A leading model with major international agencies talks about her contract with View Management, Spain’s competitive market, and campaigns for Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, and Ze García
Spain’s fashion industry is recovering after a downturn. According to just-released data from Modaes/Texfor, the sector has returned to 2.8% of the country’s GDP, reaching record exports of €32.4 billion. Working in this market requires models to seamlessly shift between high fashion and mass market—dominated by giant Inditex—says Russian model Victoria Kosenkova, who signed with Barcelona modeling agency View Management this year. Victoria’s career began with a phenomenal 2015 debut, when the 16-year-old newcomer opened and closed the Burberry show and made Models.com’s Top Newcomers S/S 2016 list. Now, alongside her Spanish agency, which gave her access to work with Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, and Ze García, the Russian model works with Monster Management in Milan and Ford Models in the US. She effortlessly switches between different formats and aesthetics, showing rare versatility. Mass fashion, commercial shoots, or high fashion – she looks organic in any context. We asked Victoria Kosenkova about the specifics of working with Spanish brands, the NARS commercial where she showed her skin imperfections, and her plans to create her own clothing brand.
– Spain’s fashion market is incredibly competitive and specific. This year you signed with one of the leading local agencies, View Management, and have already participated in several ad campaigns for key Inditex Group brands. Not every model with international high fashion experience can quickly and accurately integrate into the local industry. What allowed you to establish yourself in this challenging market?
– My career started with high fashion: Burberry, Prada, Chanel, and Dior. That experience gave me the technical foundation and understanding of how to work on the runway. Spain is known for being home to brands that dictate fast fashion trends to the world. I think View Management saw in me what’s necessary for success in this market—the ability to work quickly, deliver quality, easily switch between polar opposite styles, and be organic in different roles. As a result, in my first year working with View, I landed shoots for Inditex Group brands and became one of the models helping the agency strengthen its position in this segment. Today I can embody elegance for Ze García, and tomorrow be edgy for Inditex’s mass-market brands, and I love that, I don’t want to get stuck in one niche.
– When a model with international experience joins a local agency, it’s always a dialogue between two parties. How did you build your working relationship with View Management specifically in the context of the Spanish market?
– For me, it’s conscious collaboration. View has a clear understanding of the Spanish market, and I have experience in high fashion and commercial shoots in other markets. I think we’ve found a format where my expertise in high fashion organically fits the demands of the Spanish market and Inditex Group brands.
– Indeed, looking at your work in Spain from the outside, it seems you’re involved in very different segments. How important is this versatility for the agency?
– For the agency, it’s definitely a big advantage. When one model can work in different formats, it allows for systematic work. In this sense, my engagement in View projects isn’t made up of scattered shoots, but constant work with different clients.
– How much does having a model with high fashion experience who’s also in demand for commercial projects affect the agency’s relationships with major brands?
– It really simplifies the dialogue. When an agency offers a model who’s understood by major commercial clients while embodying a higher visual culture, brands immediately develop trust—in both the model and the agency representing her.
– You recently worked with Pull&Bear—a brand oriented toward a broad youth audience and street culture. It would seem not the most obvious choice, since you as a model are associated with the luxury segment. How difficult was it to transform?
– It was an interesting experience that expanded my boundaries. Working with Pull&Bear requires being relaxed, natural, alive. They need models who can embody freedom, youth, dynamism. That doesn’t mean professionalism isn’t required—on the contrary, it’s exactly what allows you to look effortless on camera. As a model, I’m often positioned as a modern muse, luxury face, emotional beauty. At the same time, casting directors think I have a recognizable yet universal look. This allows me to easily become the center of a visual concept, working for different segments.
– Would you say that projects like Pull&Bear or Stradivarius become a point of trust for the agency with major brands?
– I think so. When a brand sees that a model with high fashion experience works organically in a commercial format, it simplifies further collaboration. For View, it’s an opportunity to show that the agency knows how to precisely match models to brand needs, and for me—confirmation that I’m properly integrated into this market.
