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Lotta Volkova

Stylist

The stylist of the moment, Volkova has been integral to the creative visions of Vetements, Sies Marjan and the newly reborn Balenciaga.

Biography

Lotta Volkova is one of the key figures behind Vetements’ rapid climb through the ranks of Paris's fashion establishment. As the in-house stylist for Vetements and former stylist for Balenciaga, her aesthetic, which takes style cues from post-Soviet street culture, alt-punk and fetishism, has proved to be one of the most influential in recent seasons.

Volkova was born in Novosibirsk, Russia when the country was still part of the Soviet Union. Raised by a naval captain father who would bring her presents from around the globe, Volkova was exposed to foreign cultures from an early age and dressed in clothing from Germany and Japan.

After leaving her hometown of Novosibirsk at the age of 17 to study art and design at London’s Central Saint Martins, Volkova became a fixture on the thriving club scene in the British capital. Creating her own clothes, Volkova began to dress herself and her friends. Starting her post-punk-inspired label, Lotta Skeletrix, in 2004 Volkova attracted a handful of stockists including The Pineal Eye and Dover Street Market London, where she met Rei Kawakubo . After a brief stint as a designer, Volkova relocated to Paris in 2007, shifting her focus to styling. Commissioned to style her first photo shoot by German fashion photographer Ellen von Unwerth , Volkova’s styling career advanced quickly. 

Volkova was introduced to her closest collaborator  Demna  Gvasalia through a mutual friend at a party. While at the event Gvasalia showed her some lookbook images of an early Vetements collection. Although intrigued by the clothing Lotta was left unimpressed by the styling, a fact she shared with the designer, who responded by asking her “Why don’t you style it then?” Volkova played an integral part in developing the creative vision behind Vetements, Gosha Rubchinskiy , Sies Marjan and Gvasalia's newly reborn Balenciaga. At Vetements she is involved in the casting, the styling and also consults oh the collection. 

Volkova has been the styling consultant for Miu Miu working with Miuccia Prada on shows and campaigns since 2020. She also works as a styling consultant for Blumarine working on the radical reboot of the historical Italian brand with creative director Nicola Brognano.

Volkova launched a capsule collection with Jean Paul gaultier in 2022 reimagining the iconic Jean Paul Gaultier archive collections in the context of a contemporary wardrobe to a new generation of fashion lovers. She also designed a capsule collection for Adidas in 2020; an exciting combination of the sportswear brands heritage and lotta’s own uncompromising vision.

Besides serving as a stylist, muse and model for Gvasalia, Volkova has styled for numerous industry-leading fashion publications like System Magazine, Man About Town, Re-edition, Dazed, i-D, V Man and Document

Education

Central Saint Martins

Central Saint Martins

London

Vital Statistics

Born
1984
Nationality

Russia

Location
France
Member since
2016

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What is The BoF 500?

The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.