Fashion Heroes: Miroslava Duma
She may be petite, but Miroslava Duma's towering online presence is larger than life.
A street style icon who's fast becoming one of the industry's most photographed women, the polly pocket-sized (she's barely 1.6m tall) Russian has become a household name amongst fashion and street-style lovers alike. With more than 1.1 million followers on Instagram (@miraduma), Duma's legion of fans is more than double the number of followers that most well-known fashion editors have.
Endlessly stalked by street-style photographers at the various fashion weeks, pictures of her impeccable style often dominate fashion blogs as well as the pages of fashion glossies the world over. But who is she, really?
For the uninitiated, Duma (or Mira, as she is lovingly known) is one quarter of the fashion ‘Russian Mafia’, as the glamorous troupe of Russian women is known affectionately by the fashion press. Her chic clique includes fashion designers Ulyana Sergeenko and Vika Gazinskaya, as well as Elena Perminova, a former model and wife of a billionaire.
The 32-year-old mother-of-one is also the editor and founder of Buro 24/7, a Moscow-based online news platform that's dedicated to fashion, art, architecture, cinema, music and style. Since its launch in 2011, Buro 24/7 has expanded its reach and now has a presence stretching to the Middle East and Central Asia.
The latest chapter, launched this week in conjunction with Singapore Fashion Week, is in Singapore and is headed by the brand's first male editor-in-chief, Norman Tan (@musingmutley).
In an email interview with THE FIFTH COLLECTION’s pagefive, Duma explains that the choice of launching a Buro 24/7 in Singapore was due to the Lion City's "reliable reputation as the regional fashion hub for global buyers and suppliers".
"While some overseas fashion industries have stagnated, there is still plenty of room for growth both locally and regionally," says Duma, who was a former editor at Harper's Bazaar Russia. "Buro 24/7 strives to change the digital landscape in Singapore and Malaysia by being the first to report on stories and producing compelling and relevant global and local content."
Later this year, she will be launching the Turkish edition of the popular site.
Expanding the brand's global reach requires her to always be on-the-go. Despite the hectic travel schedule, Duma, who is married to successful entrepreneur Aleksey Mikheev, always makes it a point to look fresh and pulled together. She shares: "Travelling can be very exhausting for the skin, so piling it on with creams and lotions has never worked for me. I like simple products that allow my skin to breathe".
Asked what the three beauty products she cannot live without, the Russian editor reveals that she swears by baby soap cleanser, a cream from her cosmetologist, Lubov Andreenva, and the Chanel Lip Hydrator. "The simple things work for me," she says.
Often dressed in pieces from the world's most exclusive (and expensive) designers, including Hermes, Chanel, Marni and Valentino, she has also been spotted wearing exquisite vintage pieces. In fact, Duma lets on that she has amassed quite a collection of vintage fashion. Her favourite vintage piece is a tweed jacket from Chanel. "It was from my mother and it is already 20 years old".
"I keep an eye out for unique textiles and embellishments," says Duma. "One of the joys of vintage shopping is the exceptional quality of fabric you can find, for example Chantilly or Guipure lace, or interesting beadwork".
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CHIC SPEAKS
pagefive: What is the best career advice that you ever received, and who was it from?
Mira: It came from my father. He said: “Work hard and be nice to people”.
pagefive: What is the one vintage piece you're still hunting down?
Mira: Hermes Kelly 20cm
pagefive: How did you master the art of walking in sky-high heels?
Mira: Lots of practice and learning to fall over with grace! But heels are not the only option; there is an interesting world of flats out there as well.