harm's. Since that time the guys have dressed in their clothes not only the visitors of the music festival “Picnic "Afisha" but also some underground musicians. They are written about in glossy magazines, on relevant websites and Western blogs. Meanwhile, the TNT channel (leading entertainment TV-channel in Russia — NG) leading stylist Alexander Rogov was seen in shorts by Harm's in Stary Arbat this summer.

Dot the I

Artem: We are not fashion designers in its direct meaning, we don`t sew anything with our own hands. We are creators of the clothing brand, and out task is to have the clothes sewed qualitatively, so that they fit people well and make them sale good. One can call us “designers” meaning that we do invent clothes’ style and cut from the beginning to the end.

Yura: There are too many designers and there are very few brands. That`s why we belong to the minority. Our brand is a full time job, it`s not a hobby or a part time job. Like all working people I get up early in the morning and my workday ends only in the evening. We work and earn money at this job.

Artem: During the year of our brand existence we have achieved great results. Creating our brand we were drawing the inspiration on the West and developing the concept we were looking at Europe. However, we didn`t forget to make clothes practical, keeping in mind Russian reality – clothes should be of a high quality and should be warm.

Non-Moscow brand

Artem: Our friend, a Moscow DJ told about us to his girlfriend who was a shop co-owner. When we came to the meet her, she told us if we were from the capital, she wouldn`t even look at our clothes. She was interested in our brand mainly because it was non-Moscow. People take notice that really cool clothes are made in Siberia.

“In the beginning we tried to conceal that we were from Novosibirsk but then we realized that was an advantage”.

Yura: It`s easier for us to make clothes here and selling is more simple in Moscow. Here we have an efficient production scheme but some issues that had been being negotiated upon for six months here were settled during 20 minutes in Moscow. We want to move but we`re not sure that we should do it. At least now.

Artem: The publication in the blog coutequecoute.blogspot.com has become the most pleasant surprise for us. I often visit it while drawing sketches when I need some inspiration. When I visited the blog once again I saw Harm`s summer lookbook near the recent Yves Saint Laurent session and that was quite unexpected. Though mainly reputable Western brands are usually published there, and I think there hardly ever have been any information about Russian brands on the blog.

The specific of promotion

Artem: We try to give as much information ground as possible for promoting out brand and it is not necessarily connected with clothes. For example, one guy recorded a mixtape for us and we wrote about it on our blog. More than that, we decided to give up presenting standard seasonal collections on this stage. We divided in two parts our fall/winter collection and we`re going to do the same with the summer one. So we can quicker renew our internet shop collection and increase number of Harm`s news.

Yura: We do not plan running ads on TV yet because it`s expensive and inefficient for us on this stage. We are mainly active on blogs and in social networks. Selling clothes on the picnic “Afisha” brought us the major part of our audience.

Simple-complicated

Artem: We will change as the notion of simplicity will change. Even such an elementary piece of clothes as sweatshirt has evolved turning to fitted and neat clothes from a huge sweater.

“One need to display courage and create a usual piece of clothes made from a high quality fabric, well fitting so that it will become basic clothes in a person`s wardrobe.”

Yura: There are no other good clothing brands in Novosibirsk. Everyone here who`s working in the fashion industry – is a fashion designer. They do some kitschy dresses and no one knows who needs them, one can wear it once but only to a freak party. Our approach is different – we make wearable clothes. One should remember that design – is working out but not decorating. Modern designers` goal is to amaze by all means. They won`t create a classical laconic sweatshirt because they think everyone will say “There`s nothing special”. They sew feathers on the sweatshirt`s shoulders instead, so that everyone says “Wow!”. The matter is that everyone knows that leathers on the sweatshirt`s shoulders – is absolute trash!

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