no doubt for being genuine

Boldness, authenticity, the desire to create and a bit of power that comes from being a woman…Yulya Shadrinsky and Marita Gurcciani or the creative duo behind Shadrinsky… We are not sure how you know or define them, but we are sure that you often come across their names in the video and photo projects of iconic brands of the fashion world such as Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Jean Paul Gaultier, Mugler, which have left the most traces on social media. And their ironic way of expressions create a strong buzz on social media. Yulya and Marita, who directly associate success with knowing who you are and what you want, show us that a more authentic and free version is possible with their self-doubt-free creative world.

In your works, you use lots of “irony”. How does that word reflect on you?

Yulya & Marita: In general, irony and humour help us to take things easier in life. We personally, seek a way to escape from life’s difficulties through our “fun” works and we hope the irony in our content invites people to forget their problems for a moment.

The relationship between social media and your work; is it the best way to spread it out? 

Marita: Social media, and the internet in general, are the best things that happened to us! It’s such a great platform for creative people to communicate to any audience they wish to reach. We could never have imagined the amount of feedback our videos would one day receive, but thanks to Instagram, our vision has trended worldwide!

“Being yourself is being original. People can try to steal your ideas or style, but the one thing people can never take from you is who you are, and what made you the way you are.” 

Marita Gurcciani 

What is the achievement at the time when you define yourself as a winner? 

Yulya: As long as we stay true to ourselves, we are winners. We don’t change our beliefs, habits, or vision, no matter how high the pressure can be in the industry we work in. I would say the biggest achievement is to know who you are, what you want, and keeping good people close to you, so no one can make you doubt yourself.

Define being original.

Marita: Being yourself is being original. People can try to steal your ideas or style, but the one thing people can never take from you is who you are, and what made you the way you are. Yulya and I are always drawing inspiration from our own life experiences in the videos—situations we were in, people we met, family and relationships. No one else has lived our lives and it makes our work one of a kind.

Any advice for creatives? 

Yulya & Marita: Never stop creating and working! Nothing can speak more to your creativity than your own work…and hard work always speaks for itself.

“As long as we stay true to ourselves, we are winners. We don’t change our beliefs, habits, or vision, no matter how high the pressure can be in the industry we work in.” 

Yulya Shadrinsky

Let’s go to the very beginning. How did your journey start? 

Yulya: I happened to be renting a room in Paris and Marita needed a place! She was humble, but I instantly recognized how smart and special she was. When she shared her amazing instincts about my creative ideas we realized we were a perfect fit.

Could you tell us more about your creative practice? 

Marita: Our creative practice is very collaborative. Yulya brings the fun ideas to the table. She conducts her research, often being completely absorbed for days on end, exploring subjects that people often dismiss. Sometimes she even pulls from her own personal experiences! I then take Yulya’s many ideas and refine them to make them more digestible to audiences. From there, we put our heads together to refine an idea and shoot!

What inspires you the most? 

Yulya: The bar we are setting. We want our art to inspire and to be understood by little girls from Shadrinsk. We are hoping to pave a way for them to do what we are doing. Having that motivation inspires us. 

Define the way for you to find that perfect boundary of your own limitations? 

Yulya & Marita: That’s the thing! We don’t try to limit ourselves in what we can create. We take those risks, and while there may be lines we don’t cross in terms of what we shoot, we definitely try to push the limits on what we can!

Do you care about people’s opinions on you?

Yulya & Marita: No.

From Based Istanbul N°43 – The Winners Club Issue. “For us, winning is deciding to embark on a journey. Ask yourself aloud: If this is a race, who else but me can make the rules? Welcome to the winners club!” Buy your copy now!