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In Moscow with Vika Gazinskaya

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GLAMOROUS PLACES

In Moscow with Vika Gazinskaya

We promise we don’t only chose our phenomenal women solely depending on their street-style status… After London with Caroline Issa, we head off with the forever photographed Vika Gazinskaya, Russian fashion designer and style icon, to discover the coolest places in Moscow, her hometown. Contemporary art, historical buildings, star-studded bars and local delicacies – embark upon a Russian tour with our very own stylish guide!

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Stop for a raf coffee at Coffeemania: it is a chain of great coffee shops, almost like an easy-going restaurant, with a whole range of food which you would love (I am sure!). Not to mention the coffee, which is the best in town. Try the cappuccino, the latte-halva, and the signature (sweet) coffee drink, raf coffee. I have two favorites locations among them: Pokrovka street, 18/18 or Bol’shaya Nikitskaya street, 13

Discover Garage: recently opened, the new building of Garage, the contemporary art gallery founded by Dasha Zhukova and Roman Abramovitch, was built by Rem Koolhaas and is hugely important for Moscow! You should also check out the temporary building of Garage, built by Shigeru Ban. They are both in Gorky Park, the iconic holiday park from the Soviet Union times, with soviet art monuments and the nice Moscow river bank.  9/32 Krymsky Val St

Visit the Kremlin area and museums: the areas inside the Kremlin walls will truly show you how ancient Moscow looked like. If you are lucky enough, there might be an exhibition on at the Kremlin Museum – make sure you go see it. Elena Gagarina, the director of Kremlin museums – and the daughter of our legend, Jury Gagarin, the first man in space- – is a friend of mine, and I’ve seen all the exhibitions she organized, like “The Art of Rene Lalique”, or “Henry Moor and the Art of Canon Sculpture”, or “Poiret King of Fashion”… All of them featured a great and exclusive selection of pieces.

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The Kremlin Museum / Yayoi Kusama, the current exhibition at Garage

Eat at William’s: a small but very cozy and always crowded restaurant, located in one of the coolest areas in Moscow, which offers European fusion food. Better to book a table in advance for dinner. Malaya Bronnaya St., 20A

Take the Moscow underground: Moscow’s underground stations look like palaces – a great example of architecture under Stalin’s empire. If you have limited time, check out these stations first: Kievskaya and Komsomol’skaya on the circle/brown line, Mayakovskaya,Plozhad’ Revolutzii and Arbatskaya on the navy blue line.

Have the best mani/pedi ever: a small and private salon is set to open mid-July: call Anna to book minimum a week in advance! I swear you will keep coming for it from wherever you live. Tel. +7 926 472 07 77

Stop for drinks at Simachev: this bar does not age or lose in popularity since I’ve discovered it, all sides of it are attractive : the food, the dancing, the crazy parties, the cocktails – in a word, a powerful place. Per. Stoleshnikov, 12

Admire the VDNKh: another statuesque monument of Soviet Union and Stalin era. As you enter you will see a brilliant and famous sculpture by Vera Mukhina, Worker and Farmer (which made a big buzz in 1937 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne). Believe me, seeing all the pavilions, fountains and sculptures will not leave you indifferent…