– You also recently shot for Stradivarius—a brand with a somewhat different aesthetic, more feminine, oriented toward working women, street casual with elements of elegance. This year the brand invited top models for their ad campaign. How did you feel on camera?
– The team was very focused on visual purity of the images, on making the clothes look expensive despite the accessible price point. This required a different type of presentation, more restrained and confident. I needed to embody the image of a girl living in a big city with a demanding work schedule, yet stylish and impeccable in every detail. I relate to this aesthetic because I grew up on runway shows where every touch matters. Stradivarius wanted exactly this runway perfection, just adapted for everyday life.
– In 2023 you also worked with Ze García—a Spanish brand embodying millennial couture style: custom evening and wedding dresses, fitted silhouettes, silk and feathers. I imagine you felt in your element on that shoot. Am I right?
– When you’re in a Ze García dress, your posture automatically straightens, your walk changes. It’s not just clothing, it’s art. There’s a challenge in that too—the model needs to not draw attention to herself, but become part of the art. That’s another thing I’m grateful to View Management for—they don’t try to pigeonhole me into one role, understanding that my strength is versatility. I can work with brands that position themselves very differently, and always remain myself.
– Your career path began impressively: in 2015, your first season, you opened and closed the Burberry show, got a Prada exclusive, and made Models.com’s Top Newcomers S/S 2016 list. People often say a rapid debut can be a test. How do you look at that start and its influence on your career now, nine years later?
– I remember that year with gratitude—it opened doors to the industry for me. Of course, I was lucky, because early success often becomes a trap. Many models who shot up quickly disappeared just as fast because they weren’t flexible enough, couldn’t adapt. From the very beginning, I understood that it’s important to constantly move forward, not rest on past successes. Yes, Burberry was an incredible experience, Christopher Bailey was inspired by my look, which led to a long collaboration. But today I’m different—both externally and internally. I’ve learned to build long-term relationships with teams and agencies. Learned to adapt to different aesthetics and market expectations. And finally, learned to say no when a project doesn’t suit me.
– This year you publicly acknowledged having skin problems, showing acne during the NARS foundation campaign shoot. Weren’t you scared to post that video to your Instagram, where you have over 100,000 followers?
– Of course it wasn’t easy: despite the general movement toward body positivity, in our industry acne is still perceived as a defect that must be hidden. But I was tired of that game. Working with NARS allowed me to say: here’s the real me, unretouched. I was taking a risk—it was hard to predict the consequences of such a step. But the reaction was incredible. I got hundreds of messages from girls: “Thank you for showing this. Now I don’t feel alone.” You could call it marketing—brands see that authenticity sells well. But what’s more important to me is that girls stop hating their skin.
– After the NARS campaign story, you started being perceived not just as a model, but as a public figure with a clear position. How much does this affect working with the agency?
– It has a direct impact. It’s important to understand that any public story reflects not only on the model, but on the agency. For View, it’s a matter of principle—to work with people who are conscious about their reputation. In this sense, my experience became an example of how you can talk about difficult topics openly while not creating risks for the team and brands.
– I know your mother agency VRL Management sometimes sends you beginning models from post-Soviet countries who dream of careers in the US and Europe and need support. What do you teach them?
– I share my experience: how to choose an agency, how to behave at castings, how not to get lost in this race. Many of my compatriots at a young age face a language barrier and get lost. I know from experience how much knowing languages helps: I could always explain how I feel, understand what they want from me, build relationships with the team. So I always tell beginning models: learn languages and don’t be afraid of rejection. Without these skills, you won’t survive in the industry.
– Now you’re working simultaneously with several leading agencies in different markets: View Management in Barcelona, Monster Management in Milan, Ford Models in New York and Los Angeles. How do you see yourself in the future?
– My goal is a long career built on quality projects and solid reputation. There’s also one very specific idea… The thing is, I have very sensitive skin, so it’s always been extremely important to me that clothing be not only beautiful but comfortable. Perhaps in the future I’ll create my own clothing brand, whose concept will be built around natural beauty and soft, non-irritating materials. Because to look good, you first need to feel good.
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