We’re Majorly Obsessed With Sonya Molodetskaya’s Fashion Collection

Photo Credit: Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography

Spend just a half hour with the Russian-bred, platinum blonde fashionista Sonya Molodetskaya (who happens to be Haute Living‘s fashion editor-at-large) and it’s impossible not to notice her charismatic charm. From her self-deprecating humor to her loud infectious laugh, she’s incredibly likable. No wonder ex-mayor Willie Brown fell for her 13 years ago. She’s a breath of fresh air on the social scene and her over-the-top fashion choices make her one of San Francisco’s most photographed girls about town. Statement t-shirts (she recently sported one that said ‘May the bridges I burn light the way’), knee-high metallic boots, pink satin coats, off-the-shoulder leather jackets—there is nothing understated about her sartorial choices. Whether she’s posing for political pics alongside Brown or jet-setting to New York fashion week, Molodetskaya turns heads. Last week, all eyes were on her as she launched a fashion capsule collection.

Photo Credit: Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography

Major Obsessions is a partnership between Molodetskaya and local designer, Altana Danzhalova. “Altana contacted me through Instagram,” Molodetskaya told Haute Living while sitting on the velvet couch in her vibrantly decorated SOMA loft. “She was designing her own coats and skirts. I liked it, so she came here and we started talking about fashion.” After attending fashion weeks in Paris and Milan, Molodetskaya was on the hunt for a luxurious velvet coat. Yet none of the collections had exactly what she was looking for. “I asked her, can we make something? Your coat, we’ll change it a little bit and make it out of velvet? She says, ‘okay, how about a sleep dress with that?’ and I said, ‘perfect! That’s going to be a whole pajama trend/robe look. I’m majorly obsessed with it!” Molodetskaya and Danzhalova—who is also Russian-born—hit it off and decided to collaborate on a small collection of clothes. Danzhalova would make the pieces and Molodetskaya would wear them at the following fashion week and see if any of her friends noticed the custom made velvet and sequined pieces.

To say that the clothing was a hit is an understatement. “We got so much response. People were Facebook messaging, commenting on Instagram.” Women were stopping her in front of the Dior store begging to know where they could find her velvet polka dot-print robe. Turns out that Molodetskaya’s 3,500+ Instagram followers are dying to dress like her. The ladies decided to expand the collection and make it available to the public—and so Major Obsessions, named after Molodetskaya’s original love of Danzhalova’s ideas, was born. When the orders started rushing in, the duo realized that manufacturing the pieces quickly enough was going to be a problem. Danzhalova scrambled to teach a team of seamstresses how to sew the drop-waist velvet robes, lace-trimmed velvet slip dresses, and backless sequined tops with loopy grosgrain bows.  “A whole velvet collection? It’s all about opulence and decadence. It’s very vintage inspired,” Molodetskaya says.

Photo Credit: Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography

To debut the collection, they decided to have a runway and trunk show. There was only one place that Molodetskaya imagined hosting it: Uncle Harry’s, the private 49th-floor lounge at The Harrison, a luxury high rise in SOMA. She would use her own clothing to style the models and compliment the Major Obsessions pieces. Last Wednesday night when the models took to the floor, with the classic song “Putting on the Ritz,” playing loudly in the background, they all wore shoes from Molodetskaya’s personal collection of heels.  “When I put the call for models on Facebook, I wrote, ‘looking for models, you have to be size 9 shoes.’ ” Another reason to love the budding designer? She’s creative and resourceful. After the show, Molodetskaya’s friends—including Mary Beth Shimmon, Sobia Shaikh, Jennifer Walske, Carolyn Chang, Farah and Victor Makras, and Stephan Rabimov—shopped the clothing, purchasing almost everything.

Luckily the team has been busy sewing away. Today, Major Obsessions can be ordered online or found at their showroom at 1200 Gough Street, at Geary. Will Molodetskaya’s collaboration continue with more Major Obsessions collections in the future? “Yeah! Absolutely,” she says enthusiastically, eyes sparkling.