The Treasures of the Nomad: Paris and Beyond

Alexander Vasiliev, born in 1958, is a fashion historian, stage designer, television presenter, president of the Alexander Vasiliev Foundation, honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts, and a knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France and the Order of the Cross of Latvia. He is the author of the books “Beauty in Exile”, “Russian Fashion: 150 Years in Photographs”, “Family Values”. In his new book “The Treasures of the Nomad: Paris and Beyond”, Alexander Vasiliev tells how he arrived in Paris in 1982 with a folder of his sketches, and how in a few years he became a sought-after stage designer and fashion historian worldwide; how he taught fashion history in Paris, South America, and Japan, designed performances on the best world stages, and worked with Yuri Lyubimov and Maya Plisetskaya; about his meetings with Rudolf Nureyev, Galina Vishnevskaya, and Pierre Cardin, about his friendship with first wave émigrés, including artists Rostislav Dobuzhinsky, Dmitry Bushen, Erté, aristocrats, ballerinas, and models… How the famous book “Beauty in Exile” was created and how a unique collection of historical costumes was assembled. The book is illustrated with photographs from Alexander Vasiliev's archive. “I return to the past like to a treasure trove, filled with impressions, performances, meetings with great people, and breathtaking travels…” Alexander Vasiliev “Practically alone, Sanya Vasiliev carries the heavy burden of centuries, the century-old memory of generations, ancient junk, which has become, thanks to him, a museum value... Where Sanya is, the sound of ancient glasses can be heard, mirrored glimmers sparkle, and the flame of candles shines. It is always a one-man theater.” Sergey Nikolayevich